Two-thirds of a year have already passed since I began traveling around the world. I have been volunteering in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand for over a month now and it’s been awesome! It’s a much different pace than my first 3 months here in which I drove and camped all over the country.
Volunteering has allowed me the opportunity to really connect with the local community, learn about the people’s social concerns, and adapt to the general way of life here. I am enjoying giving back to the local community for a while before I decide to venture off again.
We almost never met. She was at a gas station back down the road, but Carolina and I were heading inland. If it weren’t for the fact the tank was near empty and places to fill up were few and far between in this part of New Zealand, I would not have turned around.
After hitch-hiking New Zealand on my own and picking up hitch-hikers before, I gave no thought to taking in a stranded traveler. She was looking for a ride to Queenstown—we could get her as far as Wanaka. What I didn’t know was how fruitful this meeting would be. She ended up showering us with gifts and giving us great suggestions for sights to see on the ride to her drop-off point.
I love discovering unexpected gems during my travels. While exploring the West Coast and all its stunning, coastal scenery, I came across Hokitika, a charming beach-side location residents literally call “the cool little town.” I could not agree more!
Hokitika turned out to be a pleasant surprise both times I had the chance to visit. The first visit was for lunch with my two German friends and the second time was for some beach fun with Carolina. All of us were struck by this town’s vibrant culture and charisma as we tasted its food, observed its art, and learned about its golden history.
I can feel my blood pumping with excitement when I read about other people’s travel adventures, see photos of faraway lands, and watch videos of life abroad being lived to the fullest. I continue to feel this even as a long-term traveler myself. Whenever I get the chance, I make sure to catch up on fellow traveler’s posts online.
I follow many blogs, instagrams, facebook pages, and twitter accounts of travelers who continue to send adrenaline down to my toes and provide information that helps me decide where I will go next in my travels.
Planning ahead has worked very little on my trip. Going with the flow, allowing each moment to take me in new directions has always proved to lead to the best experiences. So when Carolina told me she was going to have to fly into Christchurch instead of Queenstown, I simply shrugged my shoulders and said, “See you there!”
This change in plans took me and Birgit on another route deviation. We were at the perfect junction to turn inland from the West Coast and cross the center of the South Island back over to Christchurch. We ended up traveling along New Zealand’s Great Alpine Highway. This area of the Canterbury region was so spectacular and filled with adventures, it was worth retracing the route with Carolina a week later. From pie-eating and caving to camping and hiking, these are the highlights from my Great Alpine Highway drive.
“Oh, just wait until you get to the West Coast of the South Island.”
“Why, what’s there?”
“You’ll see. It’s stunning.”
I had been hearing about the West Coast of the South Island for weeks. The stretch of shoreline between Westport and Greymouth was argued to be one of the most gorgeous drives in all of New Zealand.
I first arrived there with Birgit after we had trekked the Abel Tasman. Black sand beaches, dinosaur egg-looking boulders, sunbathing seals, unbelievable rock formations, and spectacular sunsets are just some of the highlights we had the chance to witness. But the beauty of this place was deceiving. A flesh-eating evil was lurking right outside our car windows, ready to lunge at us from all directions for a taste of our warm, sweet blood.
The tent was packed and our bellies were full with a carb- and protein- packed breakfast by the time dawn broke. The 2-hour drive ahead would take us on the scenic Takaka Valley Highway to the car park for the Abel Tasman hike—one of 9 New Zealand “Great Walks.” Birgit and I decided to walk in part of the way from the end of the track to spend the night at one of its pristine beaches on Anapai Bay.
The two days we chose to do the hike were sunny and hot. Despite the sweaty conditions, the hike was enjoyable due to native bush shading the trail and sandy beaches with cool ocean water toeing at our boots. The paradise-like features of Anapai beach and the comfortable camping conditions made Anapai Bay the best beach I have been to in all of New Zealand.
Birgit and I were heading West. We were traveling in Frogger, our little green hatchback rental, along the Northern shore of New Zealand’s South Island. Four days into our journey, we would be passing through the town of Nelson before heading out to a beachside camp to rest up for our Abel Tasman hike.
It was a bright and sunny summer day. Our schedule was wide open—we were free to do whatever we so desired. Before long, we were gazing at sea creatures floating high above in the sky, hiking to the geographical center of New Zealand, and listening to the sound of waves dragging across a stone beach.
Sometimes, deviating the norm can be a bit disorienting. When you’re trying to travel authentically, allowing yourself to be internally driven to seek alternative, lesser beaten paths, there are no footprints in which to follow. There’s no itinerary, no tour guide, no rules about how you should travel, where you should go next, or when it’s time to move on. It’s new. It’s exciting. It’s open to possibility. And sometimes it’s confusing—because you’re confused.
Last time I checked in, I talked about how I was applying for jobs here in New Zealand. I’ve continued doing this with little success over the last month. So I had to take a step back and evaluate why I was applying to jobs in the first place. Was it for the money? The experience? The excuse to settle down for a while? After discussing with a friend back home, I have reconnected with my authentic travel flow by deciding to do something I’m very excited about: live in Hawke’s Bay New Zealand and work as a volunteer for a while. It’s new. It’s exciting. It’s open to possibility.
Since I started traveling around the world in September 2014, a lot of people have asked me how I’m financially able to travel for so long and whether or not I get tired of constantly traveling. In addition to saving tons of money on airfare by travel hacking my way to earning thousands of frequent flier miles, I also spend a fraction of the money other tourists do on accommodation.
I don’t get tired of traveling because housesitting and couchsurfing have allowed me to deviate the norm from my travel routine—and at little to no cost. The only thing I end up spending is time; time doing the things I do at home, like watching movies, cooking food, and hanging out with friends. The difference is I’m hanging out in a totally new place with new friends—and sometimes their pets!
The Arahura was late. I had already been waiting in the terminal for over 4 hours. I was hungry and eager to board the ferry which would bring me 3 hours across the Cook Strait to the port town of Picton on the South Island. I had to make it to the South Island tonight. The Crakers were expecting me to arrive in Christchurch tomorrow. I was a stranger to them—a solo female traveler whom they were entrusting with their pets, home, and vehicle for a week while they took a trip to Australia.
For the first time in weeks, I was without the company of other travelers. I was ready to make my own way from one island to the other. Little did I know, the experience getting there would be yet another example of the benefits of solo travel: Doors otherwise closed suddenly open.
The time has come to reveal what I have really been up to here in New Zealand. When people ask me, I have to admit to them I had never heard of New Zealand until I saw the opening shots of the Fellowship of the Ring (FOTR) and asked, with wonder, “Where is this place?!” Landing in the “middle of Middle Earth” (as Wellington airport and the Te Papa museum reminds its visitors) was 14 years in the making for me. I had dreamed of coming to this country since I was a teenager and finally, here I was.
I didn’t want all of my time here to be about the Lord of the Rings (LOTR), but I certainly was not going to pass up the chance to check out as many film locations as possible. Inevitably, I ended up nerding out all over the place. From hiding from a Black Rider in Mt. Victoria Park to walking barefoot through Hobbiton on the Alexander family farm, here are the locations I visited on the North Island.
Thinking about flying into Auckland near the top of New Zealand’s North Island? Only have a short amount of time to spend traveling New Zealand? Maybe you’re flying out of Wellington or from somewhere on the South Island and need to plan out your itinerary to get you there from Auckland. You deserve to see awesome things no matter how much or how little time you have!
Luckily, my best friend and I did all of the following (and more!) on a road trip from Auckland to Wellington in just 10 days. It’s perfect for someone looking to get a good taste of New Zealand on a time budget. Included are some tourist favorites as well as some spots requiring a bit of deviation.
Tall peaks and steep valleys covered in native plants and trees with huge rocky outcrops sticking up out of forested mounds stretched from either side of the winding highway 25. I could see the Bay of Plenty on the Pacific Ocean running along the horizon ahead. We had made it from the West Coast Taranaki region to the Coromandel Peninsula. Famous for its beaches and ecotourism, the Coromandel is a popular vacation spot for kiwi locals and foreign tourists.
Today, we had driven all day to make it to Hot Water Beach where visitors dig holes in the sand which fill with thermal water from hot springs underneath. Tomorrow we would find an overnight hike to do in the steep inland tropical forest. With nowhere to camp for free on the Coromandel itself, we ended up pitching tents just south of the Coromandel on district land with one of the most unique and hilarious public toilets I’ve ever encountered.
I can hardly believe it—I have been traveling now for half a year! I left on September 1st for Iceland for 10 days, continued on through Germany for 6 weeks, Thailand for 1 month, and I’ve been traveling around New Zealand now for over 3 months. Over the last month, I’ve had the chance to travel with two people whom I met during my travels: Carolina from Northern Sweden whom I met in Iceland and Jonathan from Napier, New Zealand whom I met through Samart in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Traveling separately with both of them, I’ve had all kinds of new experiences and seen some awesome sights in New Zealand’s South Island and North Island. Currently, I am with Jonathan traveling Northland. There’s hardly any cell phone service let alone Wi-Fi up here which explains the tardiness of this post! But I’m really looking forward to sharing all of my adventures with you in detail over the coming weeks since I'll be slowing down a bit in my travels. I plan to start living and working here in New Zealand! A different kind of travel but all a part of deviating!
We were desperate for a shower, food, and a bed. Two days of hiking the Tongariro Northern Circuit meant it was time to take it easy for a few days around the North Island of New Zealand. The hour was late, but we managed to find the last restaurant open in the National Park town and sneak into a backpackers for a shower before setting up camp for another night. The next day we would check into a hostel and wash 2 days of sweaty hiking clothes in the adorable town of Turangi.
Then we’d be on our way to the West coast for a short stay before driving North toward the Corromandel, a peninsula with beautiful beaches and native bush off the north shore. Harald the German, Marek the Czech guy and I relaxed a lot, discovered the Forgotten World Highway, and made smores at our camp near Mt. Taranaki.
A biting chill set in as we tucked into our tent for the night on the first day of our 2 day hike in the Tongariro National Park. I shivered most of the night despite my 10 layers of clothing, sleeping bag and silk liner. I am surprised I managed even 3 hours of sleep between the cold and the pain in my feet from the tendonitis and blisters I developed during the day’s hike.
In the morning, I was simultaneously dreading and looking forward to the walk ahead. We would be reaching the highest peak at the Red Crater where outstanding views awaited us. The views turned out to be more spectacular than I could ever have imagined! The surprise of the landscape was the perfect distraction from my aching feet. But my excitement got the better of me—an additional hike up the Tongariro summit led to my utter defeat.
There I was, a German man and a Czech man in tow, approaching the crest of the hundredth hill I had climbed in the previous 8 hours. “Just one more, guys. Then we’ll see our campsite!” Peering over the top, I was greeted with yet another rocky valley with a steep hill to mount on the other side. “Okay,” I breathed deeply, “don’t hate me but there’s another one.” A long sigh of “UUUUUUGGGGGGGGGH” came from behind.
This was the Tongariro Northern Circuit. Sounds like a nightmare—and perhaps that’s the right description considering we were tramping all day in the shadow of “Mt. Doom” through film locations for Mordor, the dark, treeless setting for the evil enemy Sauron’s base in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) films. As 1 of 9 New Zealand “Great Walks,” the Tongariro circuit turned out to be equally as beautiful as it was challenging to hike.
Some of the best experiences I have had while traveling have been the result of connecting with local people. New Zealand has been no different. Samart, whom I had met and stayed with in Chiang Mai, Thailand, connected me to Jonathan, a factory worker who fishes and free dives on the East coast of the North Island in his spare time. I had been in communication with him since I arrived in New Zealand.
Four days into Harald and I’s camping adventure, Jonathan invited us to stay with him for a night. He took us for a unique evening fishing experience, I got to try my hand at free diving in Hawke’s Bay, and then we enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch before continuing on our journey back inland.
Five months into my travels and I am on road trip #5 in New Zealand! I road tripped the North Island three times, did some house-sitting in Wellington over the holidays, and then traveled to the south island for a second house-sit. I planned road trip #4 with a German woman around the northern part of the south island. Now I am heading further south, road-tripping with Carolina who I met 5 months ago in Iceland! I’ve mainly been camping as a means to experience the countryside first-hand and save money on accommodation.
After traveling here for over 2 months, I can honestly say I never imagined so much beautiful and diverse landscape in such a condensed space. New Zealand truly has it all: rolling green pastures, monumental glaciers, native tropical forests, pristine sandy beaches, rocky coastlines, snow-covered mountains, active volcanoes, hot springs and pools—the list could go on and on. This is what I came here for. It’s a hiker’s, camper’s, roadtripper’s dream come true. Good thing I’m all three!