Auckland

I love cities. It was great driving over Auckland Harbour Bridge on my last Intercity bus trip as we approached the skyscrapers and buzz and energy of a metropolis. I watched the sun set from the Sky Tower, visited the...

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Bay of Islands

I wanted to dive the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior in Paihia. It was blown up by the French Secret Service back in the 1980s before it was due to protest their nuclear tests, and was scuttled up in the Bay of...

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Poor Knights Islands

Jacques Cousteau rated the Poor Knights Islands as one of the top ten dive sites in the world. And who am I to argue? I did two dives around the volcanic formations and they were both just wonderful. I stayed...

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Tongariro Crossing

I had heard so many good things about the Tongariro Crossing - a one day hike (or 'tramp' as they call it here) through the eponymous national park - that I waited around until the weather cleared so that I...

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Tips

Top Travel Tips: After travelling for a fair bit, I should really have some good advice to impart. You'd think. Turns out... not so much: it doesn't seem like I'm any the wiser since setting out. In some ways, it...

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Glowworms and Shaved Rabbits

The lady at the call centre I rang to book my bus assured me that the glowworm caves of Waitomo were "incredible" and I would "never forget it." Well, they were nice, they really were, but I have to say...

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Stink City

Rotten eggs. That's all I've smelt for the past couple of days. It's pervasive and infiltrates one's nostrils from every drain and park in Rotorua. I don't know how people can live here - maybe they just get used to...

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Lake Taupo

I arrived in Taupo with Mike, a metalworker from Ireland, who made stuff like candlesticks but specialised in swords. Apparently there are a lot of people who want their own sword and he can make them to different specifications. I...

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Napier

New Zealand is on a big fault line where two tectonic plates collide, so there are a fair few earthquakes and volcanoes. The city of Napier, on the East coast of the North Island, was hit by a big earthquake...

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Wellington

I took the ferry across the Cook Straits to the North Island, through fog and clouds of jellyfish. I had gone out the night before with Rod (whose dream was to design a ground-breaking mini-gold course with lots of moving...

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Booze Bus

I'd booked myself on a whale watching excursion in Kaikoura as a back up in case the dolphins didn't turn up, but it seemed like the whales didn't want to play ball either so the trip was cancelled. I spent...

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Kaikoura

I'm not that keen on dolphins. I just find them a bit creepy with their staring eyes (do dolphins blink?) and squeaky shiny skin. If this ever happens to come up in conversation, people look at me as though I've...

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Picton

Hostels in New Zealand tend to be small, family-run, homely places. There are bigger, chain places as well, but it's easy to find nice ones with a bit of character. The Villa, in Picton, was a lovely cottage with a...

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Nelson

More frustrating and gratuitous cafe stops on the Intercity bus up to Nelson. It was a grim day with teeming rain and I was glad I'd decided to go up the coast in one go as there didn't seem to...

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