With our final few days in New Zealand, we decide to explore the nooks and crannies of two of the South Island’s lesser visited areas, the Catlins Coast and the Otago Peninsula. Located in the southeast corner of the South Island, these two areas are known for dramatic coastlines, gorgeous waterfalls, and amazing wildlife encounters. Here are some of the highlights of the places we visited on our 3.5-day roadtrip up the Southern scenic coast from Bluff to Christchurch. (more…)
Today is our last day to enjoy the southernmost part of New Zealand before heading back to the mainland. We wake up early to break camp and are excited for a big day of birding on Ulva Island, a small avian paradise that is just a short boat ride from Oban. (more…)
We are among the last to leave the hut this morning. We bid farewell to the six ladies we met on Day One and the family of nine we hung out with yesterday as they take off from the hut. Before leaving for good, we grab the camera and visit the bay again to see if anything exciting has arrived over night. We spot two kingfishers (mating!) and the heron again, but all are too far for photos, so our visit is fairly short. We head back up to the hut to grab our things and hit the trail. (more…)
The day starts early in the huts. We are sleeping twelve to a room, four to a platform, all lined up like little sardines in our sleeping bags. As you can imagine, once the first person starts to stir, getting back to sleep is pretty hopeless, so we are up bright and early. (more…)
We wake up in Invercargill at 5:30 am to finish packing and eat a quick breakfast. Our ferry out of Bluff isn’t until 9:30, but we are hoping we can squeeze in a little time to photograph the tui birds that are hanging out at the B&B’s feeders. We are headed to Stewart Island, New Zealand’s “third island,” where we hear that there are far more birds than people. Sounds like our kind of place! (more…)
After finishing the Kepler Track, we have a day and a half to drive from Te Anau down to Bluff, the southern most town on the South Island where will catch a ferry to Stewart Island, the location of our last Great Walk, the Rakiura Track. Our end destination today is the tiny town of Tuatepere which we picked as a midpoint between Te Anau and Invercargill (just north of Bluff). (more…)
We start our last day on the Kepler Track with breakfast on the beach. We only have a short and easy two hour walk back to the trailhead, so we are in no particular rush to get going this morning. (more…)
Sleeping outside in a tent is something that makes us very happy under ordinary circumstances. Add to that the fact that it is December and that we are waking up in New Zealand on Day 3 of a multi-day backpack, and we are feeling pretty dang lucky right now. (more…)
I wake up to a swollen eye and wonder if one of New Zealand’s pesky sand flies chomped on me during the night. Hopefully, it will go away before too long, but I feel a little dread as I have had such bad reactions to bug bites lately. Ughh…
We have a lazy 9 am departure and begin our day back at the beach of Shallow Bay. The skies look a little dark and moody as we set off, and we wonder if we have some rain in store ahead. From the beach, we follow the lakeshore for a bit before ducking back into the mossy beech forest carpeted in lush green ferns for the 16.2-kilometer relatively flat tramp to the Iris Burn campsite. (more…)
According to Lonely Planet, the Kepler Track was originally developed as an alternative hike to help ease the demand for reservations on the South Island’s highly popular Milford and Routeburn Tracks. The label alternative may lead you to believe that this hike is somehow inferior to its more famous siblings, but don’t let that fool you. The Kepler Track is a beauty of a tramp in its own right. (more…)
Take A Hike Photography 