Rororua is on New Zealand’s North Island, and is just off the aptly named Thermal Explorer Highway. It’s known for its many Maori attractions and the variety of visible geothermal activity. In fact, before you even enter Rotorua, you can smell the “rotten egg” sulfur gases. While the Maori attractions are highly commercialized, we had […]
What else can you do with a boogie board in New Zealand? Head to the Te Paki sand dunes on your way to Cape Reinga for some sandboarding fun down the steep slopes. If you have your own board, you can start the arduous climb right away. Otherwise, you’ll have to rent one on your […]
Seeing as though New Zealand is known as the adventure capital of the world, I knew I had to try some sort of extreme sport while we were traveling here. I’ve always wanted to skydive, but being such an expensive activity back home in the USA, I’d never gotten around to trying it. I decided […]
When I first learned about harvesting jobs in New Zealand it seemed like an ideal, perhaps even romantic, way to earn money. I envisioned long days in the sun picking plump fruit while birds sang the perfect soundtrack. There are days when this happens. I’ve picked grapes surrounded by majestic cliffs or seaside vistas. But […]
Rere Falls is a naturally formed rock water slide located about 50 min. from Gisborne. The Wharekopae river flows down a rock face and into a nice swimming hole at the bottom. You can use tubes, boogie boards or anything else you can get your hands on to slide down. If you’re feeling brave you […]
We began to smell smoke around lunchtime while we were going about our daily work on the vineyard. It seemed strange for someone to be burning brush on such a windy day, but we didn’t think much of it at the time. In fact, it almost had that comforting camp fire smell. We had no […]
Stony Batter on Waiheke Island, New Zealand, is an old WWII gun emplacement designed to defend Auckland from the Japanese. The site contains a maze of underground tunnels that linked the gun turrets on the surrounding hills. While the tunnels themselves aren’t overly exciting, history and WWII buffs will find it interesting, and children will […]
These days, no matter where you travel you are likely to see the same old stale fast food chains lining every main drag of most cities. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to escape the looming neon glow of McDonald’s, KFC and Dunkin Donuts. If you’re one of those people who just can’t live without your […]
As you travel to other places, you often discover that the locals have a few words and definitions of their own. New Zealand is no different. Much of the local vocabulary seems to have roots in the country’s British background and laid-back surfer culture. Here’s a few samplings of the local lingo… Expressions: “Sweet As, […]
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