After our beach week we were ready to head to our long awaited destination of Ubud, Bali. We spent a great deal of time researching, comparing and hunting for the perfect rental house in Ubud to plant ourselves for a month. We used airbnb, flipkey, kayak, agoda, and booking to make sure we covered all [...]
Just 150 km south of Hokitika, on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island, Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier are two of the most accessible glaciers in the world and certainly one of the top tourist attractions in all of New Zealand. The west coast of the South Island is one of the [...]
Situated on the northeast corner of the South Island, the Marlborough Region of New Zealand has become one of the most popular and well-known wine making regions world over. Starting in the late 1970’s, the dry climate and extreme temperature variations between its hot sun filled days and cool nights made this region an ideal [...]
Crikey! This isn’t just a zoo- it’s the Australia Zoo, Home of the Crocodile Hunter! Steve Irwin’s creation and more like an open playground for animals than caged exhibits. Glass and bars do not contain most of the animals; they roam in only semi-restricted areas. The zoo is obviously divided for animals that don’t get [...]
Sydney is a city I’ve been dreaming of for years so finally getting there was a pretty big deal! After a short flight from Melbourne we arrived and waited for the free shuttle to our hostel. We were somewhat out of our regular planning mode living in a campervan for so long and we pretty [...]
After our beach week we were ready to head to our long awaited destination of Ubud, Bali. We spent a great deal of time researching, comparing and hunting for the perfect rental house in Ubud to plant ourselves for a month. We used airbnb, flipkey, kayak, agoda, and booking to make sure we covered all [...]
With plans to stay five weeks in Bali, the majority inland, we decided to spend our first week near the beach in Seminyak, Bali. Arriving at the Denpasar airport, we purchased our 30-day tourist visa and headed out with instructions to apply for the extension we needed at a different non-airport office. It was only [...]
Although we didn’t love him as much as NZ’s Bonnie, we did have a decent amount of affection for Herbie- our Australia campervan. We rented this guy through the company Apollo. (They also rent campers in the US- so when we get home…) Unfortunately, our Apollo representative wasn’t nearly as friendly to work with as [...]
When we lived in Dallas one of our favorite weekend stops was to a place called the “Soda Gallery.” It was a retail shop that carried imported soft drinks from around the world. They had everything from Asian jelly juices and canned bubble tea to South American fizzies and Australian Bundaberg! So when passing through [...]
Crikey! This isn’t just a zoo- it’s the Australia Zoo, Home of the Crocodile Hunter! Steve Irwin’s creation and more like an open playground for animals than caged exhibits. Glass and bars do not contain most of the animals; they roam in only semi-restricted areas. The zoo is obviously divided for animals that don’t get [...]
Sydney is a city I’ve been dreaming of for years so finally getting there was a pretty big deal! After a short flight from Melbourne we arrived and waited for the free shuttle to our hostel. We were somewhat out of our regular planning mode living in a campervan for so long and we pretty [...]
Just 150 km south of Hokitika, on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island, Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier are two of the most accessible glaciers in the world and certainly one of the top tourist attractions in all of New Zealand. The west coast of the South Island is one of the [...]
Situated on the northeast corner of the South Island, the Marlborough Region of New Zealand has become one of the most popular and well-known wine making regions world over. Starting in the late 1970’s, the dry climate and extreme temperature variations between its hot sun filled days and cool nights made this region an ideal [...]
We loaded up Bonnie, said our goodbyes to New Zealand’s North Island, and made our way toward the port of Wellington. Driving into the port we were greeted by “Aratere” the Interislander Ferry (http://www.interislander.co.nz/) that would be taking us across the Cook Straight, into the South Island’s Marlborough Sounds, and dropping us off at the [...]
On our way south from Waitomo Glow Worm Caves to Wellington we decided to take a small detour westward and check out one of the most iconic volcanoes in the world, Mount Taranaki. After Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Taranaki is probably the second most perfectly symmetrical volcanic cones in existence. With its peak stretching [...]
New Zealand isn’t a bad place to turn the big 3-0. What am I saying? New Zealand is a fantastic place to turn 30. In fact, I can hardly think of a better place to turn 30. In true form, Alison and I had to make it a celebration and do something not only something special but [...]
Hardly anyone passes through New Zealand’s north island with out stopping through Rotorua. Centrally located, this sleepy NZ town has become a tourism hot spot for two main reasons – the geothermal geysers and Māori cultural experiences. At Te Puia you get both in one place. Te Puia Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, houses courtside [...]
With six weeks of bonding behind us, we reluctantly took our beloved campervan Bonnie for a final carwash and then returned her to the Christchurch branch of Rental Car Village. Bonnieless meant we were also bedless- so walking back to a hotel for the night before flying out the next morning, we were both sad [...]
We planned our entire travel itinerary aiming to follow warm weather around the globe. So far we’ve done pretty well encountering only a few weeks of cold weather here and there. So when the conversation of Antarctica came up- I didn’t even really consider it. Pat had some mild interest in doing more research, but [...]
On February 22, 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand. The earthquake’s center was just six miles southeast of the center of Christchurch, the third most populous city in New Zealand. This devastating earthquake killed 185 people and caused an estimated $30 billion dollars worth of [...]
Having ample time to tour the island, we turned back inland and drove to Cromwell, NZ in the Central Otago region. In the 1990’s a large dam was built to create Lake Dunstan in the middle of what was previously the old town center. Since then about a third of this city has been rebuilt. [...]
It’s not often you get a chance to spend a day in a chocolate factory. As we walked into the lobby of Cadbury World the aroma alone was worth the ticket price. The tour began with a self-guided walk through colorful exhibits on the history of Cadbury and how chocolate is made. We then joined [...]
Arriving via Invercargill and rounding the Southern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, we visited Bluff, the southern-most city in New Zealand. This town, population 1,850, is famous for its oysters. We made a stop at the docks to buy some fresh off the boat that had just been shucked. (They were good, but we [...]
Freedom Camping- South of the Milford Sound there isn’t really that must to see or that many established places to stop, but wanting to cover the entire country tip to tip- or “Cape Regina to The Bluff” we continued to drive south down the West Coast. Lucky for us we found our own nightlife to [...]
Queenstown is set on the shores of the crystal clear Lake Wakatipu and nestled by the Remarkables mountain range clearly visible in the distance. It’s a year-round lake and alpine resort community. The city is made of pedestrian friendly streets lined with interesting shops, fun restaurants, and numerous character filled cafes. The lakefront has a [...]
Whitebait- it’s considered a delicacy in NZ, some of us might call it cat food- tiny whole fish. The heart of Whitebait country is in the middle of the West Coast near Haast at the Waita River. Driving along we started seeing homemade road signs pointing us toward a whitebait pit stop we had been [...]
Hokitika- a West Coast, South Island stop on the beach. This town is doing its best to be a must-see attraction for tourist. For us it was a cute town with tasty cafes and enought to see to make a good afternoon walk. If you’re into shopping this town is attractively highlighting some of the [...]
Cruising down “Coast Road” on the West Coast of the South Island we arrived at the famous Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. The Pancake Rocks are limestone formations that were pushed above sea level by earthquakes and have been etched by the sea, wind and rain over time to create spectacularly unique rock formations. Walking [...]