Posts Tagged ‘hiking’

New Zealand: Overview Video
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Following Australia, Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is a video overview of our experience.

Text Version: Next stop – New Zealand. Known as the capital of adventure tourism, there is no shortage of activities to fill the days. And with 30% of the country designated as national parks or reserves, it is renowned for its walking trails.

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New Zealand: Kaikoura
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.
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New Zealand is a mecca of outdoor activities and Kaikoura would be our first experience with it.  We arrived on a cloudy afternoon into this small coastal town, known for their whale watching tours and opportunities to swim with the dolphins.  But we opted to explore the peninsula by foot.  And the site of clear blue skies the following morning offering pristine views of the rising foothills was a great start.

We headed to the beginning of the peninsula to have a look at the local seal colony before heading up and around the top.  For miles all you could see were views of the water and pasturelands, which we were walking through.  At points we had to wait for the local “cow-wow” to end their meeting at one of the steps that take you up and over to the next field before proceeding.

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New Zealand: Marlborough Sounds
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=362,200,,,right]We had a few days before we needed to make our way to the Nelson area for our Abel Tasman experience, so we decided to explore the Queen Charlotte Sound located in the Marlborough Sounds. This area offers access to the North Island via ferries from Picton to Wellington. And it also offers some beautiful hikes and kayaking.

The Queen Charlotte Track stretches 71km (44 miles) and passes through coastal forest and pastures. Along the way are various campsites and lodges, many only accessible by ferry or foot. If you are doing the entire track, or even multi-day hikes, you can even send your gear ahead to your next lodging via water taxi.

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New Zealand: Abel Tasman
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=263,200,,,right]Nelson, 1995 – the sunniest place in all of New Zealand. It failed to live up to that title the last time I was here as it down poured for three days straight. On the fourth day, the seas were deemed too rough to kayak the Abel Tasman, as we stood on the shoreline with paddles in our hands and frowns on our faces.

Nelson, 2007 – as we pulled into town the day before to overcast skies and light drizzle, I was apprehensive that Nelson would ever live up to its moniker in my presence. And I was nervous about our three-day kayaking/hiking experience we were to set out for today. As I awoke in our hotel in Motueka (which lives close to Abel Tasman National Park) blue skies did greet us on my birthday morning. I could only hope it would last.

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New Zealand: West Coast
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.
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For our last two full days in New Zealand we decided to take our time driving back to Christchurch, taking in our last views of the gorgeous landscape.  From Nelson we drove inland to reach the West Coast, stopping in Buller Gorge to traverse New Zealand’s longest swing bridge.

Our first stop on the coast was Westport and Cape Fowlwind, where we watched the local seals frolick about.  From here it was short drive to our stopping point – Punakaiki, famous for their Pancake Rocks and blowholes.  We had one of those sunny days for the first part of our drive, so it was no wonder we woke up to grey.  But it’s amazing how the weather and lighting can really change the mood of the place.  And even though it was way past high tide, the blowholes were really kicking it up at Punakaiki.

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Nepal: Annapurna Circuit
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

[singlepic=851,200,,,right]Nepal was one of the countries I visited during my 2001 career break. Following is an overview of our trek on the Annapurna Circuit.

I just finished my trek through the Annapurna Circuit of Nepal and it was an incredible three-week experience.  It seems like it lasted a lifetime, yet also went by so fast.  This is one of the most beautiful countries and the quiet and peacefulness of being in the middle of nowhere at this time was a welcome opportunity.  I loved the fact that for the past three weeks we were cut off from everything.  The only things we needed to know each day was what time wake up call was and how long we should expect to walk.

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