Destination: New Zealand

DAY 49. Tauranga Bound

Wed, 14 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [209]

I woke up early and got my stuff together. As I was having breakfast, a couple of girls came to the Air B&B who were renting it that night. They were from Wisconsin and just arrived from Australia so we exchanged stories and tips for quite some time.... Read more >

DAY 48. Oh To Be Lazy

Tue, 13 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [197]

I slept in as long as I wanted and it never felt so good. After almost seven weeks of being on the go, nonstop, always going somewhere and doing something, afraid that if I was idle I'd miss out on a great part of New Zealand, and constant planning and ... Read more >

DAY 47. Goodbyes Are Never Easy

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [263]

We finished up our packing and loaded the truck. An hour and a half later we were in Auckland. We went to another Icebreaker outlet store since we had some time to kill before returning our vehicle. At the car rental place, we said goodbye to our trusty ... Read more >

DAY 46. Biking 2.0

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [192]

We woke up and took down our camp and continued a little bit further down the road and stopped at the Huka Falls since Ryan hadn't seen them before. They were powerful and beautiful as ever. We went back into town in search of a quick breakfast. We walked ... Read more >

becoming knight

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 | By nomad_kiwis | Views [630]

There are times that one or other of my children treat me like a dunce or a muppet or just like I am an annoyance that they just have to deal with. It is hurtful and disrespectful and if it weren't for my grandchildren I would quietly withdraw myself ... Read more >

Photos: Wairarapa

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 | By kiwiaoraki | Photo Gallery

im Campervan - vom Wasserfall zur Westküste

Sat, 10 Dec 2016 | By bernardmarlenlilly | Views [533]

Laaaange hat es gedauert, aber wir haben mittlerweile einen fahrtüchtigen Campervan gefunden, der genügend Sitzplätze für alle 3 Familienmitglieder bietet.  Es ist gar nicht so einfach einen geeigneten Van mit 3 Sitzplätzen ... Read more >

Photos: im Campervan - vom Wasserfall zur Westküste

Sat, 10 Dec 2016 | By bernardmarlenlilly | Flickr Photo Gallery

DAY 45. Uh, Utility??

Sat, 10 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [235]

We woke up early and headed for the ferry terminal, dropped off our bags, and returned the car. We boarded the boat for the third time. It wasn't very full so we got a couple decent seats. In Wellington, we went to the train/bus station and figured out ... Read more >

DAY 44. This Time, We Walked Abel Tasman

Fri, 9 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [210]

We woke up and made breakfast. Today, we either had the choice to drive over an hour to the finishing point of the Abel Tasman track and walk along the beaches or to walk the track near beaches where we had already kayaked, which was much closer by. ... Read more >

Shock, sadness, anger, disbelief, grief

Thu, 8 Dec 2016 | By nomad_kiwis | Views [570]

I have just returned from attending the funeral of a friend. It is Thursday 8th December 2016. She took her own life on Sunday 4th December. On Saturday she was here with us, walking, talking, partying, today she is dead. This has affected me more ... Read more >

DAY 43. Another Unsuccessful Fishing Attempt

Thu, 8 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [157]

We woke up to more rain and took our time making breakfast. After, we headed north back to Collingwood and back to the same holiday park there because the owner told us before that we could fish off the beach and use his fishing rods. As we were waiting ... Read more >

DAY 42. A Low Key Day

Wed, 7 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [168]

We made breakfast and left the park. It was raining and blowing so our options for enjoyable outdoor activities were limited. We drove all the way north to the start of the Farewell Spit. It was ghastly and I wasn't up for the walk but we went for a ... Read more >

DAY 41. Yakin'

Tue, 6 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [162]

We got up pretty early and drove a minute down the road to a local kayak outfitter. We hired a double kayak and got our dry bags situated. We got a safety briefing before getting on the bus down to the ocean. Tractors were used to take the kayak trailer ... Read more >

DAY 40. First MTB Experience

Mon, 5 Dec 2016 | By joyaroundtheworld | Views [162]

We left Nelson and headed to Kaiteriteri. It was a cute little town on the waterfront. We went to a small lodge where they rented mountain bikes. We hired two downhill bikes and helmets for a half day and road right from the lodge to the trails. We went ... Read more >