I was in New Zealand a little over a year ago. I was sitting in my partner's home in Napier when I felt it—the entire couch was shaking. Then the lazy boy started thrashing about on its own.
I've been reflecting on this moment this week because of the earthquake that happened in Kaikoura, New Zealand early Monday morning.
Natural disasters like this always put things into perspective for me, like with the Louisiana flooding after my visit to New Orleans this summer. But New Zealand hits particularly close to home for me because of my ongoing connection to the country.
At exactly this time last year, I was preparing to depart a rainy, wintery New Zealand to dive in the warm, northern waters of Australia.
Jono and I decided to make the most of my last weekend there. So we "tramped" (kiwi for hiked) Sunrise Track and stayed overnight at a mountain top hut during what turned into a violently windy rainstorm.
In this post, I finally tell the story of this trepid adventure and the ending that was so good, I couldn't resist returning to New Zealand some 3 weeks later.
Last week, I posted a throwback to my time in Iceland. This time, I'm giving you another throwback but to last year when I was living in New Zealand. Reminiscent of all of the waterfalls I saw in Iceland, this post is about a waterfall I visited in Hawke's Bay. Hawke's Bay is on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. There's tons to do there, including several easy hikes that make for great day trips.
When Spring had finally sprung in the Southern hemisphere, Jono and I immediately took to the outdoors to cure our cabin fever. After a hike to Cape Kidnappers, we planned another jaunt to the famous Shine Falls. The walk to Shine Falls goes through the Boundary Stream Reserve. It has some impressive views through farmland and native bush (forest) with plenty of birds to hear and observe along the way. The waterfall is deep in the reserve and its stunning—the perfect example of typical New Zealand beauty!
Throw back! I never talked about the time I visited Cape Kidnappers, so here it is!Throw back time! Once upon a time, I did a review of all the great places to visit in Hawke's Bay New Zealand. I mentioned a golf course named Cape Kidnappers, but later learned Cape Kidnappers is so much more than a golf course.
After 7-months living in the area, I got increasingly curious about this place with its criminal name, rumors of mudstone protrusions, and an enormous gannet colony. I had to see what it was all about.
Jono and I took a day to stroll along its shore out to the headland and back. I ended up being enthralled by its geological features, I had a photo shoot with seabirds, and I was even almost caught in a landslide on the return trip!
One cold, wintery day on The Queen’s Birthday weekend, Jono and I drove 5 hours up North to the Coromandel Peninsula.
There, we met his sister and her family where they were staying in Whitianga. Whitianga is situated near two iconic Coromandel must-dos: Hot water beach and Cathedral Cove.
I had already visited hot water beach on a previous occasion but Cathedral Cove was not accessible at the time. Now I was finally able to visit this gorgeous beach and natural archway. Perhaps you’ll recognize it from a famous movie, music video, or both!
I like to try to blend into a place as much as possible. Short of mimicking the Kiwi accent, I think I did a pretty good job at blending into the Hawke’s Bay life while seeing as much of it as a “tourist” as possible.
During my four months living in Napier, I saw and did heaps. I’ve picked out the best of the best to give you an idea of what local living is like in the Hawke’s Bay.
While traveling the North Island, I kept passing through Taupo instead of actually spending any time there. One time I finally did stop. Jono and I were on our way back from a weekend trip near Hamilton. Huka Falls and the “Craters of the Moon” had been on my mind since I passed through Taupo on several occasions prior.
Stopping to visit both was definitely worth it. The bubbling Earth of the geothermal field and the gushing power of the falls were awesome to behold. The best part? Laughing at the expense of frightened tourists riding in speedboats down the river!
This post is about one thing: The best sunset I have ever seen in my entire life.
I’ve seen a lot of sunsets in my lifetime but none was ever so #earthporn worthy as the one I saw with Jono back in March when camped on the 90 Mile Beach in New Zealand.
Instead of talking about it, I’ve decided to simply post the photos and allow the sunset to speak for itself. My camera brings out colors as opposed to dulling them like most lenses. Otherwise, there was absolutely no enhancing or filtering done to them. Enjoy!
Like most Westernized countries, New Zealand has many domesticated horses. On any given drive across the country you’re bound to see them fenced in on grassy hillsides, being ridden by tourists across a country road, or jumped by locals for prizes at field day events.
Wild horses, on the other hand, are a rare sight to see. I was lucky enough to track some down and witness their majestic beauty as they freely trotted through the Te Aupouri Forest and galloped across the dunes behind the 90 Mile Beach.
The Ninety Mile Beach is one of the most unusual highways I’ve ever driven. At low tide it becomes a legitimate highway. It’s an alternative to state highway 1 and often a scenic route for tour buses.
But the 90 mile beach can be as dangerous as it is beautiful.
The tide can catch tourists off their guard resulting in their vehicles stuck in the sand and an unexpected overnight stay in the dunes behind the beach. Luckily, my kiwi friend, Jono, and I had deliberately worked an overnight stay into our Ninety Mile Beach plans. With plenty of fish to catch from the beach and another food source under our feet in the sand, we had all we needed to survive several days on one of New Zealand’s most beautiful and remote beaches.
I finally went sandboarding!
Sandboarding has been on my bucket list for a long time. I was stoked when I found out I’d have the chance to finally tick it off my list in New Zealand!
Surprisingly, it took me nearly 3 months of traveling New Zealand to make it to the best sandboarding location—the Te Paki Recreation Reserve.
The Northern point of New Zealand’s North Island has great significance among the native Maori people. The land there is predominantly Maori owned and untouched with plenty of native vegetation growing wild.
Once we passed through the last town of Kaitaia and began the 100km drive up the Aupouri Peninsula, I could already see and feel its sacredness.
I dove a ship wreck!—and became an advanced open water diver.
While visiting the Bay of Islands, Jono and I booked a two-dive day trip in which I would experience diving down deep to explore an underwater ship wreck. It would be my first ever! I had been itching to dive again since I received my open water diver certification in Koh Toa, Thailand. Paihia Dive offered a package in which I would learn to dive to 100 feet.
The ship wreck was eerie, beautiful, and hilarious. This plus an awesome underwater kelp forest dive and surprise visit to the famous Hole in the Rock made my Bay of Islands diving trip an unforgettable experience.
I’m all about finding my own fun while traveling—and at low cost. Part of deviating is looking for ways to explore a new place without paying for a tour guide to show you around. Sometimes self-guided tours take you to unique places that turn out to be just as good as the tours or better!
This was the case the day Jono and I arrived in Paihia in Northland New Zealand. We had a whole day free to fill with whatever we chose. So we went snorkeling in the Bay of Islands on our own for just $20 each. Here’s how.
In celebration of the month of June, this post is about my experience attending Auckland Pride this year. New Zealand’s most populated city hosts their LGBT Pride parade, or as they call it “Hero Parade,” in February rather than in June (Pride month in the USA).
The parade and LGBT people were not always so accepted in New Zealand, however, and LGBT needs continue to be ignored by the NZ government.
“Want to come with us to Raglan for New Years?” Jenny, my couchsurf host, asked me after less than 24 hours into staying with her and her two roommates. A couple, Calle, a Swedish guy and Mahlia, a French Canadian girl, are roommates with Jenny who is from Massachusetts. All of them have been on working holiday here in New Zealand for several months. They live together in their 3-bedroom apartment in the city center of Wellington. I had just finished a week-long housesit in Karori where I hiked and played with a kiwi family’s puppy over the holidays. Now I was trying to figure out what I would do before heading to the South Island in the New Year.
One night of playing Cards Against Humanity with these three roomies and we were quickly bonded. They reminded me of my friends back home. “Sure. I’d love to spend New Years with you guys.” I told Jenny. We left on Wednesday to make the 6+ hour drive up North to the West Coast beach town called Raglan. I had missed it on my previous two road trips around the North Island, but I heard it was a laid-back hippie town where surfers and skaters like to hang. We were just hoping the weather would hold out enough to camp, enjoy fireworks, and swim at the beach.
The time has come to reveal what I have really been up to here in New Zealand. When people ask me, I have to admit to them I had never heard of New Zealand until I saw the opening shots of the Fellowship of the Ring (FOTR) and asked, with wonder, “Where is this place?!” Landing in the “middle of Middle Earth” (as Wellington airport and the Te Papa museum reminds its visitors) was 14 years in the making for me. I had dreamed of coming to this country since I was a teenager and finally, here I was.
I didn’t want all of my time here to be about the Lord of the Rings (LOTR), but I certainly was not going to pass up the chance to check out as many film locations as possible. Inevitably, I ended up nerding out all over the place. From hiding from a Black Rider in Mt. Victoria Park to walking barefoot through Hobbiton on the Alexander family farm, here are the locations I visited on the North Island.
Thinking about flying into Auckland near the top of New Zealand’s North Island? Only have a short amount of time to spend traveling New Zealand? Maybe you’re flying out of Wellington or from somewhere on the South Island and need to plan out your itinerary to get you there from Auckland. You deserve to see awesome things no matter how much or how little time you have!
Luckily, my best friend and I did all of the following (and more!) on a road trip from Auckland to Wellington in just 10 days. It’s perfect for someone looking to get a good taste of New Zealand on a time budget. Included are some tourist favorites as well as some spots requiring a bit of deviation.
Tall peaks and steep valleys covered in native plants and trees with huge rocky outcrops sticking up out of forested mounds stretched from either side of the winding highway 25. I could see the Bay of Plenty on the Pacific Ocean running along the horizon ahead. We had made it from the West Coast Taranaki region to the Coromandel Peninsula. Famous for its beaches and ecotourism, the Coromandel is a popular vacation spot for kiwi locals and foreign tourists.
Today, we had driven all day to make it to Hot Water Beach where visitors dig holes in the sand which fill with thermal water from hot springs underneath. Tomorrow we would find an overnight hike to do in the steep inland tropical forest. With nowhere to camp for free on the Coromandel itself, we ended up pitching tents just south of the Coromandel on district land with one of the most unique and hilarious public toilets I’ve ever encountered.
I can hardly believe it—I have been traveling now for half a year! I left on September 1st for Iceland for 10 days, continued on through Germany for 6 weeks, Thailand for 1 month, and I’ve been traveling around New Zealand now for over 3 months. Over the last month, I’ve had the chance to travel with two people whom I met during my travels: Carolina from Northern Sweden whom I met in Iceland and Jonathan from Napier, New Zealand whom I met through Samart in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Traveling separately with both of them, I’ve had all kinds of new experiences and seen some awesome sights in New Zealand’s South Island and North Island. Currently, I am with Jonathan traveling Northland. There’s hardly any cell phone service let alone Wi-Fi up here which explains the tardiness of this post! But I’m really looking forward to sharing all of my adventures with you in detail over the coming weeks since I'll be slowing down a bit in my travels. I plan to start living and working here in New Zealand! A different kind of travel but all a part of deviating!
