Life in Unexpected Places
The thing about Rotorua is that the area is peppered with hundreds upon hundreds of hot springs. Everywhere you look, steam rises from the ground – from springs, through drainage grates in the road,...
View ArticleThe Landscape of Tongariro
Being an alpine area, it’s understandable that the landscape of Tongariro National Park is completely different to the lower altitude farms that seem to dominate the rest of the North Island. Whilst...
View ArticleOn Not Crossing Tongariro
Despite sketchy weather forecasts yesterday, our day today began early in the hopes of hiking the famed Tongariro Crossing. Alas, it was not to be. High winds, heavy rain, cloud cover and temperatures...
View ArticleThe Beauty of the Queen Charlotte Track
After spending four days in the wilderness of the Queen Charlotte Sound I’ve returned to civilisation in time to race down the West Coast to Franz Joseph to see the glacier before I head home. Before I...
View ArticleLearning to Like Auckland
When I first decided to visit New Zealand, Auckland wasn’t really on the list of places I wanted to see. I had no idea what there was to do, and when it comes down to it I’m really particular about my...
View ArticleDiscovering the Bay of Islands, New Zealand
It’s an odd thing to notice, but my first reflection upon driving through the landscapes of the Bay of Islands is that it looks like home. It’s an unwritten rule that one travels to discover the new,...
View ArticleWhat to Do When You Can’t Hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The alarm blares through the dark hostel room, screeching a klaxon as it calls for my abrupt awakening. For a moment I’m unsettled – it’s pitch black, I’m not sure where I am, and is that a second...
View ArticleThe Colours of Rotorua
There are some destinations where words just don’t seem to describe the feeling of a place with any justice. Rotorua was one of those places. A great, big, milky-grey lake; a park peppered with...
View ArticleThe Queen Charlotte Track In Photos
When I decided to travel to New Zealand last year, the catalyst was a desire to go hiking with my dad. When I was younger my father and I put a lot of emphasis on the idea of overnight trekking. I say...
View ArticleGetting My Geek on in Hobbiton
Let’s be honest – whilst I took my Dad to New Zealand for his birthday, and theoretically the point of the trip was to go hiking (and both the Queen Charlotte Track and Tama Lakes Walk were amazing),...
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