Intro to Rotorua Located on New Zealand’s North Island, a 2-3 hour drive south of Auckland, Rotorua is an established attraction for visitors. The town is located on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua and is part of the Taupo…
Intro to New Zealand’s Southland Region From the Catlins in the East to Fiordland in the West, New Zealand’s Southland region is a land of rugged coastline, rolling plains, towering cliffs and ancient glaciers. It’s a nature-lover’s paradise, filled with…
For those of you who have visited New Zealand I think you will agreed with the title of this post. Here in the US, on many a menu you will find listed “New Zealand Lamb Chops.” While often very good,…
This unfurling New Zealand fern, or koru, is a perfect representation of “Renewal.” The koru, Maori for “spiral” or “loop,” symbolizes growth, strength and peace, as well as new life. It’s often used in Māori art as a symbol…
Below is our photo montage from our first RTW trip in 2008-09. I’m hoping to inspire myself to get to work on a video from our latest trip. We hope you all enjoy the show!
Why head back to the city so soon when we could have one more pretty drive in the country? We spent our last day-and-a-half on the Coromandel Peninsula, exploring hidden beaches and camping by a stream. We passed artist’s studios,…
Though we were sorely tempted to join in some caving, abseil, blackwater rafting adventures in Waitomo, time and money were short, so we opted for a long walk followed by a leisurely tour of the Glowworm Cave. The cave was known…
Rotorua Population-wise Rotorua is a big city (over 70,000 or so). We were advised it might seem overly commercial for our liking, but we wanted to experience the often talked about geothermal area that’s still bubbling, spouting and boiling away. …
After our Alpine Crossing we needed a day of taking it easy, so we head to the thermal pools near Taupo. I had a very relaxing mud wrap and massage while Donny tried to catch me in the book we’re…
From a base in Ohakune (carrot capital of NZ, and a huge ski and snoboarding center in winter), we did an amazing 19.4k walk called the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, in Tongariro National Park. The full trek is multi-day, but this…