Aboyne

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.
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Arrival in Auckland

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 ourLeggi altro
First day on the bikes

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 aLeggi altro
I'm on a boat!

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 coldLeggi altro
Maraetai

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 aLeggi altro
Introducing Bobby (Jean) the Bongo

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 standLeggi altro
Waihi Beach

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 WaihiLeggi altro
Whakarewarewa (Rotorua)

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 ourLeggi altro
To the south!

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.
C.
Nelson

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 mintLeggi altro
The Old Ghost Road - Day 1

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 massiveLeggi altro
The Old Ghost Road - Day 2

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 cloudsLeggi altro
Rainy West Coast (Scotland or NZ?)

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 andLeggi altro
Arthur's Pass

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 offLeggi altro
Christchurch

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 CanterburyLeggi altro
Mt. Cook & the Plains of Rohan

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'sLeggi altro
Wanaka

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 sweetLeggi altro
Cardrona

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 summerandLeggi altro
Queenstown

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 bikingLeggi altro
Milford Sound

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, blueLeggi altro
A few snaps from Queenstown

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 andLeggi altro
Rude Rock, Skipper's and Zoot (Coronet)

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 backLeggi altro
Paragliding from the Coronet Peak

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 theLeggi altro
Dunedin

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 BurnsLeggi altro
TransNZ Enduro - Days 1 and 2

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 theLeggi altro