Why was the Tongariro Crossing at the top of our list of “must do” activities while on the North Island? Guidebooks and websites are unanimous: the Tongariro Crossing is New Zealand’s premier day hike; It’s located in Tongariro National Park, a dual UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of the park’s outstanding volcanic features as …
Continue reading Hiking New Zealand – Tongariro Alpine Crossing
We usually opt for a fair bit of structure when we go on vacation. We plan some sort of excursion, hike, museum visit or tour most days, leaving an open day every 5 or 6 days to allow for extra rest, to deal with any urgent business that crops up back at home, to do …
Continue reading Hiking New Zealand – Cape Kidnappers Gannet Colonies
After two-and-a-half amazing weeks on the South Island, we finally transferred to the North Island. Two quick, smooth Air New Zealand flights took us from Nelson to Wellington to Napier, where we rented another Toyota Camry. For the rest of our travel day and all of the next day, we took in the fantastic Art …
We opted to spend our last full day on New Zealand's South Island with Noel Kennedy, owner of Wine, Art & Wilderness tours. Given our boys' interest in Sir Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies, we asked Noel to plan a day that would highlight Nelson-area shooting locations for the Hobbit movie trilogy. It's …
Six hours cruising along the coast of Abel Tasman National Park was one of the absolute highlights of our extended New Zealand vacation. Out on the Maria Antonina, with skipper Rod Stuart from Abel Tasman Charters, we enjoyed non-stop sunshine and scenery. Over the course of the day we spotted several seals, lots of birds …
Continue reading Scenic Cruise – Abel Tasman National Park, NZ