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Te Anau – Milford Sound and glow worms!
Milford Sound on the south west coast of New Zealand is in Fiordland National Park and is part of Te Wahipounamu, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Milford Sound gets around 9 metres of rain each year, so it was no surprise that we encountered a little bit of it today. We left early this morning…
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Te Anau – a travelling day
Today was a travelling day. A short flight from Nelson to Christchurch, another short flight from Christchurch to Queenstown and a two-hour drive from Queenstown to Te Anau. Domestic flights in New Zealand are more relaxed than in Canada. There was no security in Nelson. At the security checkpoint in Christchurch, we had to take…
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Nelson – a hike in Abel Tasman National Park
If I had believed I had already seen the most beautiful parts of New Zealand, I would have been wrong. There seems to be no end to beauty in this country. Today we went on a 10k hike in Abel Tasman National Park. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to discover…
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Picton – an intro to the South Island
Today was a perfect day for a ferry ride from Wellington to the South Island. The sun was out, the Cook Strait was calm, the scenery was stunning. The landscape reminded me a little of the British Columbia coast on a lovely day. The ferry arrived in Picton on the South Island though our final…
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Wellington – Te Papa and Zealandia
This morning we visited Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand. A museum guide spent 90 minutes walking us through the exhibits detailing the discovery and arrival of humans in the country. New Zealand was the last habitable land mass to be discovered, about 800 years ago. The first people came from Polynesia. Way…
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Wellington – paddling the waka
Our second day in Wellington began with an immersion into local Māori culture. After learning a Māori child’s song in Māuri – not child’s play! – we headed over to WhareWaka (House of Canoe) for a welcome ceremony where we showed off our musical expertise.
