Aboyne
December 22, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Home for Christmas! This is the start of our travels, Ben in Aboyne, Christine in Kirkwall. It's been a busy December packing up a flat, moving possessions, and preparing bikes and travel bags.
ARead more
Arrival in Auckland
January 3, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Winter flying in Europe never seems to be trouble free....
We've arrived in Auckland a day later than anticipated but with very little trouble once we actually left Scotland! It's now the end of ourRead more
First day on the bikes
January 5, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
Today we got our first taste of Kiwi biking at Hunua Range south of Auckland. Blue skies, stunning views and jungle forest and trails.
Then back to Auckland to relax in the pool and hot tub with aRead more
I'm on a boat!
January 7, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Yesterday I drove a boat, not a big boat, but still a boat. It was also my first time fishing. We didn't catch anything, despite the sea birds giving us their best hints, but we had a couple of coldRead more
Maraetai
January 13, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
Maraetai is a small beach town east of Auckland and is home to the best MTB trails local to Howick! On Friday we spent a morning riding some of the best trails in the area, then cooled down with aRead more
Introducing Bobby (Jean) the Bongo
January 16, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
It's been a hectic week and we're only just catching up! It's also been an exciting week and we would like to introduce the third member of our traveling party, Bobby Jean. She's a last minute standRead more
Waihi Beach
January 17, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
My cousin Izzy currently lives and works in Waihi. The first stop on our road trip would be to visit her before she leaves next month to study in Canada. It was also a great excuse to visit WaihiRead more
Whakarewarewa (Rotorua)
January 18, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Impromptu stop at Whakarewarewa Forest (Whaka-where-are-we) in Rotorua and it certainly did not disappoint, sunshine and fantastic trails. We will definitely be back. After riding we continued ourRead more
To the south!
January 19, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Crossing the Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton. Bit of a bumpy journey but some good views especially coming into Picton Sound in the South Island.
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Nelson
January 20, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 27 °C
Spent the day exploring Codger's Trails in Nelson. Rode some absolutely fantastic tracks with beautifully built berms and jumps. We hit up Turners, Top Dog, Firball and some others. Firball was a mintRead more
The Old Ghost Road - Day 1
January 24, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 9 °C
We made it! 2 days of mountain biking - 85km of singletrack - 2500m of climbing and descending. The Old Ghost Road is a trail crossing the wilderness of New Zealand's west coast. It was a massiveRead more
The Old Ghost Road - Day 2
January 25, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
After a sleepless night we held our nerve and waited for the weather to pass to start the big second day. Prayers were answered and in a matter of seconds the valley went from white out to cloudsRead more
Rainy West Coast (Scotland or NZ?)
January 26, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
After the Old Ghost Road we headed down the West Coast headed eventually for Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers.
The weather felt very Scottish. Had a short stop to check out the Pancake Rocks andRead more
Arthur's Pass
January 27, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Upon inspecting the weather forecast we decided we'd had enough of the rain and made an excellent decision to abandon our plan of heading down the West Coast to the glaciers and Queenstown and set offRead more
Christchurch
January 28, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Spent the day discovering the beautiful yet slightly eerie city of Christchurch.
We visited Quake City, a fascinating and moving museum documenting the history of the 2010 and 2011 CanterburyRead more
Mt. Cook & the Plains of Rohan
February 1, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
After a couple of days in the Christchurch adventure park and lots of vertical descent racked up on the bikes we headed off in search of the Southern Lakes. En route we passed Lake Tekapo with it'sRead more
Wanaka
February 2, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
Wanaka brought us beautiful sunshine and lake views. Some down time whilst Ben's bike went to the bike doctor and we were ready to ride again at Sticky Forest in the evening. Lots of short but sweetRead more
Cardrona
February 3, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Today we left Wanaka and continued our journey to Queenstown. We stopped at Cardrona Mountain Resort, high above the pass between the two towns. Cardrona caters to us mountain bikers in the summerandRead more
Queenstown
February 4, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
We made it! This evening we arrived in Queenstown after a couple of weeks of epic journeying. This will be our base for the next couple of weeks as we explore the south and sample all the local bikingRead more
Milford Sound
February 8, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Milford Sound, actually a Fjord carved by a glacier is an incredible sight to behold! We enjoyed a peaceful two hour evening cruise through the fjord and were blown away by the jagged mountains, blueRead more
A few snaps from Queenstown
February 10, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
We had an absolutely smashing time in Queenstown hitting up Skyline Bike Park most days, bit of riding at 7 mile forest, Moke Lake and Coronet Peak too.
Also spent a lot of time eating burgers andRead more
Rude Rock, Skipper's and Zoot (Coronet)
February 11, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
Found some spectacular riding up Coronet Peak ski fields. We both declared Rude Rock one of the best trails we've ever ridden. Also loved Zoot and Pack, Track and Sack and Skipper's. Need to come backRead more
Paragliding from the Coronet Peak
February 17, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Started the day by flying off the Coronet Peak! My first time paragliding and what a wonderful experience. Perfect conditions without a cloud in the sky, I got the most spectacular view over theRead more
Dunedin
February 22, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
Stopped in at Dunedin on our way back up to Christchurch.
Dunedin is the Scotland of New Zealand sharing many street names with Edinburgh and lots of Scottish references including a Robbie BurnsRead more
TransNZ Enduro - Days 1 and 2
February 27, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
This week we are helping out with the TransNZ Enduro, a 5-day epic mountain bike race covering some of the best riding spots on the South Island. We arrived on Friday afternoon to get to know theRead more












































































































