Welcome. This website is by Ben Howe. Here you will find photos, travel stories, music, videos and other things I am interested in. A lot of the photos are taken with 35mm film, although I use all kinds. I work in music, including running a couple of record labels, Arch Hill Recordings and Flying Nun Records, I am a partner in an online music retail store called Flying Out and a festival called The Others Way. I am also a Lecturer and Major Co-ordinator at Massey University in Wellington. Over the years I have played in various bands around New Zealand.
THE Lumba Sumba PAss Trek, Kanchenjunga, Nepal - Planning
When I decided last year to return to Nepal, I wanted to find a trek that would give me a similar sense of adventure to my previous journey, almost thirty years previous. I wanted to trek somewhere a bit rugged, undiscovered and off the beaten track. Surely those places still exist? As it turns out, they do. After some online research, I learned about a trek called the Lumba Sumba. It is in a little-known region, the remote Kanchenjunga region, in the Eastern Himalaya of Nepal. MORE
HOW THE LOST FLYING NUN MASTER TAPES FOUND A HOME
Flying Nun Records, the iconic New Zealand music label, donated many hundreds of master tapes from recordings made between 1981 to the mid-2000s, to the Alexander Turnbull Library’s Archive of New Zealand Music. There was a time I thought those tapes were lost. This is that story. MORE
the others way, the story so far...
The Others Way is a music showcase or festival that started four years ago, in Auckland, New Zealand. To begin with, it was an accidental festival. Here are some of my highlights and memories from the first three years. MORE
OLD GHOST ROAD BIKE TRAIL New Zealand
The Old Ghost Road is an 85 km single track bike-packing mountain bike trail and walking path in the upper South Island of New Zealand. Watch the video. MORE
OLD GHOST ROAD: MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL
The Old Ghost Road traverses mountains, river gorges, dense forest and rough backcountry. It is a remote single track bike-packing mountain bike trail , exposed, with rocky sections above the treeline. MORE
THE OTHERS WAY FESTIVAL 2018 SHORT FILM
The Others Way is a multi-venue music showcase festival. It takes place on Karagahape Rd, Auckland, NZ. A short documentary film capturing the vibe and music was long overdue. MORE