FirstLine
writing and editing services
With more than 20 years’ experience and a reputation for never missing a deadline, you can breathe easy outsourcing your writing and editing to me.
I work on a freelance or contract basis, as needed, and have experience in newsletters, magazines, online writing, SEO, blogs, social media, advertorials, PR, community newspapers and more. I’ve written most things from art and business to science, sport and travel. You’ll find some published writing samples below.
Lake Matheson
On a sunny, calm day Lake Matheson offers postcard-perfect views of snow-capped Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman reflected in the dark waters, making the short walk to the viewing jetty one of the most rewarding Fox Glacier walks.
Immerse yourself in nature on the Rakiura Track
If peace, solitude, and pristine natural surroundings far from civilisation and the maddening crowd are what you look for in a holiday then the Rakiura Track on Stewart Island could be for you. Sharon Davis tells us more.
Tekapo’s Treasures
Lake Tekapo is often seen as a scenic photo, coffee, or pit stop, on the way to Mt Cook, Queenstown, or somewhere else bigger and brighter… but it has a lot more to offer. Sharon Davis uncovers some of Tekapo’s Treasures.
Ticking off Kepler
Whether you plan to enjoy the 60km circular Kepler Track, one of New Zealand’s stunning Great Walks, over a leisurely three or four days – or in a body-grinding five-plus-hour mountain run as part of the Kepler Challenge – Fiordland’s Kepler Track should be on your bucket list. Sharon Davis tells us more.
The greatest shoal on earth
The warm waters of the Indian Ocean, sunny sands and mild winters turn the KwaZulu-Natal coastline into a scene of migration between May and July. Many flock to the welcoming waters and hospitable beaches… and we're not just talking people.
Every year a seething silver mass of sardines travel up the east coast of South Africa, moving north.
Kingsley Holgate
Arguably Africa's most famous modern-day explorer Holgate set off on his first epic journey with his wife, Gill, and son, Ross, in 1993. The mission before them was to travel from Cape to Cairo, but with an additional element of tackling the route in open inflatable boats on inland waterways with back-up vehicles.
As has become a hallmark of all Holgate's trips, they filled a beaded calabash with water from Cape Point and took it with them across the waterways of Africa facing bandits, wildlife and malaria.
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi - KwaZulu-Natal's Jewel of Conservation
Set in the pulsing heart of the Zulu Kingdom, stretching over 96 000 hectares from Imfolozi in the south up to a hilly Hluhluwe in the north, the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve (slightly more than two hours drive from Durban) is not only the oldest game park in Africa, but one that can be regarded as KwaZulu-Natal's jewel of conservation.