Recently when I was in Kiwiland, I came across the Hauraki Rail Trail. You have to hand it to those Kiwis. While we are still arguing about helmets, they are getting in and putting infrastructure in place to make the most of their beautiful country. The Hauraki Rail Trail is part of the National Cycle Trail... Continue Reading →
It's a 3 minute walk out of town, towards the harbour and well worth it (don't bother with the bakery in town). It regularly wins awards for its French style bread and sandwiches, or sambos as the Kiwis call them. The pies and slices are also good, but it is hard to go past a beef... Continue Reading →
New Zealand is pretty good at its scenic highways - and the original and some say the best is the Forgotten World Highway. This 158km road runs from Stratford on the west coast of the North Island to Taumarunui, close to the centre of the North Island. Why go? Rolling green countryside, rugged forest and... Continue Reading →
Mt Egmont (or Taranaki, depending on your age group) is an extinct volcano on the North Island of New Zealand, around a six-hour drive south west of Auckland. I've been there many times to do walks around the base, but only tackled in twice. It's one hell of a mountain. At a smidge over 2500... Continue Reading →
Last week I was in Kiwiland, doing a spot of mountain-climbing and then recovering at the beach. Which beach? Whangamata, of course. Mention Whangamata to any Kiwi and most of them have spent a summer holiday there or know someone with a bach (that's kiwi for beach shack) there. It's a family summer holiday rite... Continue Reading →
I'm travelling through the Land of the Long White Cloud at the moment and chanced upon the charmingly named Mokau. Located on the west coast of the North island, Mokau is known as the Whitebait Capital of the World. The jade waters produce a prodigious amount of whitebait, which locals prefer to eat as part... Continue Reading →
Mt Egmont (or as those under 40 call it, Mt Taranaki) is like Mt Fuji, only it's in New Zealand. It's so similar to Mt Fuji that the movie The Last Samurai was filmed there. Unlike Mt Fuji there is no bullet train, electrical wiring or housing creep around the base. Just empty countryside and... Continue Reading →
Napier has long been on my travel list. This east coast town on NZ's North Island is an art deco gem, having been rebuilt in 1931 following a devastating earthquake. It was rebuilt in the modern style, which in 1931 was, you guessed it, art deco. Napier is supposed to be one of the world's... Continue Reading →
Don't fancy a stuffy tour bus or bicycling? No problem in Martinborough on the bottom of New Zealand's North Island. You can walk from vineyard to vineyard straight from the village! Martinborough has quite a backstory. The streets are laid out in a grid and named after cities of the world, so there's Naples St,... Continue Reading →
If you’ve seen Chronicles of Narnia II and wondered where the beach scenes were filmed it’s at Cathedral Cove in the Coromandel Peninsula about 2-3 hours drive from Auckland. The Coromandel is where Kiwis go for their hols and it’s so much nicer than the Bay of Islands. Seriously - ask any Aucklander. It's not... Continue Reading →
bike walk eat 