Hamilton Gardens or 2014 Garden of the world is definitely a must-do if you get to the Northern Island! We found here a history of gardens from all around the world – from Japanese Gardens of Contemplation to Italian Renaissance, American Modernist, Indian Char Bagh Traditional Maori or Fantasy Gardens! A wonderful mix of colors […]
We felt like kids again for one day while experiencing the fantastic world of Frodo, Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins – Hobbiton movie set. Built on the wavering hills of Alexander family farm, the small holes with multi-color doors and carefully crafted furniture, with flowers at the entrance and surrounded by fantasy trees are just like […]
After having trained through the jungle on the Pinnacles, we needed something more! So we accepted the challenge of crossing Tongariro – 19.4 km up to more than 2000 m surrounded by volcanoes (one of them still steaming – last picture), at almost 30 degrees Celsius. 2 more difficult climbs – Devil’s stairways and Red […]
For those of you who might wonder how New Zealand appeared on the world map, it seems that it literally raised from the sea millions of years ago when it was part of the landmass of the southern hemisphere known as Godwana. NZ ground is full of energies that lead to spectacular geothermal activity, with […]
Rotorua is situated on the edge of the lake with the homonyms name in the center of the northern NZ island. Located in an area with a pronounced geothermal activity and smelling intensely of sulfur, the city is also famous among adrenaline junkies for all the extreme activities that can be found here. We’ve tested only […]
This is a must do if you reach Rotorua! A unique geothermal experience with erupting waters, steaming fumaroles, boiling muds. Named by the maori tribes that used to populate the area “Tikitere”, the place got it’s more popular name “Hell’s Gate” after the 1934 visit of the famous Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. When he saw […]
Cathedral Cove – one of the nicest beaches At least 40 minutes bush walk to get there! But it does worth! Golden sand beach, turquoise clean water, few trees, rocks and nothing else! This is a small piece of haven! And the drive to get there – spectacular!
Driving around the Coromandel Peninsula, we stopped at an information point in Thames to ask about hiking tracks in the area – the Pinnacles which takes about 4-5 hours up to approximately 800 m. It was already late afternoon, so we wouldn’t have had time to come back. We decided to spend the night up […]
After 2 days in Auckland, we decided to start our journey towards the North with a 1997 Honda van that we rented from Syd. After 100 km the battery broke and we had to return to Auckland. But that was great! Syd had to replace our car and gave us an even older one, but […]
We landed in Auckland in the evening and went for the ultimate couchsurfing experience at Syd’s. He’s a Maori, probably my father’s age, has worked as a policeman, is currently selling old cars and is probably one of the biggest couchsurfing hosts in the whole world! He has a 5 room house with garage and […]