Loesje
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Hokianga ▷
Yakas Walk
Great pictures.
The longest walk and the best tree :)
You can walk around the tree and touch it :)
It is really a HUGE tree :)
I really enjoyed the walk to the tree too. Beautiful forest! Lots of kauri trees everywhere.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kerikeri ▷
Kerikeri River Track
Nice relaxing walk next to the river.
You pass some waterfalls and pools and go to the oldest store in NZ.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Whangarei ▷
Otuihau Whangarei Falls
Nice falls.
Great you can have a look from both sides, below AND the top. The first waterfall I saw where you can stand at the top and see it flowing and falling down.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaeo ▷
St Paul's Rock
Great walk!
Very short hard work (20min) up the hill and on the rock. Great, spectaculair views over the harbour. Surprisingly high and amazingly beautiful for such a short walk.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Dargaville ▷
Trounson Kauri Park Campground
Campground facilities are pretty old and dirty, but still...
all you need is there.
It is right at the start of a 40min kauri walk and great chance to see kiwi's in the wild (when it is dark).
We went around 9pm and saw one after only 5min.
Good luck! :)
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Dargaville ▷
Trounson Kauri Park Loop Track
Nice 40min walk, lots of kauri trees.
Found big kauri trees at the west coast more impressive, but if you have time stay here for the night (at the campground) and look for kiwi's in the wild! Took me 5 minutes to see one :).
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaitaia ▷
Kapowairua Campsite
Didn't stay here for the night, but went for lunch and a stroll on the beach :) One of the most beautiful beaches in the North Island.
Campsite looks nice, quiet and peacefull. Heard from some locals that things do get stolen sometimes, so watch your stuff.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaitaia ▷
Tapotupotu Campsite
Big popular campsite, but still lots of space, relaxing and quiet.
Soooo much space to pitch your tent/park your van, several toiletblocks, lovely cold showers outside to cool down, and great swimming in the sea or in the river which ends up in the sea. Awesomeness! :)
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaitaia ▷
Maitai Bay Campsite
Big popular campsite.
Two very nice beaches, good swimming! A pity you can't pitch yr tent/park yr van with view on the beach/sea, but hey, you can't have everything in life ;). Good facilities and loooots of space
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kerikeri ▷
Rainbow Falls Walk
Nice falls.
Make sure you have a look from below. You can walk on the left side and go behind the waterfall, but be careful and don't be stupid! :)
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Kaitaia ▷
Sandboarding
We hired a bodyboard of a guy with a van full of bodyboards (15$ per board, as long as you like).
And had lots of fun! It's veeery hard work walking up those dunes and very short fun to go down, but so worth it!
Make sure you go up the high ones in the back, it's like being in the Sahara :). Lots of sand! ;) Beautiful!
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North Island ▷ Bay of Plenty ▷ Edgecumbe ▷
Matatā Campsite
Busy but nice 6$ DOC-campsite!
Right next to a looong, sandy, beautiful beach.
Good facilities and very nice DOC-warden
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Tongariro / National Park Village ▷
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
I usually don't really enjoy tracks where I'm walking in a crowd.
And this is certainly like that with this crossing, as everybody gets there by bus, around the same time. But man... This is SUCH an amazing track, with such amazing views! It's... UNREAL! really! :)
100% Pure New Zealand :) Enjoy!
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Taumarunui ▷
Taumarunui Canoe Hire
These guys are just amazing!
Right people on the right place! They were doing everything they could to help us and all the others out as much as possible. From the first till the last second. We camped at their property for free. Got excellent tea and yummy muffins, got picked up from town and dropped off in town again after the adventure.
Got a great double kayak, with perfect drybags and everything else we needed. Got maps and lots of information.
Karen and Ron and their kids really made our adventure an unforgettable one!
Don't doubt for a second and go with these guys! You won't regret it :)
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North Island ▷ Manawatu - Wanganui ▷ Whanganui River ▷
Whanganui Journey
YES YES YES!!!
11!!!
One of the best things done in NZ!
Such an adventure.
We thought it would be nice, kayaking down the river for 5 days, but it was AWESOME!
We expected loooooots of paddling, and of course we did paddle a lot, but there were also lots of very exciting and fun rapids and on lots of places some stream to push you a little in the back :).
The campsites were fantastic and the company we rented our double kayak from (Taumaranui Canoe Hire) was soooo nice and the people there sooo helpful!
The Whanganui Journey --> 500% recommended!
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Mount Cook ▷
Hooker Valley Track
This was, after the 'Tongariro Crossing', the most busy track I've done.
You really walk in a queue :), and have to stop several times to let 20 people from the other side go through. It is a little over-the-top :), but hey, I could understand why! It is a really nice track, with spectaculair views on Mt Cook. It really feels like you can nearly touch him/her/it... whatever :)
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds ▷
Alexanders Holiday Park Picton
Not very friendly owners, old and dirty facilities.
Nice tent-sites and nice walk to town.
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds ▷
Nikau Cove Campsite
Such a nice spot, and could have been perfect.
But unfortunately a bunch of people pitched a whole village here, with an annoying amount of alcohol and noise, so didn't sleep untill 3am. Looks like they were staying here for weeks, and possibly they come here every year. So watch it. No fun at all :) (for us at least)
1 minute down the road is another campsite (Picnic Bay), we picked the wrong one ;).
Only negative camping-experience in NZ, and it wasn't for the campsite.
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North Island ▷ Taranaki ▷ Stratford ▷
Taranaki Accommodation Lodge Backpackers Hostel
We waited here for two days for the sky to clear out, so we could have a look at Mt Taranaki.
It just rained and rained and rained.
We were supposed to pitch our tent, but as it wouldn't even stop raining for a second to pitch it, the VERY nice owner offered us a room for the night. The second night we did pitch it.
The whole building (+facilities+rooms+matrasses+...) are really... old :), but get over that and you'll have a nice time here :)
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds ▷
Mount Stokes Track
Around 3 hours UP.
Not very easy, and all the time through the bush. Well formed track, but some knee-work with all the rocks and tree-roots ;).
Not the most exciting track, but not bad neither...
UNTILL you are at the top...
I've been in NZ for a year and seen A LOT. And this is one of the most amazing views in the country!
View over the whole sounds, untill the North Island, untill the mountains more south,... Just breathtaking!
I just didn't understand there wasn't anybody else.
Easier 2 hours down.
Walk this track! You won't regret! Promised :).
Cheers
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds ▷
Mistletoe Bay Eco Village Campground
Very different campsite.
:) Eco indeed :).
Nice facilities and lots of space.
Right next to Mistletoe Bay (duh!), which is soooo cute and private and beautiful.
Great swimming (and HUGE stingrays).
Surprisingly expensive (15$ and by the time I accepted that because of all the facilities it turned out to be 2$ extra for a shower :)).
If it hadn't been for the extremely nice owners, I would have turned around and walked away :)
But luckily I didn't, because it was great!
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Mount Cook ▷
Kea Point Walk
Good looks on Mister Cook.
Wasn't very impressed with the grey lake :)
Better walks in the area, but it's a nice shorter one
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ St Arnaud ▷
Buller Campground
We stayed at the buller-department of the west bay camping ground.
Some nice walks close by. Right next to the lake. Nice, private sites. And very new and great facilities, for just 6$, amazing!
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Twizel ▷
Lake Poaka Campsite
good relaxed spot next to a small lake.
mountains in the background.
free and basic (only long drop), bring water!
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Omarama ▷
Omarama Clay Cliffs
Well worth a visit!
Almost nobody there, and surprisingly impressive!
Very... different :)
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway
It's a very popular track, but it didn't even disturb me :).
It is really really beautiful! Sea, beach, cliffs, seals, bush, town :) You've got it all!
I'll always remember this one because of it's many 'WAWs' :)
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Lake Tekapo ▷
Lakes Edge Holiday Park
Busy busy!
Loooots of tourists.
Yes, the lake has a special color, but it's exactly the same color as Lake Pukaki, and there is nooooobody :). The campsite has good facilities, but again, all very busy. Not really AT the lake (although you can see it), which is a pity.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Hokianga ▷
Tane Mahuta Walk
Very touristy.
Nice tree, but not sooooo impressive. If you want to have a nice walk, see lots of other kauri trees and more impressive ones, go to the other kauri-walks
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Twizel ▷
Lake Pukaki Overnight Campervan Parking
The moooooost beautiful campsite EVER!
(and we've been in New Zealand for 10 months already).
Cheers
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Hanmer Springs ▷
Pines Holiday Park
Good facilities, nice people, but expensive!
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
West Matukituki Track
Walked up to Aspiring Hut and Back.
Nice walk!
We stayed for the night at the campsite and oh my god!!! Make sure you take looooots of repellent and long pants! SOOOO many sandflies!
We did some smaller walks around the hut, very nice!
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Mount Cook ▷
White Horse Hill Campground
Spent here two nights.
Close to many beautiful tracks, short and long
Nice basic facilities (kitchen shelter, toilets, water)
10$/person
And of course very close to Mt Cook :)
Watch (and feel) the small avalanches.
And when it gets really hot, make sure to jump into the freeeeeeeezing creek, awesome!
oh yeh, it does get pretty busy there. Everybody enjoying the beauty :)
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Havelock ▷
Pelorus Bridge Campground
Beautiful campsite, HUGE kahikatea trees, greattt facilities, awesome spots to pitch yr tent and of course the best swimming in the river right next to the camping.
Some nice walks around too.
Only minus: Because we got so spoiled with all those 6$-sites and free sites, this one seemed suddenly very expensive (12$/person)
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South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Blenheim ▷
Robin Hood Bay Campsite
Free and excellent!
Just put yourself a little away from the dusty gravel road and everything will be perfect :).
Heard you might see some dolphins here too, unfortunatly not when I was there.
That whole road (Port Underwood road from Blenheim to Picton) is magic! One of my favorite roads in NZ! Beautiful bay after bay and then camping here for free, what do you want more in life?
Make sure to have a stop at the bays nearby too.
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Rocky Mountain and Diamond Lake
Walk on to Rocky mountain is nice with great views!
Rocky and narrow on some points, so not a very easy track.
Steep up, so very exhausting.
But so worth it on the top!
Walk around the lake is ok, but nothing special
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South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura ▷
Meatworks Beachfront
Beautiful spot right next to the beach.
Lots of privacy and space.
The smell of the sea and the sounds of the waves, excellent :)
The description of how to get there, written in another review here, is perfect. With that information we found it without a problem.
Cheers :)
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Papatowai ▷
The Lost Gypsy Gallery Bus
A MUST SEE!!!!!!!!
It looks all cool from the outside, but it's 100x better then this. It's amazing! The creativity and the humor!
Make sure to pay the small fee (and sponsor this amazing never-ending project) to enter the garden. If you liked the bus, you'll LOVE it in the garden :)
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Waikawa ▷
Curio Bay Camping Ground
Cheap, basic small facilities, but all has its unique atmosphere, nice campsites, on one of the nicest spots in NZ.
One of our favorites.
Dolphins few hours every day on your left, penguins walking ashore and flapping their wings for hours on the petrified forest on your right.
We planned to stay for the night, but stayed 2. Make sure you go there!
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Owaka ▷
Cannibal Bay Seal Watching
Were hitchhiking and a local took us for a drive on this beach.
Opened the window and had a conversation with a HUGE sea lion and a small seal. It was mostly me talking, but still... I could tell they loved it too!
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Papatowai ▷
Cathedral Caves Walk
Make sure to check the tides.
And even then there is a chance that it will be cancelled due to weather-conditions. When we were there we could enter, but we would have to get knee-deep in the water. So of course that's what we did :).
Nice experience! Beautiful big beach, with several caves. Make sure to get to the second one too, even if that one is a secret ;)
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Oamaru ▷
Chillawhile Backpackers & Art Gallery
I am not a fan of backpackers generally.
But I LOVED this one! We were able to pitch our tent in the garden. The backpackers is sooo nice and cosy. Never too many people, always lots of contact between people. Very arty, very very chill! Always something to do, someone to hang out with, awesome!
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Owaka ▷
Purakaunui Falls Walk
Very different!
One of the nicest falls I've seen in NZ :)
Camera-fun! :)
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Papatowai ▷
Papatowai Campsite
Great big campsite, cheap (6$), nice facilities (kitchen-shelter and toilets), and a veeery short walk to the beach.
Nice walking on the beach.
Campsite is easy to get to, as it is next to the main road, yey!
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South Island ▷ Coastal Otago ▷ Oamaru ▷
Moeraki Boulders
SOOOOOOOOOO many tourists!
ps: nice boulders yes
But I know a spot where they have the same ones, with no tourists at all, nah nah!!! :):)
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Omarama ▷
Ahuriri Bridge Campsite
Big campsite next to the main road.
Doesn't look like anything special in the first place, especially with its disgusting longdrop :). But make sure to drive/walk far enough and camp in the back and take a wee walk to the river. Very nice and relaxing there!
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South Island ▷ Stewart Island ▷ Halfmoon Bay ▷
Ulva Island
Such a nice spot!
We weren't sure if we wanted to spend the money on the ferry from Stewart Island, to Ulva Island, but we're so happy we did, because it was so special and worth it! Amazing how many birds are there, all around us and when having lunch one came and sat on my foot, haha! And I know this must sound crazy, but I promise I'm not making it up... We got chaised by a sea lion, walking through the BUSH on Ulva Island Ha! AWESOME! :) (at the moment a little bit scary too, but hey, now one of our best stories :))
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South Island ▷ Southland ▷ Waikawa ▷
McLean Falls Walk
Yes, there is a waterfall :) and that's about it ;)
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South Island ▷ Central Otago ▷ Alexandra ▷
Otago Central Rail Trail
What an experience!
11!
We took our time and did the track in 4 days.
Took some sidetrips and did a total of 220km.
Make sure to get of the track and bike to St.Bathans. Not an easy ride, but man! So worth it! Beautiful 'old' (NZ-old) town, and the blue lake, magic!
The track itself was so surprising! So much variation, so much fun and... Really not that difficult.
One of the best things we've done in our one-year-in-NZ! 10000% recommended!
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South Island ▷ Wanaka Region ▷ Wanaka Township ▷
Rob Roy Track
Enjoyed this more then Fox Glacier!
(but maybe also because of the difference in weather ;))
Beautiful drive to the carpark, nice easy track and very nice spot, watching the glacier, eating lunch ;)
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South Island ▷ Stewart Island ▷ Halfmoon Bay ▷
Rakiura Track
Nice relaxing track.
We did it in 3 days, if you are fit, you can do it in 2 too.
If you camp, you can stay at the first campsite (Maori Beach, a beautiful loooong beach), but it's such a short first day (3h or so), so we decided to stay at the next one next to the first hut, and we were happy we did, because it was even nicer :)
First day coastal track, from second day on more inland, through nice bush.
Apparently theeee chance to see kiwi in the wild. Haven't seen one there unfortunately (but did on the halfmoon bay track on Stewart Island). Good luck!
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Arrowtown ▷
Tobins Track
Excellent views over arrowtown and its surroundings!
Go up at one track and go down the other, to have some variation :). Short and steep, and worth it!
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
Tiki Trail
Short walk (30-40min) up to where the famous gondola goes.
But of course you don't pay and you're losing some weight :).
It is really UP, but it's a really nice trail. And the views here and there on the way, but especially on the top are ABSOLUTELY worth it. After you can walk down, take the gondola much cheaper down or mountainbike down on one of the many trails.
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South Island ▷ Stewart Island ▷ Halfmoon Bay ▷
Horseshoe Point Track
We added this to our 3-day Rakiura-track.
As the first day was supposed to be very short, we decided to start with the Horseshoe Point Track. What a genius idea!
Nice track, beautiful views!
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South Island ▷ Stewart Island ▷ Halfmoon Bay ▷
Golden Bay
After searching for a kiwi in the wild for around 2 weeks, our host gave us the advice to go on this track.
On the way from Golden Bay to RingaRinga beach it all happened :). When we were about to give up, and turned 90° to the right on the track, suddenly there was this MASSIVE kiwi standing right in front of us. And it stayed nicely in front of us on the track for a few more minutes. MAAAAAAGIC!!!
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Arrowtown ▷
Arrowtown River Trail
We walked this track as much as possible during our 1-week stay in Arrowtown.
Even if there was another, shorter way, we would take the longer one so we could walk on the river trail. It's no trekking, it's no hard work, it's just easy and relaxing!
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South Island ▷ Stewart Island ▷ Halfmoon Bay ▷
Harrold Bay and Ackers Point Lighthouse Walk
Unfortunatly we didn't see any (or at least not there ;)).
I don't remember anything of that track, since we were running to see some real penguins :)
Maybe next time! :)
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Arthur's Pass ▷
Bealey Spur
One of my favourites in my one-year-in-NZ!
Nice track, lots of variation in views, impressive mountain-views, bit of snow on the top :) perrrrfect!
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park ▷
Jucy Cruise Milford Sound
Nice cruise!
No doubt... The milford sounds is AMAZING! Very impressive!
It is really one of the biggest tourist-attractions, so be prepared :).
Hi there
Thanks so much for your feedback. It's great to hear that you found Milford Sound AMAZING!
I hope you enjoyed your time in New Zealand and wish you safe travels for all of your future adventures.
Cheers
Lucy xx
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Arthur's Pass ▷
Devils Punchbowl Walking Track
Nice views on waterfall!
Arthurs Pass generally is SO beautiful.
Make sure to stay here for a few days.
Enjoy the nature, the tracks and the KEA's :)
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Fox Glacier ▷
Copland Track
Nice track, but if you don't have excellent knees, it's a hard one.
Around 7h to the hut and 7h back the next day. The hut is great, and so are the hot pools. Almost everyone goes there when they arrive and leave the next morning. We went to the pools in the morning, before we left, and there was nobody :)
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Arthur's Pass ▷
Temple Basin walk
Great great great!
LOTS of snow when we were there.
Knee-deep in the snow, going up. AMAZING views!
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Arthur's Pass ▷
Bealey Valley Walk
Nice, shorter walk.
Once you are at the river, make sure to continue (left), that's the fun part :)
Nice, walking in the valley! :)
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Punakaiki ▷
Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes
Beautiful and impressive!
Nice, short walk, great views!
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Charleston ▷
Underworld Adventures
We bought tickets for 50% on grabone, and it was worth every cent!
If we would have paid the full price, we would have been a little dissapointed. We wanted to do this because of the tubing, and that part unfortunatly just took 10-15min.
Still... We had a GREAT guide! And the people in the office were soooo nice and helpfull!
Our trip first got cancelled because of the weather, and they brought us to a backpackers and picked us up there the next morning to go on our adventure, awesome! :)
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Punakaiki ▷
Pororari River Track
Very nice relaxing walk, next to the river, through very beautiful bush!
I especially remember the colour :) Lots of GREEEEN! :) Really enjoyed this one!
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Golden Bay ▷
Wharariki Beach Holiday Park
I'll always remember this campsite, as this is where I've seen rain and wind like never before.
And also this is where my tent became my hero :).
Even if the weather was crap, we LOVED it here!
Nice walk to one of the most amazing beaches in NZ!
Nice owners, good and cosy facilities and not too far from Farewell Spit :).
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Charleston ▷
Charleston Motor Camp
Campground ok.
Facilities very old and not very attractive, and especially... Unfriendly staff!