TE ANAU, NEW ZEALAND — Finally! The weather forecast is great, our boots are tied, packs are packed. Time for our hike on the Kepler Track, one of New Zealand’s nine Great Walks. Continue reading “Hiking the Kepler Track”
QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND — This day went completely different than we had imagined. Instead of getting ready for our first New Zealand Great Walk, we had to come up with Plan B. Continue reading “Back to the drawing board”
PUNAKAIKI, NEW ZEALAND — We weren’t expecting another beautiful day for our trip down New Zealand’s west coast, but as we left the motel, the sky brightened.
OMAU, NEW ZEALAND — Thanks to Marion, the friendly DOC ranger in Nelson, we had a lot of choices for hikes around Westport. The problem was choosing one. Continue reading “Hiking on a “third-rate” trail”
ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK, NEW ZEALAND — Nearly every tourist itinerary has to include a stop in Abel Tasman, but we weren’t sure how long we wanted to spend there.
MOMORANGI BAY, NEW ZEALAND — Some days, everything just falls into place. We didn’t have plans for today, but ended up with a full day of activity in beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound. Continue reading “Kayaking bliss, hiking heaven”
TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK, NEW ZEALAND — Today, we hiked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in this national park, which stood in for Mordor in the “Lord of the Rings” movies. Continue reading “Hiking in Frodo’s footsteps”
TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK, NEW ZEALAND — Today was another driving day. Seven and a half hours from the Coromandel peninsula to Tongariro National Park in the center of the north island. Continue reading “Coromandel to Tongariro National Park”
CATHEDRAL COVE, NEW ZEALAND — We started today off by driving to Hahei Beach to do the short hike to Cathedral Cove, a popular tourist destination that features two beaches connected by a giant, natural passageway through the cliff. Continue reading “Lazy day of hiking”