Reset search
South Pacific & Asia
  • Kyran Klazek-Schryer
  • Kyran Klazek-Schryer

South Pacific & Asia

A 144-day adventure by Kyran Read more
+3
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
Newest first
  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler
    111

    Milford Sound Cruise!

    February 7, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Once you drive 4h from Queenstown to Milford Sound, then you get on a boat for a cruise around the sound! Nice commentary from the captain and up one side and down the other! Beautiful views and some seals and waterfalls as well! Definitely a must see of Southern New Zealand!

    Apparently it should be called Milford Fjord because it was carved out by glaciers. You can see the plateaus along the cliff sides from the five different glacial periods. When it rains there are upwards of 10,000 waterfalls that form along the cliff sides. One of the points we passed where a bunch of seals hang out is the windiest point in all of Fiordland National Park. The lines of missing trees are from ‘tree avalanches’ where an anchor tree falls from the cliff side and pulls down a bunch of trees with it. They take about 200 years to regrow! Can you spot the rock formation of the two kissing turtles?

    There are so many photos to share but I can only add 20! It was so spectacular    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Mt. Crichton Loop Track

    February 8, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Took advance of having sierras car and drive to a hike! First real hike of the trip, a good 9ish km. Very much like Canada for parts of it. Very interesting history with the sluicing of a whole canyon for gold mining, and a restored gold rush era hut, and some nice views of waterfalls and mountains. The sluiced canyon was created by pressurized water so gold could be found. Totally changed the landscape and the trees are just starting to reclaim it

    Tried filming some documentary like hiking shots haha

    https://strava.app.link/3wxHzxk2ZQb    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Drive to Glenorchy

    February 8, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Drove to the end of Lake Wakatipu and back, very beautiful scenic drive, with twisty windy narrow New Zealand roads! Definitely getting used to driving on the left side after this haha

    Crazy interesting scenery, the mountains are very much like the highlands of Scotland, but with a subtle Polynesian touch in the flora. Truly spectacular scenery, can’t really take pictures while driving though!

    Had a walk around glenorchy and a little snack (CA$20 for that little dish of pork belly 😳 it was yummy tho) and drove back into Queenstown!

    Can definitely see why lord of the rings was filmed here

    Nice busker playing piano in a sunset concert in Queenstown, he brought the piano out and tuned and everything before starting at 8:30    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler
    2

    Skydive!!

    February 9, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    When in Rome! I figured New Zealand, land of the adrenaline sports, was the place to go skydiving. And for only CA$200! Got up early and drove to Wanaka, a nearby town. Booked the 1:15 jump but due to weather and not enough people to run that flight, they rebooked me for 10:15am!
    Super fun experience! Tandem jump from 9000ft with Skydive Wanaka! Fun little small plane, everyone sits with their tandem jumper and jumps out the window one after the other. We jumped first, and then there was quite a break before the others jumped due to cloud cover and visibility.
    Ends up feeling more like just a lot of wind than actual free fall, other than right when you jump out of the plane, because there’s no close reference points so it’s hard to tell how fast you’re going. Quite relaxing once you’re falling haha, I feel like something like bungee jumping would be more adrenaline. Super fun tho! Definitely want to do it again now that I know what it’s like so I can be more present and maybe jump from higher!

    Paid almost as much for the photos as I did for the jump but you can’t skydive and not have any proof ;)

    More photos and the full video here!
    https://exvid.io/fPFCR    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Arrowtown

    February 9, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Visited historic Arrowtown on the way back from skydiving. Lots of gold mining history in this area, the Otago province, and learned all about it at the Lakes District Museum, which was really well done! Cute historic Main Street with old shop facades, great museum, historic gaol, and Chinese miners settlement! Miners came from all over once gold was discovered and created an economic boom. But once the easy-to-find gold was depleted, the European miners left, so the provincial government invited Chinese miners to come, who were met with a lot of racism and ostracism. The opposition to inviting them, of which there was lots, was countered by the argument "increase in population, even were it in the shape of chimpanzees, would be preferable to no population at all." (From an 1867 newspaper). So the Chinese miners mostly stuck to themselves, creating a settlement just outside of the main Arrowtown.Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Session in Queenstown!

    February 9, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    First session of the trip! The weekly session in Queenstown happens Sunday evenings at Pog Mahones, one of the Irish pubs. Run by four people, they were the only ones playing but were happy to have me join in! The pochette was a hit but didn’t make much noise so ended up trading around fiddles as they had an extra one. They wanted me to play lots of Canadian tunes so I ended up playing quite a bit on my own but lots of tunes together too. And free drinks and food! Erica, one of the fiddle players from Ireland, gave me a contact for sessions in Christchurch, but I didn’t end up having time for another while I was thereRead more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Campervan Relocation

    February 10, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Picking up a camper van that needs relocating from Queenstown to Christchurch ended up being cheaper than booking a bus! And accommodation for a night, and driving flexibility! For only NZ$1 a day (+ a NZ$50 booking fee, NZ$30/day insurance, and ~NZ$30 in gas after reimbursements) got to rent a van that’s been converted into a camper for two days one night! Booked it through imoova.com, bussed out and picked it up from the Jucy location near the airport and had my own little vehicle! This company rents out these bright green and purple campervans all throughout the country, they’re everywhere and when you’re driving one you’ll always wave at other ones you see passing by. Drove out to a free campsite, about 2.5-3h away, and checked it out before heading up to mt cook to do a quick hike before the sunset. Drove back to the site in the dark to sleep, and continued on my drive the next day, passing by Lake Tekapo, with about 3.5h to Christchurch!Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler
    11Mount Cook!11

    Hooker Valley Track

    February 10, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Hiked a little bit of the hooker valley track to see Mount Cook, tallest in NZ, in all its glory. Beautiful views of the glaciers. Made a quick dinner on the side of the road and back to the campsite to sleep!

    https://strava.app.link/i6hiEIc2ZQb    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler
    11

    Lake Poaka Campsite

    Feb 10–11, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    My home for the night, free campsite with toilets, found via the CamperMate app, which is like their version of iOverlander here. Started raining after I got parked for the night, but nice to fall asleep to the sound of rain in my own space, quite comfy too! All the bedding and linen provided by Jucy. Cloudy and cold in the morning, but got up nice and early to do dishes, pack up the bed and get out to make the drive to drop it off in ChCh by 3pm. Was driving out by 10am!Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Drive to ChCh and Dropoff

    February 11, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Drove the ~3.5h to Christchurch, stopped at Lake Tekapo on the way. Supposed to be really nice but seemed just like a lake to me lol. Stopped for gas (get NZ$100 refund) and made it to the drop off location by 3:30!
    The roads are so thin and twisty windy here, barely any straight passages. There’s also never any passing lanes which makes it really tough if you’re stuck behind a slow vehicle. But also the speed limits are really high, 100km/h on these thin roads (never 90, always 100 or 80), and so much roadkill! Especially down south near Queenstown, would pass a dead animal on the road probably about every kilometre on average!    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler
    1

    LyLo Christchurch

    Feb 11–12, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Was a bit peeved cause the cheap accommodation I was planning on booking for tonight was sold out (even though it was available at midnight the night before 😕). But it worked out cause the next cheapest (still not that cheap) place was this Pod Hotel near the airport where I dropped off the car. Super nice, with an awesome comfy hangout area and kitchen with so much free food that passing travellers had left. So basically ate for free here. And then I ended up finding that the cheap place was even cheaper if you booked directly though their website so I did that for the next couple nights. Hung out here for a bit in the morning, getting things organized and posting to FindPenguins. Super nice area, and they leave the door open so if you ever have a layover in CHC and need a free place to hang out you can totally sneak in here haha

    (+ the surprise card Sophie hid in my backpack that I just found today ❤️)    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    International Antarctic Centre

    February 12, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    After a relaxing chill morning at the LyLo, walked next door to check out the Antarctic Centre! 🇦🇶
    It’s near the airport because this is where all the planes depart heading for Antarctica. NZ is one of the main connectors to the continent, with Italian South Korean and American scientists using these facilities. One of the planes was just about to depart as I got there!

    The exhibit was fantastic! A bit pricey but I also paid NZ$5 extra for a Hägglund obstacle course ride! The Hägglund is a Swedish vehicle designed for the military which can go over snow and ice and crevasses and up a 45° incline. Got a front row seat as the Hägglund copilot! And the exhibit had so many cool things including a cold Antarctic room, blue penguins, a 4D movie experience and huskies!
    The cold storm room was -8°C, we put on down jackets and there was snow inside! I finally got my winter snow, even though I missed the Victoria snowfall haha. An “Antarctic Storm” happens every 45min where the fans blow and it gets dark and the windchill gets down to -18°, was pretty cold in just shorts but without the wind it was quite comfortable!
    Made it just in time for the penguin feeding! They are a sanctuary for Little Blue Penguins, the smallest type of penguin in the world! The birds here are ones that would not survive out in the wild, with many different disabilities including amputated feet, blind in one eye, etc. they’re all named and have personalities and are so cute! The lady feeding them and explaining it was very informative.
    After that, saw the huskies who had just come back from a walk and so were quite tired, and then the 4D movie which was a voyage to Antarctica in 3D with some water and seats rocking and snow from the ceiling haha
    Very cool experience and definitely recommend for anyone stopping in ChCh!    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Bealey Quarter

    Feb 12–14, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Took the bus into town (almost double the price paying in cash! 😳) and checked into the cheap hostel, only NZ$25 a night! Here for two nights, which gives me a full day to explore Christchurch. Interesting vibes here, the bed is comfy but the kitchen is tiny and so busy and messy. And it’s all Germans. Like gotta be 80% or 90% Germans. Met a nice group of French girls who are travelling and working around New Zealand for a few months tho!Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Quake City

    February 13, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Spent the day walking around Christchurch, seeing the different tourist attractions. Very well done museum about the earthquakes that have struck Christchurch. A big one in in 2010, and a fatal one in 2011 which killed quite a few people and decimated a lot of the Christchurch area. Videos and eyewitness recollections, explanations on liquefaction, artefacts from fallen buildings, info about rescue efforts and the global response to help ChCh. Very well done and informative.
    The liquefaction that occurred is due to the high groundwater level and size of the sediment in the ground. The shaking basically turned the ground into liquid, like what happens when you stomp on a wet beach, and so buildings sunk into the ground and telephone poles tipped over, and afterwards there was silt everywhere that needed to be cleaned up    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Canterbury Museum Pop-up

    February 13, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The actually Canterbury museum, the main museum of ChCh, is under renovation rn so they have this free pop up, with some of the highlights of the museum’s collection, and this super cool temporary exhibit by two Māori artists. It was basically a whole crocheted building with different almost totems of figures in Māori culture, all crocheted in neon yarn. You had to take your shoes off to walk around and there was a soundtrack playing. When the soundtrack ended, the yarn was lit up in blacklights to be super vibrant. There was also a box where you could write down wishes for the future, to all be burned in a ceremonyRead more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Walking around the Red Zone

    February 13, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    This ‘Red Zone’ was a residential area deemed unliveable after the 2011 earthquake due to the liquefaction. The ground was no longer stable and all of the existing infrastructure had sunk into the ground too much, including tilted telephone poles which you can still see. All the buildings were removed but the streets and signs are still there. It’s been turned into a park with some foot paths, but so weird to have this abandoned neighbourhood basically right in the middle of the city

    https://strava.app.link/IrIo2tNg0Qb    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Bus up to Nelson

    February 14, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Caught the Intercity bus up to Nelson, which left at 7:30am 😳 I bought a flexipass for the intercity bus system, so I have 30h of travel available all throughout the country, for CA$230. The bus departed from downtown ChCh (caught a city bus to dt), and stopped along the way for half an hour in Kaikōura where you can apparently go swimming with the dolphins. I bought a shirt here cause I needed an extra one and the gift shop was having a major sale. Then transferred busses in Blenheim and got to Nelson where Andy picked me up and drove me to their home in Richmond, a suburb of Nelson.
    Hard to nap much cause the roads are so twisty windy here but got a bit of shuteye! And ran into a Japanese guy who I met in Queenstown who happened to be on the same bus!
    So many one lane bridges on major roads here too!    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Andy’s House

    Feb 14–19, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Staying at Andy Pettitt’s house for free for a few nights! He stayed at our place in TBay while biking across Canada:)
    Cosy little house in Richmond, a suburb of Nelson, with his partner Michelle and dog Molly (who caught a mouse in the house today!) Yummy home
    Cooked meals and a room to myself, who could ask for more! Lovely people to stay with :)    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Finally a Lazy Day

    February 15, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Did almost nothing today, which was so nice. Caught up on Find Penguins, called mom, called Sophie, watched some tv while I ate dinner. It’s tough to find relaxing time while travelling, you really have to carve it out specificallyRead more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler
    111

    Silvan Forest Mountain Bike

    February 16, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Got out to do a mountain bike with Andy, who is a very avid cyclist! Left the house around 10:30am, to bike up Silvan Forest, which is a privately owned property that’s been turned into a community mountain bike park. It’s all on a big hill that overlooks Nelson and Richmond, so you have to bike up to come down!
    Having not biked in a very long time, the bike up was a slog, had to take many many breaks and felt like passing out near the beginning (which thankfully passed after a power bar and some water). But finally made it to the top, after over 500m of elevation gain! Half way up, there’s a nice bandshell where concerts happen through the year (people are shuttled up for these, rather than trekking up the mountain lol).
    After getting to the top (or near it) we crossed over into Kingsland Forest Park, which is also a downhill mountain biking park. Rode the “Escalator” track all the way down to where it ends, closer to Andy’s house.
    So fun to be out mountain biking again!! The climb was totally worth it for the ride down, with lots of twists and turns and catching some air on the mini jumps and bumps! Just takes some getting used to, having the handbrakes switched around, UK-style!

    https://strava.app.link/D7ou2A8FbRb

    Did a little grocery shop after at a little farmers market/grocer, where I got a yellow watermelon, a regular watermelon, a cantaloupe, four oranges, a cucumber and three cobs of corn, for just over NZ$11!!    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler
    3

    Nelson Classic Car Museum

    February 17, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Took today to explore around Nelson on the E-Bike that Andy’s partner lent me!
    First stop was the Classic Car Museum, with over 100 restored cars, dating back to the 1910s!!
    Super cool to learn about all the history and see the cars up close! You could even sit in five of them.

    https://strava.app.link/MjGAA9aGbRb    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Suter Art Gallery & Queen’s Garden

    February 17, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Next up was biking all the way into downtown to visit the free Suter Art Gallery. Small gallery with some changing exhibits but they had a cool textile exhibit and one with the theme of hands. Just beside the museum is a nice little garden, with lots of trees from New Zealand and different parts of the world including a California redwood! Had a little lunch here, and passed by Fiddler’s Alley (which had no fiddle memorabilia whatsoever😕)

    https://strava.app.link/MjGAA9aGbRb    Read more

  • Kyran Klazek-SchryerSouth Pacific & AsiaTraveler

    Christ Chruch Cathedral

    February 17, 2025 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Biked to Nelson’s very own Christ Church Cathedral, which was one of the first buildings in Nelson. A surprisingly non-ornate church, but imposing in the rain on a hill looking over the city. There was an organist inside clearly rehearsing for a later performance lol

    By the time I left, it was pouring, time to bike through the rain!    Read more

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