Reset search
Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth
  • Isi Schwingen
  • Jake Searle
  • Isi Schwingen
  • Jake Searle

Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

New Zealand Read more
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
InsightsCalendarPhotos
  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Dinners with Jörg

    January 3, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Dinners at our wwoofing place with Jörg were always amazing. We have never eaten so much fancy food EVER. 5* Restaurant worthy. It'll be hard to go back to van life and van meals again!
    On the pictures are pasties made by Jake, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Gateau) made by Jörg and Nadine and Apple Strudel made by Isi.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Bush Creek

    January 4, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The Bush Creek Walk in Arrowtown was not quite what we expected. We weren't prepared for all the river crossings we had to do but managed to cross on four different occasions until we got to a bit where we couldn't cross the river anymore. Although we had to turn around it was a fun walk.
    Can you find the goat in the 5th picture? 🐐    Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Queenstown with Friends

    January 9, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Couple of pictures from Queenstown. We saw Jacqui and Sandy at the Lodge Bar for a drink, had a Fergburger at the waterfront with Aya and Nori and did our first parkrun of the year.

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Working for Jörg

    January 10, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Here are a few pictures of our wwoofing experience at Jörg's place and his distillery Broken Heart Spirits.
    Jake was doing quite a bit of plumbing work in and around the house and the distillery. Isi was working in the garden a lot pruning roses, weeding and planting sunflowers. Sometimes we also helped out in the distillery; bottling gin, checking bottles or even cutting loads of rhubarb for the rhubarb gin.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Jörg's Pets

    January 12, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Couple of pictures of Mocha the cat, a random hedgehog we found and Theodore and Doris the pet ducks.
    Jörg has another cat, popcorn, but unlike her brother she's very shy and doesn't like her picture being taken.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Pizza Night

    January 14, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Pizza night at our wwoofing place with Jörg, Nadine, her kids Arianna and Logan, Aya and Nori 🍕
    While we all enjoyed our pizzas Mocha, the cat, was watching from the roof.

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Arrow River

    January 15, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Jörg's daugther Anna took us down to a "secret" swimming spot on the Arrow River. It wasn't that secret but definitely beautiful. We went there quite a few times as it's a perfect spot to go for a swim after a day of work in the sun. It's even got a small river rapid.Read more

    See translation
  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Queenstown Hill I

    January 17, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    We hiked up Queenstown Hill. On the way to the summit we passed a sculpture called Basket of Dreams. Once at the top we had amazing views over Queenstown, the Wakatipu Basin, the Remarkables and the surrounding mountains.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Queenstown Hill II

    January 20, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    Three days after we hiked up Queenstown Hill we did it again. The morning of the second hike we woke up to snow on top of the mountains. We thought it was summer?! 🤔
    The mountains looked real pretty with a snowy top though 🏔️Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Ben Nevis

    January 21, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    A couple of pictures from Ben Nevis where we did our second bungy jump. The surroundings of the jump were so beautiful they deserved their own post 😁

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth
    2

    Nevis Bungy Isi

    January 21, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Woooooo 🐥 we did it again!
    The Ben Nevis Bungy Jump is NZ's highest bungy jump. It's 134 m high. The free fall lasts 6-8 seconds.
    It was so much fun! I was quite nervous standing at the edge but it was so good and definitely worth it.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Gorge Road Main Wall

    January 22, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We climbed at the Crag on Gorge Road again. This time we went all the way up to the Main Wall. It's quite a steep walk but well worth it. There were some really fun routes and awesome views up here.

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Cromwell

    January 23, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We drove from Arrowtown to Cromwell to see our friends Philipp and Nenna for the day. We got some beer and took them to the river. Afterwards we all briefly saw our friend Bastian and then got curry. While we waited for our food we had a look at possibly Cromwells only attraction, the big fruit sculpture.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Coronet Peak Mountain Biking

    January 24, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    The trails on Coronet Peak have been on Jake's bucket list of trails to ride since the Anthill film Follow Me featured two of his favourite riders, Gee Atherton and the late great Chainsaw or Steve Smith riding the trails in and around Queenstown. I can definitely say that the trails not only live up to the expectations I had for them but also blow them clear out of the water! Fantastic trails.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Doubtful Sound - Day 1

    January 27, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    We did an overnight tour on the MS Fjordland Navigator in the Doubtful Sound.
    We started in Manapouri where we took a boat across Lake Manapouri. From there a bus took us over the Wilmot Pass to our overnight cruise ship.
    It was a rainy day which doesn't sound great at the start but made for some amazing waterfalls in the sounds. Most of the waterfalls you can see in the pictures are only temporary ones and wouldn't have been there without the rain.
    The whole tour was really amazing with lots of beautiful views, amazing food and nice people like Kelcie, Anna and Matt.    Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Doubtful Sound - Kayaking

    January 27, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    As the ship continued up the Sound the weather started to clear up. We went all the way to the Nee Islets at the end of the Sound where we saw some seals hanging out on rocks. We then turned around and went into the Bradshaw Sound where we were lucky enough to meet a pod of dolphins. 🐬
    We then continued on to Precipice Cove where we dropped anchor for the night and then took the kayaks out for a paddle. It was really cool to explore the Sounds that way.
    After the kayaking we went for a polar plunge. We jumped off the boat into the 9.5°C cold water. Refreshing! ❄️
    Afterwards we had dinner from a really good buffet and an interesting presentation about the sounds.    Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Doubtful Sound - Day 2

    January 28, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    We had an early start the next day. After we got woken up around 6.15am we had breakfast and sailed towards Hall Arm. There we stopped and the engine and generator were turned off. It was so quiet and still and really amazing to just listen to the natural sounds around you.
    From there we went back to Deep Cove and then all the way back to Manapouri.
    It was an amazing cruise and we would totally recommend doing it!    Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Gertrude Saddle

    January 29, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    The hike up to Gertrude Saddle is said to be the hardest day hike in NZ. It's about 12km there and back, with some very steep rock slabs that are treacherous in the rain and an elevation of 650m. We however had perfect weather conditions and thought it probably one of the best hikes we have done since we arrived in New Zealand.
    The start of the track winds through the Gertrude Valley and had not one but two river crossings. The water was icy cold! After that it got a bit steeper and more rocky. At the end of the valley the path started to wind up the steep side of the mountain picking our own paths between the trail markers. We hiked and scrambled over rocks and then had to go up granite rock slabs. The hike took us up past the snow line and we even got to make some snowballs. Just before the summit we stopped at the Black Lake. The view at the top was amazing and well worth the hike. You can even see the Milford Sound in the distance.    Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Sawpit Gully

    January 31, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After our trip to Fjordland we stopped past Jörg's again where we stayed for another three nights. It was really lovely to see everyone again.
    On Sunday we decided to go into Arrowtown and do the Sawpit Gully Track. It was a nice 3 hour loop with a little detour for a picture of a German up on German Hill, a geocache and beautiful views over Arrowtown, the Arrow River and Lake Hayes.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Mueller Hut Track I

    February 3, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    The Mueller Hut is an overnight hut in the Mount Cook area. We decided to do the track as a one day hike and it took us just under 6 hours. The first half of the track goes up to the Sealy Tarns viewpoint. This part of the track was rather difficult as it only consisted of steep stairs (round about 2000 steps). After a nice break enjoying the view we headed up the second half of the Mueller Hut track. This part of the track was quite steep as well but more fun. When we first arrived at the ridge line we were in awe with the stunning views.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Mueller Hut Track II

    February 3, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    After getting to the ridge line of Mount Sealy it was only another 15-20 minute walk to the Mueller Hut. We passed quite a few snow patches and even had to walk through a few. At the Hut we enjoyed our lunch and even saw an avalanche (you can see it on the last picture). Whilst we were enjoying our lunch the mountains were alive with the sound of falling snow. It starts as a small rumble and develops into a deafening cacophony of noise only to find out that what seems a small amount of snow has moved.Read more

  • Jake and Isi in Middle-Earth

    Omarama Clay Cliffs

    February 4, 2021 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    On our way from Mount Cook back to Wanaka we stopped in Omarama to visit the Paritea Clay Cliffs. The Cliffs were created out of layers of silt and gravel deposited by ancient glaciers around 20 million years ago. These layers were compressed and then up-lifted by geological activity in the area. As the high points began to be eroded pinnacles were left behind.Read more

  • 2026© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice