Martinborough is a picturesque vineyard region near Wellington. Coming through the Ngauranga Gorge on a sunny day, you can enjoy some stunning views. Many people come to Martinborough for excellent wine and culinary experiences. Not many of them actually know that you can admire purple fields of fragrant lavender here. In summer the Ranui Essentials…
Tokyo
Tokyo, amusing Japanese metropolis, where I ended up pretty much by a coincidence. To be honest, I’ve never dreamed of going to Japan. However, when Tanya suggested I should join her on a road trip to Asia and told me, that she has a family in Thailand and Japan, I couldn’t say no. I left…
Coromandel
There is a bit of nostalgia in today’s post as we visited Coromandel peninsula and Tauranga in the summer of 2015. At that time, we were in a fairly decent climbing form and decided to follow the instructions in our climbing guide and explore a hidden gem few kilometers from Rotorua – the Mangorewa Rock….
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is one of the rare areas spared of the tourist madness. That’s one but not the only reason I love it there. It is spectacular. We took an advantage of the long Labour weekend and explored Wairarapa a little bit more. The highlights of our trip were definitely Rimutaka Forest, Putangirua Pinnacles, Cape Palliser…
Organic Dairy Farm Bentham
When you come to New Zealand on Working Holiday Visa, you most likely end up working in agriculture, either on orchards, vineyards or farms. Most lazy assess, like me, don’t quite enjoy it and just survive it to earn some money. There are, of course, some exceptions – like my friend Honzik. He spent 3…
Northland
Te Ara Hikurangi
During the first Christmas we spent in New Zealand, in 2014, we decided to climb the Te Ara Hikurangi mountain in Ngati Porou area. With its 1752 meters, it is the highest mountain of non-volcanic origin in the North Island. Mt Hikurangi is situated on the east coast and thanks to its location, it is…
Koh Samui
Koh Samui is the Thailand’s third largest island (after Phuket and Koh Chang), lies in the Gulf of Thailand and covers the area is 228.7 km2. The population is over 63,000 but seems much higher with all the tourists included. The island is known for its palm-fringed beaches, coconut groves and dense, mountainous rainforest in…
Lake Waikaremoana
This majestic lake is located in Te Urewera on the North Island, 80 kilometers west-southwest of Gisborne (our base at Christmas 2014). It covers an area of 54 km2 and its Maori name can be translated as “The Sea of Rippling Waters.” The lake is 256 meters deep and that makes it the deepest on…
