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South Island Archive
Top of South: Marlborough Sounds
Queen Charlotte Track and walks around Picton are so stunning you look forward to walking uphill! Eat mussels, see bays, inlets, and morel
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Top of South: Nelson, Tasman
Where we were the day that everything changed, March 23, 2020. Lockdown Lookback: “How long can this last?” led to a 14 month NZ odyssey, staying in 57 places, hiking 1,469.58 miles.
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Tasman: Kaiteriteri-Harwoods Hole
Maybe it was the joy of seeing new things after lockdown and/or the luxury of additional time. Abel Tasman was perfect.
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Tasman: Golden Bay-Pohara
If you can only visit ONE place in NZ, choose Tasman. We struck gold in Golden Bay! WOW!
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Tasman: Abel Tasman’s Great Walk
Abel Tasman National Park: EASY terrain, walkable year-round! Short distances between huts and beaches with majestic valley views and coastal scener. A perfect destination if you have limited time. Heaps to do, spectacular tramps.
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Tasman: Cape Farewell
Paradise is at the top of South Island: NZ Wonders: Cape Farewell’s arch, andWharariki Beach (used as “The MS Windows Image” — stunning!
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Tasman Sea: Cape Foulwind to Buller Gorge, Nelson Lakes
Wild West Coast to central forests, lakes, waterfalls on SH 6. Dramatic Cape Foulwind, a bouncy swingbridge, and a photo icon from Nelson Lakes National Park.
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East Coast: Christchurch
Christchurch’s rebuild after a devastating earthquake is extraordinary! Cutting-edge development and art alongside heritage sites.
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East Coast: Akaroa-Lyttelton
My love of cliff walks started here – a volcanic landscape of steep hills and lush bays. Also developing a fondness for alpacas. An infatuation for both that just won’t go away.
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East Coast to Alps: Kaikōura, Twizel, Ohau
Kaikoura – whales, albatross, dolphins and hiking a coastline radically and visibly changed by an earthquake in 2016.
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East Coast to Alps: Moeraki, Oamaru, Clay Cliffs
On the east coast, are the “mysterious” Moeraki boulders and the blue penguins at quirky Oamaru. Driving inland find beautiful clay cliffs at Omarama.
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West: Arthur’s Pass to Punakaiki
NZ’s West Coast NEEDS visitors. Get there via train or car from Christchurch to Arthur’s Pass and beyond. It’s like a dream.
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West Coast: Hokitika, Glaciers, Haast
The magic of Hokitika Gorge, Fox/Franz Josef Glaciers, Haast forests and waterfalls.
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Southern Alps: Mt Cook, Tekapo
Reaching new heights (literally) on NZ’s highest mountain where every scene is BIG!
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Southern Alps: Wānaka, Lake Hāwea
Where in NZ would I live? Here! Because of the richness of this area – so many hikes…some we did, and many more we missed.
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Southern Alps: Queenstown, Glenorchy
Queenstown, The Remarkables and perhaps the prettiest drive in NZ between Qtown and Glenorchy.
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Southland: Fiordland-Wet, Wild
Fiordland is a remote corner of New Zealand. with two iconic locations: Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. Neither are easy to get to – which makes it all the more exciting.
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Southland: Invercargill-Bottom End
Invercargill and Stewart Island – from the local fair at the fairgrounds (sheep, lumberjack games) to birding on Stewart Island. A special stop.
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Southland’s Secret: The Catlins
The magical Catlins. No exaggeration on the power of nature here. Fairy-tale waterfalls, lighthouses, penguins, a Jurassic petrified forest. Oh, the hits just keep on coming!
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Southland: Dramatic Dunedin
WOW! Dunedin – Victorian and gothic buildings, massive street art, mosaic beach cliffs, penguins, albatross, and more!
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Northland: Cape Reinga
Far Far North – Glorious east/west beaches, Bay after bay is a picture-book spot. Cape Reinga is breathtaking and the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld
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Northland: Paihia Day Trips
This post features a massive boulder field (thank you volcano), gallery, parrots, and a bicycle trail (with eye-pecking magpies).
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Northland: Paihia, Opua, Russell, Kerikeri
Northland – SO MUCH sensory overload. It takes me by surprise at every turn – and there are a lot of turns!
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Northland: Paihia-Waitangi Treaty
New Zealand was transformed from an exclusively Māori world into one of European domination. The story is told at The Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the Far North. The historical site is stunning.
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Northland: East Coastal Hikes, West Kauri Trees
The one where I became addicted to coastal walks and climbing up the path…just to see. Then there were the trees!
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Northland: Whangārei-Tutukaka
Whangārei is a “stop and stay” city with day walks and Great Walks, volcanic summits on every bay, roads that dead-end at wild ocean beaches. There are 12 golf courses, horse riding on the beach, snorkeling, world class diving at Poor Knight’s Island, fishing, bird watching (twitchers), yachting, bicycling.
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North: Coromandel Seaside
“Good for your Soul” is the tagline for The Coromandel Region where Kiwis holiday. Two coastlines with mountain ranges and forest in-between.
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East Coast: Gold! Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty – WOW! Named by Captain Cook. Warm and sunny with avocados, citrus, kiwifruit at roadside stands. And…oh those walks.
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East Cape Escape
Taiawhiti “The coast upon which the sun shines on the water”…except during a week of torrential rain. But we sloshed onward.
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East Coast: Hawke’s Bay
Wild Hawke’s Bay, on the lower east coast, is wild. Spectacular coast hikes, hilly (but not too difficult), ancient trees and thousands of gannets.
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Central: Tongariro National Park-Hikes
Feeling small, surrounded by giants in the Volcano Zone. Hiking in Tongariro a high point!
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Central: Taupō Volcano Zone
Mesmerized by plumes of steam, rainbow rocks, calderas, craters, boiling mud, and volcanos the Taupō Volcanic Zone called us back. Middle-earth is unforgettable.
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Central: Mt. Tarawera-Volcano Hike
Walking on a volcano! The Tarawera Crater Walk, an infamous eruption in 1886, a “blast” of a walk today.
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Central: Prismatic Rotorua
Between Rotorua and Taupo are fantastic geothermal areas with unique moss and mineral formations, crystal blue lakes, and lots and lots of steam
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Waikato: Putāruru Blue Springs, Green Trees
A Kaleidoscope….Nothing like it, so easy to find, and GIANT Redwood Trees.
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Waikato: Hobbiton
Welcome to The Shire: Visiting the Hobbiton is delightful! The original movie set is staged on the greenest of green hills with 44 hobbit holes dug into the hillside.
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Waikato: Waitomo Glowworms – Forgotten World Hwy
Driving a road called the Forgotten World Highway; Walking through a cave with “big shiny maggots” overhead. How compelling is that?
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West: Mt. Taranaki, New Plymouth
Taranaki and New Plymouth on the west coast of North Island, “the ring around the mountain”, forests, gardens and walkways.
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Lower North: Wine, Lighthouses, Pinnacles
Astoundingly beautiful day-trips around Martinborough with iconic lighthouses, cliff drives and rugged pinnacles.
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On The Road-Marlene & Steve 