New Zealand in a Nutshell

I arrived in Tasmania late last night and I have to say that I am very happy to be back in Australia! I enjoyed my month in beautiful New Zealand, but I left the country feeling completely exhausted! I have done more hiking, climbing, and extreme sports in the past few weeks than I have […]

Abel Tasman National Park

Nicole and I spent the weekend at Abel Tasman National Park, located on the Northwest coast of the South Island. I met Nicole a few months ago when she came to visit Lauren in Sydney. Lauren and Nicole went to high school together in Tampa, Florida. Nicole has been living and working in Christchurch, New […]

Tongariro Crossing

I arrived at Lake Taupo and decided to tackle what would be the longest day hike I have ever done. I had heard many people rave about the Tongariro Crossing hike which is considered New Zealand’s best one day alpine hike and is also considered very challenging. The hike is 18.5km (11 miles) through scenic […]

Black water rafting with glow-worms

I took a bus from Rotorua to Waitoma and met two other Californians on the bus! I am still in shock at how small the world is after meeting Charlotte who literally was my neighbor in San Francisco! She lived on top of the Phone Booth Bar on South Van Ness when I lived right […]

Who farted? … Rotorua

You know you have arrived in Rotorua when you breath in the sulphur-rich air. Rotorua is one of New Zealand’s thermal areas with spurting geysers, steaming hot springs and bubbling mud pools. I could hardly stand the smell and got a bad headache the first day! I went “zorbing” which involved climbing into a large […]

Queentown & Milford Sound

Queensland is New Zealand’s adrenaline-activity capital, there are many bungy-jumping, caving, rafting, sledging, jet-boating, skiing, skydiving, and hang-gliding operations all ready to give you the thrill of a lifetime. If you’re not the type to throw yourself off a bridge or plane, the scenery surrounding the city will certainly wow you. Surrounded by Lake Wakatipu […]

Embrace the Fear … SKY DIVING!!!

I must not fear, fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there […]

One of those days…

Wednesday was just one of those days… I blame my lack of sleep from the night before on most of it, but it was just one of those annoying days when everything was way harder than it should be! I got back from hiking the glacier and was overjoyed to realize that I had the […]

Franz Joseph Glacier Climb

The Franz Joseph Glacier is a 12 km (7.5 mile) long glacier located in Westland National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island. It is unique in the fact that it descends from the Southern Alps to just 240 meters (780 feet) above sea level surounded by lushness of a temperate rainforest. […]

Swimming with flipper and his friends!

After our 3 days of hiking we drove an hour north along the coast to the city of Kaikoura. Kaikoura is renowned as one of the world’s leading destinations to view marine mammals and seabirds in their natural environment. We were able to swim with literally hundreds of wild dolphins! It was so so cool! […]

Kaikoura Coast Track

Mary and I arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand last Sunday. We were greeted at the airport by Kathy, Bruce, and Darek. I know Darek through Mary while living in San Francisco, but this was the first time I met Kathy and Bruce. After spending a week with them, I think they are an amazing and […]

Map of New Zealand