hike
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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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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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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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16.02.2024 New Zealand: The ‘Mount’
We left the Coromandel peninsula via Highway 25 and 2 towards Mount Maunganui (far less A470-ish and more generic motorway). The area is renowned for its extinct volcano and pumping surf, we can verify the latter because the waves were very big bois. Upon arrival, we headed for an evening swim which went particularly well;…
Welsh Rare-bits 