We started horribly early in Auckland and only transited through Fiji this time, Eddie taking every opportunity to get massive Fijian smiles as we went through. We arrived in Singapore just in time for an evening jaunt back to marina sands to see more pretty lights, after which we stopped off for a very orange … Continue reading Singapore: Take 2 →

From Waitomo we headed to Raglan, a laid back surf town further north on the west coast. We spent a lovely evening on a campsite by the sea getting into the hippy vibe with a bit of baby yoga (Eddie is now a pro at downwards dog, as well as happy baby). Me having absolutely … Continue reading Raglan & back to Auckland →

We left Taranaki once we could see that the clouds underneath us were breaking up (the views of the cloud inversion from our campsite were awesome!), After a brief and fruitless search for an accessible river with a swimming hole in the national park headed to the lowlands to get clean. We stopped at meeting … Continue reading Three Sisters & Waitomo →

We arrived from the South - North island ferry to a cloudy car park at the base of Mt. Taranaki to camp for the duration of our stay in Egmont National park. This is another example of the conflict between Maori names (Taranaki) and the European name (Egmont). By morning, we were sitting above the … Continue reading Egmont National Park (Taranaki) →

Preparing for our return ferry to North Island, we cleaned ourselves up with a swim in Richmond, fed ourselves with Pie and Icecream and parked up in Renwick to finish with a classic Malbrough experience - walking between vineyard cellar doors. We found a small  man & wife 5,500 vine winery specialising in our new … Continue reading Marlborough Wine Country →

After our salmon feast (thanks Sammy) we decided to stay at the seaside Totaranui DOC campsite ready to start walking a section of the Abel Tasman Coast track. We went for a brief swim on arrival, the sea is actually starting to feel like there's less risk of hypothermia now! The beach was massive, golden … Continue reading Abel Tasman National Park →

We woke up ontop of Takaka Hill, with great views over the flats and sea towards Nelson. We set off for Te Waikoropupu Springs and stumbled across an extra gem whilst stopping off our recycling. Labrynth Rocks Park. Completely unadvertised, apart from some hand painted signs at the side of the road, this little park … Continue reading Golden Bay →

Lake Hawea We camped by the shores of lake Hawea then headed for our next destination: The West Coast. En route we stopped at many a viewpoint and waterfall, for fleeting glances of snow capped mountains amidst the cloud. Haast Pass lookout No prizes for spotting the wild Adam... Fantail Falls Thunder Creek Falls We … Continue reading Haast Pass & the West Coast →

We legged it from Wanaka towards the park and watched the sky go pink over lake Pukaki where we camped for the night. We woke to torrential rain. We had a leisurely breakfast then headed out to the DOC office to see what might be doable despite the weather! We found it to be excellent … Continue reading Mount Cook National Park →

Having been promised by Jen and Paul that this town was basically the best place in NZ, we met them as arranged at a vary rainy lakeside campsite. However against all odds we woke up to beautiful views over the lake to snow capped mountains and soon realised what all the hype had been about. … Continue reading #Wanaka →

We camped by lake wakatipu (with waves like the sea!), and in the morning headed into Queenstown for an adventure tourism packed day! We kicked off with taking turns to do jet boat rides, while the other played with Eddie (more swings, yay!) And ate pie. The jet boat rides were awesome, 360 degree spins … Continue reading Queenstown →

We woke up freezing! The clear sky had dropped the temperature in the valley, and the van to around 0°C! Ice on the grass and windows. Happily, the sleeping bags / duvets were warm enough for the three of us snuggled in the bed. Amazingly for a place with 200 days of rain a year, … Continue reading Milford Sound →

This national park is actually quite hard to visit, as there aren't really and roads through it... it's a wild mountain land taking up the south west of South Island. You either boat, walk for days, or get fleeting glimpses of the wilderness from a few openings. Our first experience of this wilderness (and unrivalled … Continue reading Fjordland National Park →

We drove the Southern Senic Route south from Dunedin to Nugget Point, where again we were treated to seeing Seals! As well as some cool rocks and a lighthouse. Yummm Nuggets #1 tourist spot in this part of the world is Slope point, the southernmost point of mainland New Zealand! Token photo with a sign … Continue reading Southland →

By some miracle, we had arrived in Dunedin on exactly the right day! Paul was working away, but Jenny was free to give us a great tour of the area inc. Pub lunch. We wandered around a few picturesque beaches and up over staggering cliffs. Staying in an actual house brought many great benefits! Hot … Continue reading Dunedin →

A momentous occasion to start the morning: Eddie's first go on a swing! After this and a paddle we figured we'd better get back on the road. First stop: Oamaru, town of steampunks and penguins. We weren't hanging around long enough to see the penguins at dusk, so we popped into 'Steampunk HQ' to try … Continue reading Oamaru & Moeraki →

We had another 2 days before we were due in Dunedin so got cracking along the inland scenic route towards Rakaia gorge. We went for a pootle down there to a lookout for lunch and Eddie wiggles then escaped, devastated by the lack of ice cream. We arrived in Timaru where all of our sunny … Continue reading Rakaia gorge & Timaru →

We drove into Christchurch via the famous Sheffield Pie Shop, where the pies were so good we used it as an excuse to have double pie breakfast. (2 pies is ok right???) There we did some van faff (the stove is finally fixed!) Then drove through Christchurch, as we were both a tad curious to … Continue reading Christchurch & Akaroa →

We did eventually tear ourselves away from the coast the next morning, stocked up on trekking snacks and headed to Arthur's pass, the route across the mountains in the middle of South Island from Greymouth to Christchurch. We stopped at the village of Arthur's pass and settled on plans for the afternoon: it was too … Continue reading Arthur’s Pass →

No, we hadn't heard of it either, but after reading about it in the Bushline hut, it sounded fun! It's the northern west coast of South Island, the kind of place where "last fuel for 100km" signs are standard sights. Cape Foulwind - actually a nice place! Captain Cook came across this area in a … Continue reading Paparoa National Park →

We had a good faff in Nelson (shopping, swimming with all important showers) then headed out to Nelson lakes, arriving at the DOC office mid afternoon. It was a tad late to do the whole mount Robert circuit, but we had a plan: the Bushline hut half way round. We packed our gear and headed … Continue reading Nelson lakes →

We had found ourselves a riverside campsite with mountain views for cheese dream breakfast with many Eddie Wiggles. We then headed to Nelson, and found there were many exciting things to do! We opted for cycling part of the Great Taste Trail. Basically a cycle path taking you past many breweries, vineyards and cafes. Sounds … Continue reading Nelson – Rest day →

Before leaving Wellington, we got it into our heads that we'd like to do a multiday trek and that this would be a good place to do it. Boat drop off at the start and collection from the end, with free bag transfers along the way- perfect! And because it's not one of the classic … Continue reading Queen Charlotte Track →

As the home of craft beer in NZ, we couldn't really miss this. We snagged a free camping spot at Evan's Bay Marina, got our laundry done, and went exploring! The museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongerewa was a great use of a rainy afternoon! Filled with Mauri stories, legends  and artefacts, plus some … Continue reading Wellington →

We finally left Taupo after some van faff (Highly inconveniently the stove had broken. They bought us a new one and we were off!). By lunchtime we were half way to Tongariro national park, admiring the snow capped volcanoes from over the lake. We arrived in time to go to the visitor centre for a … Continue reading There and back again- a Tongariro tale by Cat, Adam & Eddie →

We took advantage of our camping at Waikite valley pools again and revisited the hot baths this morning, Eddie happily splashing about in the family pool he had 2 hours of it last night and another hour this morning and could have stayed longer! After a quick walk to look at he spring, we grown … Continue reading Taupo →

You know it's going to be a good day when your camper neighbour offers you free avocados. Whakarewarewa living Maori villiage is where we chose to get our dose of geysers, bubbling mud and Maori culture, and not just because they use the hot pools in the village to cook you a hot dinner! We … Continue reading Hot ‘n Steamy in Rotorua →

As predicted, we woke up to the sound of rain. Heavy, constant rain. But you don't fly halfway around the world to be put off by a bit of water.... so we donned our waterproofs and sandals, wrapped up Eddie in his big fluffy waterproof jacket and set off on the hour walk to Cathedral … Continue reading Cathedral Cove & Hot Water Beach- Coromandel →

Things are really on the up now! Eddie slept well, so of course so did we, and then Cat triumphantly popped a spot on his bottom that had been the source of much grumpiness leading to a much happier Eddie and a great day! It was mostly travelling and van faff, as we headed south, … Continue reading Far North to Coromandel →

Yes it really is called the far north, Far North District Council etc... Despite a shocking night's sleep (thanks Eddie) we got up at a decent time to head to 'the far north'. We made it to Te Paki giant sand dunes in time for a spot of lunch, hired a boogie board and trekked … Continue reading The Far North – Northland →

After camping on the middle of nowhere we got to Pahia (pronounced pie here. Sadly, we did not get pie, here....) early and booked ourselves a boat tour. We rejected the sailing options for something more Eddie friendly and set off in a good sized boat to look for dolphins and whales and explore the … Continue reading Bay of Islands – Northland →

We got up at a good time to start our tramp across the head, and unfortunately the promising sunshine of early morning soon vanished and we found ourselves inside a cloud. We pressed on nonetheless through some spectacular and tropical looking (if decidedly temperate feeling) forest to dramatic peaks, convincing ourselves that it would soon … Continue reading Te Whara Tramp – Northland →

On the 2nd March 2019, Edward arrived on the scene. Now with a new baby, comes many new challenges, but also new opportunities. We now have a 3rd person to share our adventures with. So over the sleep deprived first few months of Parenthood, we devised a plan.We were always going to split the maternity … Continue reading Shared Parental Leave →