Travelling Around

"Backpacker" hitop van, West Taranaki, 2010
“Backpacker” hitop van, West Taranaki, 2010. You could stand up in it, and plug it in

Unabridged nature is surely one of the main reasons people come to New Zealand. Getting away from it all on one of the physically most isolated countries in the world. But there’s unfortunately more to this than meets the eye. I’ll leave aside the question for the moment whether all that you can see in New Zealand is nature and address how you might get to those places where nature still exists, and enjoy them at the same time.

In the four recent trips down under, I used a variety of vehicles, summarised in Table 1. Read more…

On Accommodations

Recently a question was posed on the neuseeland-haus.de forum as to whether the number of BBH hostels was decreasing. I attempted an answer of sorts, but then decided I would keep an eye on things. Have a look back at this blog over the next few years and I’ll try to keep you posted.

Anyway this threw up a couple of questions that needed answering in more depth. The last two trips have been done with a couple of Great and other Walks and by doing so I have tried to steer clear of campers and try a small car to get around the country with (see also the blog, “Travelling Around”), so that they can be compared as to how many nights were stayed where. The summary for the two trips is in Table 1. Read more…

Tamaki Makaurau

The Old Christchurch, February 16, 2009. This time only briefly through the airport, though
The Old Christchurch, February 16, 2009. This time only briefly through the airport, though

Over the years, on buses, at motorcamps, in backpackers, I’ve stumbled across people spending their two weeks’ worth of holidays trying to see all of New Zealand, such is the call of the place desired by many. And yet here I am again, standing in front of the expanse of two months, squeezing the days into plans and realising how much there is still to do after five trips down under. But not to worry. There will be plenty of new stuff on this trip. Read more…


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