The drive up to Mount Cook / Aoraki National Park is stunning. The road winds along the edge of the incredibly blue Lake Pukaki backed by mountains, it is breath taking. On our approach it looked as though the mountains had been superimposed on to the scenery it was so clear.The village of Aoraki is … Continue reading Mount Cook National Park
NZ
Boulders, Steampunk and Richie McCaw – Invercargill to Kurow
The very un-Bavarian Bavarian motel had everything we needed; a powerful hot shower, a comfortable bed and our own cooking facilities allowing us to keep watching Harry Potter in the morning whilst also indulging in pancakes and taking full advantage of our rapidly dwindling calorie deficit.Upon leaving Invercargill, we spent the next 3 days bouncing … Continue reading Boulders, Steampunk and Richie McCaw – Invercargill to Kurow
A not-so-old heritage trail and preparing for the big hike – The Catlins
Continuing our drive along the Southern Scenic Route, we made our way through the Catlins which make up a large part of the south coast and are often heralded as one of the most beautiful parts of New Zealand. The scenery is certainly very pretty with large swathes of undulating farmland and stretches of rugged … Continue reading A not-so-old heritage trail and preparing for the big hike – The Catlins
A Dunedin Art Attack and a Papatowai Scrap Heap Challenge
From Milford Sound we drove straight across the country to the east coast as we were a couple of days ahead of schedule due to the weather earlier in the trip. With time to spare we thought we would drop in to Dunedin, which hadn’t made the cut previously, before heading back to the south … Continue reading A Dunedin Art Attack and a Papatowai Scrap Heap Challenge
The astonishing natural beauty of Milford Sound
We left you last time with the tantalising prospect of our free camp in Lumsden, which centres around a renovated train station in the middle of the small town. The pitches are on either side of the platform and the whole effect is completed by a couple of restored trains and carriages. Unfortunately, at the … Continue reading The astonishing natural beauty of Milford Sound
A delightful respite from the rain and more beautiful views up to Glenorchy and the Routeburn Track
After two days of very little exercise and poor weather we were both feeling a bit cabin feverish and decided that the best thing to do would be to go for a run. So we found ourselves back in Wanaka, far sooner that we had ever intended, limbering up for a jog around the lake. … Continue reading A delightful respite from the rain and more beautiful views up to Glenorchy and the Routeburn Track
A whole array of wildlife from Reefton to the Pancake Rocks; birds, seals and the dreaded sandfly
After a wonderfully relaxing evening in the dry, we woke up to beautiful sunshine and were definitely in need of a walk to stretch our legs. We headed out to Victoria Forest Park to tackle the Murray Creek Track, a 10.7km loop through forest dotted with redundant mines. The area had been heavily mined for … Continue reading A whole array of wildlife from Reefton to the Pancake Rocks; birds, seals and the dreaded sandfly
Henna and dreadlocks, from camping to damping and some necessary home comforts
After packing up our site at the River Inn we made our way to the northernmost point of the South Island, Farewell Spit. The spit is 27km sandbank that is constantly extended and reshaped by the sea. You can’t actually access the far end without some sort of special permission so we just went for … Continue reading Henna and dreadlocks, from camping to damping and some necessary home comforts
Our first days on the South Island, a minor hissy fit and beautiful Abel Tasman National Park
A quick preface to our South Island adventure; we had 4 weeks available to us and below is a picture of the map that we had annotated with what we wanted to see. Yes, Caro was in charge of the map and no, James was not allowed to touch it.The point is that, despite being … Continue reading Our first days on the South Island, a minor hissy fit and beautiful Abel Tasman National Park
James the passion killer and a very Welly New Year
We have not really experienced the downsides of sharing accommodation with lots of other travellers, but James had the misfortune of disturbing a French couple getting frisky in the gent’s showers when we returned to camp after the Tongariro Crossing. He signalled his presence with some awkward coughing and loud gargling whilst cleaning his teeth … Continue reading James the passion killer and a very Welly New Year
The Rolling Stones 