After our adventure on the Abel Tasman track we drove south to spend time with family in Timaru. We also fit in 2 nights camping in Hooker Valley beneath Aoraki/Mount Cook, mainly because my sister Bridget was celebrating her 40th birthday. There were plenty of nervous checks of the weather forecast leading up to the […]
Abel Tasman
Between Christmas and New Years 2023 we walked the Abel Tasman track. We’d booked campsites earlier in 2023 when bookings opened on the DOC website and joined the mad rush to secure our places. Initially we’d thought that we’d get beds in the huts on the track but these spaces disappeared in seconds, and as […]
Stormy Weather
While the Wellington region is known for its often very windy conditions its less known for thunderstorms. Further, most of the lightening and thunder that does occur seems to be above the Hutt Valley and over in the Wairarapa. I like a good thunderstorm, and perhaps have a naive view that these events are exciting […]
Pīwakawaka Hut
It was February 2021 when I booked Pīwakawaka Hut for Anzac weekend in 2022, its been very popular since becoming available in late 2020. Created by Taranaki Regional Council as an added attraction to the already impressive Pukeiti Gardens, Pīwakawaka Hut is easy to reach accommodation for those wanting an overnight hut experience, and it […]
Kāpiti Island – Rangatira Point
After our December visit to Kāpiti Island we still had a couple of daytrip vouchers to visit the more southern Rangatira Point. Keryn’s parents were staying and Phil had a significant birthday to celebrate, so we decided to all take the trip before Alayna started school. Leave from work was organised and we drove north […]
Kāpiti Island
Late last year (2020) I entered a Wellington region photo competition and won a prize of an overnight glamping trip to Kāpiti Island. We finally took the trip last weekend, though it almost got delayed due to the weather the previous week. The south end of the North Island has had a prodigious amount of […]
Atiwhakatu Hut
After our overnight stay at Raukawa Hut early last year we’d been looking for another hut to visit, so many months ago now we booked a night at Atiwhakatu Hut in the Tararua Forest Park. While we were able to book Raukawa Hut for just our party Atiwhakatu Hut is a bigger hut that sleeps […]
Back of the Bus
We’re now heading into Autumn but Wellington gave us a reminder of the best of summer with a warm and sunny afternoon on the waterfront. A week ago we’d been scheduled to see a performance called Back of the Bus performed by Java Dance Theatre as part of the What if the City was a […]
Visiting Gibbs Farm
For years now I’ve had a monthly reminder in my calendar to check for availability to visit Gibbs Farm, a sculpture park featuring a large number of mammoth commissioned artworks situated north of Auckland on hilly farmland adjacent to the Kaipara Harbour. Earlier this year I was surprised to find some dates available in November […]
Travelling in NZ while the world deals with COVID-19
It’s very strange to have spent a long weekend on holiday away with friends while much of the world is under lockdown and suffering through COVID-19 outbreaks. We’re very aware of how lucky we are in New Zealand to have a community free of COVID which allows an almost normal life. Every morning while we […]
The Urban Hut Club
Five years ago Keryn and I along with a one-year-old Alayna spent some wonderful times exploring Wellington and checking out 7 Miniature Huts dotted around the landscape, put in place by local artists Kemi & Niko. From tiny to large the adventure was as much about following clues to find the huts as much as […]
Overnight at Raukawa Hut
We’ve taken plenty of holidays with Alayna, and done lots of walking, but up to now had never combined staying somewhere new with a tramp in good old New Zealand bush. We’d been talking about a staying a night in an easily accessible hut with friends and finally this became a reality with a walk […]