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07.03.2024 New Zealand: Twizel (Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook)
We had a short drive of only an hour and a half to Twizel. We found out from the locals, through some questionable pronunciation by us, that it’s actually ‘Tw-eye-zel’ rather than ‘Twizzle’ which was disappointing. Plenty of mullets chopping about in this small town, at times it felt more like the Stranger Things film…
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05.03.2024 New Zealand: Wanaka
Our biggest drive yet was the 4 hour stint between Franz Josef and Wanaka. The town gives sleek, sophisticated, life-on-the-lake vibes. It’s clearly a pretty affluent area – there’s loads of independents and everyone’s head to toe in Patagonia clobber. It’s a really outdoorsy town – we didn’t realise but Wanaka is a stones throw…
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04.03.2024 New Zealand: Franz Josef
Glaciers aside (which are incredible), we thought Franz Josef as an area, offered less than our other stops to date. Approx 450 people live in the town, and every single aspect is centred around glaciers / ice. Of course our opinion of the area had absolutely nothing to do with the terrible weather that aligned…
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02.03.24 New Zealand: Punakaiki (Pancake and Elephant Rocks)
Still pretty worn out from Abel Tasman, we decided to split the drive in two and stop over in Tarwera for a night before visiting Punakaiki. The owner was lovely, but definitely one of the more rogue places we’ve stayed. A bunch of alcoholics, 3 massive bulldogs, a goat (on a lead) and a naked…
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27.02.2024 New Zealand: Abel Tasman National Park (3 Nights)
Btw we both write this blog and contribute different paragraphs on the fly, so if you think the writing style is all over the shop, you’re absolutely right. With Helen Keller (Grace) on maps and Stevie Wonder (Az) behind the wheel, it took us several attempts to arrive at the right ferry terminal for the…
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25.02.24 New Zealand: Wellington & Truck Life
For the first time in a few weeks, we got a taste of big city driving as we headed into central Wellington. We’ve been so used to the rural areas where there seems to be more roadworks than actual road. Wellington actually reminded us of Cardiff in terms of both population and vibe. The water…
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25.02.2024 New Zealand: Martinborough
We spent a couple of nights in Whanganui (pronounced Far-nga-nui ) and Paraparaumu to break up the drive between Waitomo and Martinborough. These days comprised of nice walks, new coffee spots, black sand beaches and a top tier sunset, but fundamentally less to write home about so we’ve skimmed over it. See it, say it,…
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20.02.2024 New Zealand: Waitomo & Otorohanga
We stayed in a farm just north of Waitomo with goats, deer and perhaps the ugliest pigs I’ve ever seen in my life. Apparently they were particularly feisty because their wives/girlfriends had been separated into a different pen. In comparison, the St. Fagan’s pigs are actually quite beautiful. We started the day off with a…
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19.02.2024 New Zealand: Turangi & Tongariro National Park
The drive from Taupo to Turangi was a scenic breeze, Highway 1 hugs the eastern boundary of Lake Taupo all the way down. Lake Taupo was actually created by a huge volcanic eruption approx 25,000 years ago, the largest recorded in the last 70,000 years! The lake was formed from the volcano’s caldera – a…
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18.02.2024 New Zealand: Taupo
We arrived from Rotorua and chose to stay off the beaten track in the middle of sweet nowhere. The dirt track towards the campground snaked through Wairekei Thermal Valley and you could see the steam billowing up across the hills. We had a bit of a (massive) wobble because we thought the passports and wallet…
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Welsh Rare-bits 