Sandymount - Allan‘s Beach Lookout
March 14, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
I had arrived in Dunedin the previous day and really liked it! Especially the Otago Peninsula—countless scenic spots to take in the views and great opportunities for hikes. The drive there wasRead more
Invercargill - Was it worth it?
March 13, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Yesterday, Maddie finally had enough of New Zealand, traveling, and… could it be me? All I know is that she’s flying home, though with a heavy heart. (Probably because she misses me—nothing toRead more
Best Burger in the World?
March 10, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
After hiking, we had another long drive ahead of us to get back to Queenstown, where we were looking forward to trying the “World’s Best Burger”—at least according to the LA Times.
FergburgerRead more
Hooker Valley Hiking
March 10, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Since we had such an early start with skydiving, we still had time for a 10 km hike in Hooker Valley (get it out of your system in the comments if you must. :D).
Before we started the trail, we saw aRead more
Free Falling in Twizel
March 10, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
When we booked our slot for this, it seemed like a great idea. Minutes before, it still seemed like a great idea, but for some reason, my heart was beating a little faster than usual.
At long last,Read more
Lake Pukaki
March 9, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
In the morning, we met up with Andrew one last time before his flight the next day. He even got me a present. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up—it was a fridge magnet with the Scrabble letter V,Read more
Milford Sound
March 8, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
When it was time for our 2-hour cruise, we had to hurry, completing a 30-minute walk in just 15 minutes to arrive at the terminal on time.
The boat offered complimentary coffee and tea (though onlyRead more
Waterfalls Along the Road
March 8, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
Every time I think I can’t be impressed by another waterfall, I am proven wrong; they are all unique in their own way and worth seeing.
We visited two waterfalls: Marian Falls (shown in pictures 1Read more
Cascade Creek
March 7, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
Today, we spent most of the day driving from our campsite in Queenstown to our campsite in Cascade Creek, relatively close to Milford Sound.
We took a lovely walk in Cascade Creek and stumbled upon aRead more
That Wanaka Tree
March 6, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
It was a bit of a slow start today—we experienced the coldest night in the tent yet (it dropped to 7°C), so we needed a while to get going. A blanket, a sleeping bag liner, and a sleeping bag, plusRead more
Thunder Creek Falls
March 5, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
The last stop of the day was Thunder Creek Falls - a beautiful waterfall (I guess, all of them are).
We drove on to the campsite, but spent the evening at Andrew's hostel where we made pizza and cornRead more
A Waterfall in the Mountains
March 5, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Roaring Billy Falls was one stop along the way to Wanaka and a great opportunity to polish the skill of skipping stones. And, of course, to try to capture the falls on camera.
A few minutes behind theRead more
Lake Matheson, 2nd attempt
March 4, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
The first day with a bit of sunshine! We had almost forgotten what that felt like. It was still cloudy enough in the mountains to obscure a decent view of Lake Matheson, though.
Maddie and I hadRead more
Fox Glacier
March 3, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 12 °C
The third day in Fox Glacier. Maddie, Andrew (whom we met at the hostel in Picton), and I had planned to do the two-day Copland hike—first yesterday, then today. We postponed it to today because ofRead more
Tatare Tunnels
March 1, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Our last stop of the day was the Tatare Tunnels. Originally constructed in 1897 to supply water for gold mining operations along the Waiho River, these 500-meter tunnels are now open for adventurousRead more
Hokitika Gorge
March 1, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Hokitika Gorge has strikingly turquoise water due to the presence of glacial flour. Maddie considered going for a swim countless times. However, as another tourist pointed out, ‘blue’ usuallyRead more
Another Cave and Pancake Rocks
March 1, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
A long day awaited us in rainy, foggy weather (of course, we didn’t manage everything we had planned—thankfully, I might add…). Our first stop was a cave near Pancake Rocks, and on our wayRead more
Maruia Falls
February 28, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
We had a rather late start to the day and enjoyed our campsite for quite a while. Then I heard it—bing, bing, bing. I peeked outside the kitchen to investigate. I engaged people in conversation andRead more
Split Apple Rock
February 27, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We enjoyed a hot shower at the kayak rental. Once I was done, I went to the car and waited for Maddie. And waited. Just as I decided to go look for her, I saw her chatting with the rental staff andRead more
Lagoons, Seals and Starfish
February 27, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
We made good use of the calm waters early in the morning and prepared to go past our original campsite, up Torrent River into the lagoons. The waters had been calm before, but in the lagoon, there wasRead more
The Next Day: Te Pukatea Bay
February 27, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
The next morning couldn’t have been much better: calm waters!! That was all we wanted.
We also had countless Weka friends at our campsite. At first, we had encountered them on Rotoroa Island andRead more
Stillwell Bay and “Type 2 Kind of Fun“
February 26, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Straight across from the beach at Adele Island, there was a beach with archways and coves on the mainland we wanted to see. Another 20 minutes of exploration and we went on to make it to our campsite,Read more
Adele Island
February 26, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
An hour later, we arrived at Adele Island - a bird sanctuary. We had our lunch there and encountered an adorable little bird! We‘re not quite sure what kind of bird it is, but the little fellaRead more
Fisherman Island
February 26, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Our first stop was Fisherman Island. It looks so tropical there! The water is pristine and has a gradient of 50 shades of turquoise. We had such fun watching little hermit crabs look for bigger shellsRead more
2-Day Kayak Tour - Abel Tasman
Feb 26–27, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
I was wondering why Maddie was in such a hurry early in the morning as we were about to leave our campsite for the kayak rental—only a minute away. Turns out, we didn’t have to be there at 8:45Read more



























































































































































































