Reset search
South East Asia & New Zealand
  • Juliet Edwards
  • Juliet Edwards

South East Asia & New Zealand

A 168-day adventure by Juliet Read more
+2
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
InsightsCalendarPhotos
  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Kawasan waterfall

    December 19, 2019 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    There are plenty of large waterfalls and lagoons in this area (another reason Moalboal is so popular) so we hired a driver with a motobike and side car, and went out to see Kawasan falls. It was relatively busy but a lot of people visiting are on canyoneering tours so move on quickly. You can hire a life vest for bobbing around in the lagoon as it's pretty deep, and surprisingly on the chilly side. I did a couple of supervised 12m jumps into the waterfall. It takes a surprisingly long time fall that far! There was of course also a free fish spa at the lagoon.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Snorkelling the sardine run

    December 20, 2019 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    It was our last day in the Philippines so we snorkelled the iconic sardine run, which is one of the main reason people come to Moalboal. You can go diving to see it but we opted to snorkel and it was still pretty amazing. The sardines run occurs a couple of times a day and the dive shops advertise when to go. We hired our snorkels and headed down to the beach for 8.15am and walked the few meters out into the sea so it was deep enough to swim. It was incredible. I wasn’t actually expecting to see the sardines but there were thousands of them. They swim around in a cyclone and you can swim inside it but there’s no chance you’d catch one. The beach is really shallow and then there is a 5m cliff drop under the sea. The seabed right up to the beach is full of coral and fish, making it difficult to swim in the shallows without disturbing them. Definitely the best place to snorkel!Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    One night in Bangkok

    December 22, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Back in Bangkok for another quick layover. Bangkok has gone Christmas mad and the malls are of decorations, and the super expensive designer mall had a stage show and fake snow to top of their display. Found another lovely little park buried among the high rises, always a nice surprise. Great and messy night market dinner.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    New Zealand

    December 24, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We have arrived in NZ; after a mere 12 hours in the air and across several time zones. For a capital, Auckland seems quaint, especially after the madness of Bangkok. The roads are quiet and the building are low rise. I went out to stretch my legs and strolled down the main shopping street (small!) and down to the harbour. The harbour reminded me of St Katherine's Dock in that it is surrounded by fancy restaurants, although the water is much bluer.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Christmas day in Auckland

    December 25, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    A bit surreal to be somewhere warm-ish and dry for Christmas. Walked the 30mins from the hostel to my parents guesthouse. Hardly anyone out, just the same as home. We went to a coffee shop opposite the guesthouse which was running a charity coffee morning, lots of dog walkers, before sitting in their garden for a catch up. We cooked lunch on the BBQ, it may have rivalled a traditional Christmas lunch! As the weather stayed nice, we headed up to Mt Eden to take in the views of Auckland. Lots of people up there. In the evening (with half the city) we strolled down the one street in Auckland with Christmas decorations (odd), which was lovely and gave us the festive vibes.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Kiwi Experience tour

    December 26, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today we join the big green bus! What have we got ourselves into? Our tour guide Nancy (man) was giving out plenty of knowledge, hints and dad jokes. We stopped by an old colonial building for a quick brief before hitting the road in the "terrible" traffic. He clearly hasn't driven in England, there's hardly any cars on the road! Today's stops were hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove. The beach was busy as it's Boxing day, but it meant that people had already dug holes for the pools. The water was boiling hot and you have to wait for it to mix with the sea water to be able to sit in your homemade spa. The beach and Cathedral Cove were gorgeous. I wasn't expecting such blue sea.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Waitomo

    December 27, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today we made a slightly random stop at Karangahake gorge. We did a small walk through the forest along the old train line which was used for gold mining. Pretty area with a clear water river. The drive to Waitomo was super scenic. The only reason to go to Waitomo is to see the glowworms. We saw them rafting, which is actually just floating through a freezing cold dark set of caves on a rubber ring. The glowworms were everywhere, much better than I thought they would be.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Rotorua

    December 28, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After a couple of hours drive south we dropped in at Hobbiton, I didn't do the tour but we still saw the fields which look like the Shire and had a photo by the sign. The farmer who owns this land negotiated with the film company to build Hobbiton after tourists kept "discovering" location after the Lord of the Ring films and visited anyway. We explored Rotorua for the afternoon which is quaint and full of natural geothermal ponds and bubbling mud.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Maori village evening

    December 28, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Tonight we went to Tamaki Maori village for a culture show and dinner. We got picked up by a Maori bus driver who taught us some of the language and tried to teach us his name, which was made up of a mere 130 letters. On arrival there was an official welcome ceremony with males doing the haka and women singing. After which we went into a mock village of little huts and learnt about their traditional games, dancing, cooking and the haka. We had a demonstration of the cooking pit they use and then a singing and dance show. Finally, we got to enjoy dinner, slow cooked meats, oysters and prawns, home cooked bread and sticky toffee pudding and pavlova for dessert.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Wai-O-Tapu geothermal park

    December 29, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The thermal park was awesome. Firstly, we looked at the cultural centre which support the traditional Maori arts. Next up was cooking eggs in a thermal pool, which we then ate in front of the exploding geyser. Watching the hot water shoot out of the ground was incredible. Lastly, we went to see the Kiwi (the only ones of the trip). No photos allowed as the little fella are very shy and like to live in the dark.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Huka Falls & Lake Taupo

    December 29, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    On the way to Lake Taupo we stopped at the thundering Huka falls. You can walk over a short bridge and watch the water swirling and pounding below as it pours into the lake. The water is a spectacular turquoise and the colour stays all the way down the river. Lake Taupo itself is huge but on a clear day we could see the snow-capped mountain on the other side.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Lake Taupo hike and thermal pools

    December 30, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    One of the girls on the tour and I hiked to the summit of Mt Tauhara on the edge of Lake Taupo. We were meant to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing but it was closed due to bad weather. The hike was relatively easy but it was a lovely walk up the hillside and through the forests. The only downside was the complete white out at the top. Took a different route back down and ended up at the thermal pools. I didn't realise it would be so hot, and even had a hot waterfall. Loads of families down there enjoying the pool and floating along the river on inflatables. This was our final night of the tour and we had a group dinner and enjoyed the sunset over the lake.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Wellington

    December 31, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We took the overnight bus from Taupo to Wellington so we'd be here for New Year's Eve. Wellington is lovely, there's a huge harbour bay, the Te Papa museum which has a confetti art instillation which seemed a good NYE photo op. After several hours at the museum I took a takeaway lunch up to the botanical gardens. I took the iconic red tram up to the gardens and had my lunch overlooking the city. I walked around gardens which are huge and became a human sundial. On the way back down I stopped at several of the top architectural building including the parliamentary Hive building.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    New Year's Eve

    December 31, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    We spent NYE with a few of the people from the tour who had also come down to Wellington. We went down to harbour side where they had a "early" countdown with some bands for the kids first. We watched that then found a tap room which has outside seating and by pure chance a live singer. We spent the night listening to him and then went over to the waterside for the countdown fireworks. Slightly odd being some of the first people celebrating NYE, a whole 12 hours before London.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    New Year's Day & heading South

    January 1, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    Final morning in Wellington, so I quickly headed up to Mount Victoria lookout via some very steep residential roads. The views from the top provide the opposite views into the city from the Botanical gardens and away from Wellington. In the afternoon we got on the ferry across the Cook straits to the South Island. Landing in Picton we checked into a lovely little hostel and had a fish and chip dinner.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Pancake rocks, Punakaiki

    January 2, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    This morning we picked up our hire car (Beyoncé) and started our epic driving holiday. Getting used to an automatic was odd but luckily the town was quiet and then we hit straight roads. with no traffic. The scenery was amazing. We made our first stop at St Arnaud lake which, unexpectedly had giant eels in, apparently they can live to 100. Next up we stopped at the Westport seal colony before we reached the pancake rocks, so called because they look like pancakes stacked up. They also have blowholes where the sea blows skyward. We didn't hang around for long as it was raining.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Punakaiki to Franz Josef via Hokitika

    January 3, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We had a little exploration of the beach at Punakaiki before hitting the road to cute seaside town of Hokitika. The town is famous for its green gemstones and we looked in lots of jewellery stores after lunch on the beach. Continuing down we went to Okarito, which is a tiny hamlet which has a a kiwi protection area and Donovan’s Store, one of the oldest buildings on the West Coast.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Franz Josef & Lake Matheson

    January 4, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    We spent the morning exploring Franz Joesf, my first glacier! The glacier was far away from the viewing spot but you could still see the layers it's made of. The sign showing how much it had shrunk in 10 years was shocking. The walk to the glacier was through a giant riverbed with steep cliffs made up of all different layers of rock, similar to the pancake rocks. After lunch we went to the Lake Matherson, also known as the reflection lakes, but the reflections were poor the day we went. But the walk through them was pretty.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Driving the Haast Pass to Wanaka

    January 5, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Next day we drove to Wanaka via many stops. First stop of the day was a quick walk to see Thunder creek falls (in the rain) and then on to spectacular Blue pools. I'd seen the pictures but nothing prepared you for quite how blue the water is, even in the deep water you can see to the bottom. Next, we stopped at the far end of Wanaka lake where we had a windy panoramic view of the lake. We stopped for lunch at Lake Hawea, which again was an extraordinary colour. We found a little cafe to have lunch and an ice-cream overlooking the lake. Finally, we made it to Wanaka for photos of "that Wanaka tree".Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Roy's Peak

    January 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Roy's Peak is a famous hike in Wanaka and it didn't disappoint. The views were out of this world and I had perfect weather. The hike was pretty tough on the way up and when I got to the top at around 11am there was still ice at the top. In the afternoon we did the short drive to Queenstown.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Milford Sound journey

    January 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    We were the first people to be picked up at 6am which gave us great 2nd row seats on the bus. Milford Sound is a four hour drive each way and we had a specialist bus driver for the route who is trained to drive the narrow, windy roads with a minor risk avalanches (the risk used to be much higher before electronic monitoring). The driver stopped at some key view points on the route, some of which were also in Lord of the Rings. As you get closer, the mountainsides become full of waterfalls.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Milford Sound

    January 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    The boat trip around the sound was gorgeous, with towering mountains, countless waterfalls, including one the boat went right into so people could have a freezing shower and we saw seals. Unfortunately no dolphins.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Queenstown

    January 8, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Queenstown is a popular place for travellers and known for its adrenaline sports. The town is built around a bay in the lake and there's plenty of shops and restaurants. When we arrived in the evening on the 6th we had dinner with Tom who happened to be on holiday in NZ. I took a walk up to the Ben Lomond Scenic Reserve for the views over the lake. We also met Donny & Robyn from the tour and rode the skyline, which involves a cable car, a ski lift and then speeding down the hill a gondola.Read more

  • Juliet EdwardsSouth East Asia & New ZealandTraveler

    Queenstown to Mount Cook

    January 9, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We picked up a nice lady hitchhiker en route as she was also heading our way and dropped her at the quaintest petrol station you'd ever see. Firstly, though we stopped at Arrowtown which has a memorialised Chinese village, formed when the immigrants came for the gold rush. We stopped a couple more times at roadside viewpoints before reaching the colourful Lake Pukaki.Read more