The idea of a new van has been floating around in our minds for a while now. Whilst our VW T5 makes a super practical family vehicle, its camping capabilities had been reduced to “makes a good roadside brew” due to the descent of two minions into our midst.
Typically used in high water – or by those who don’t want to get their feet wet!
The Pinnacles are located in the Coromandel region on New Zealand’s North Island and climbing to the top is often included in “must do” lists for resident kiwis. Like the Mueller Hut Hike, a serviced Hut near the top of the walk makes it perfect for families and first time adventurers. Continue reading
Canyoning had always been on the cards, ever since New Zealand was an option it just took two months of gentle persuasion, (and towards the end a good deal of sulking) for Ian to agree to the idea! Who wouldn’t wan’t to throw themselves off rock faces into a murky abyss, abseil down cliffs and toy with Eels?
into the waterfall!
This part of New Zealand is often missed off the itineraries of travellers, especially those who are pushed for time. The route runs from Queenstown, through Te Anau and onto Dunedin via Invercargill and Balclutha. Lured by the prospects of photogenic lighthouses, wind torn trees, penguins, and waterfalls we set aside a few days to explore this area. Continue reading
The Fox Glacier sits within the Southern Alps on New Zealand West Coast. From it’s nevé plummets steeply towards its terminal face, dropping 2,600m over 13 kilometres. This steep incline means that the glacier is incredibly fast moving, covering up to 5m in a single day – distances other glaciers struggle to reach in a year. The fast pace of the glacier and the amount of ice forced into the valley from the nevé means that features such as ice caves, pressure ridges are often seen.
Its Maori name, Te Moeka o Tuawe, means the final resting place of the ancestor Tuawe. He fell to his death whilst exploring the area, and his lover Hine Hukatere wept tears which formed the nearby Franz Joseph Glacier – also know as Kia Roimata o Hine Hukatere. Both glaciers are also unique because they end amidst rain forest which is considered unusual.
In recent years the glaciers in this region have begun to retreat, meaning hiking onto the ice from the terminal face is not safe, and instead tourists must be flown up onto the glacier itself. Despite this, it is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world, and local company Fox Glacier Guiding, takes several hundred people up onto the face each day. Continue reading
Our first big task after arriving was to find a camper. Before leaving the UK we did a fair bit of research. We looked at how long we were away for, how much travelling we wanted to do and what sort of budget we had for the trip. It was pretty easy for us to see that we wanted to travel via camper van; a few years ago we did a road trip in a big car and enjoyed travelling by road. It seems silly that we have our camper at home and have hardly used it. Continue reading
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