Blog Posts

Experiencing the Southern Lights: A Must-See in New Zealand

One of the things I really wanted to see while we were in New Zealand was the Southern Lights. Neither of us had ever even see the Northern Lights before, let alone the Southern Lights. Luckily for us, this year has seemed to be quite the year for solar activity, and there have been a…
Tongariro Alpine Crossing: The Budget-Friendly Way

Before we headed out of the North Island, Taylor insisted we do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. I had heard of this hike, but really didn’t know much about it. Taylor and I had been to Tongariro once before, but had really done the bare minimum. We did the visitor center and hiked 10 minutes to…
Exploring Cathedral Cove: A Kayaking Adventure in New Zealand

Getting to see Cathedral Cove while we are in New Zealand is something that has been on our minds since before we even arrived. Cathedral Cove has been featured in multiple different movies, most notably Narnia (Prince Caspian). Much to our surprise, this famous beach turned out to be a lot more challenging to get…
Navigating WOF Inspections: A Van Owner’s Experience in NZ

One of the never ending joys of van life is van maintenance, here in New Zealand, we have been quite fortunate (fingers crossed) and haven’t had to do any major work on The Van (Cliffjiord). New Zealand has vehicle inspections they call Warrant of Fitness, or WOF. WOF checks for the basic safety items on…
Hiking the Pinnacles: A Scenic Adventure in Coromandel

One of the hikes that we didn’t do the first two times we were in the Coromandel Peninsula, was the Pinnacles hike. The Kauaeranga Kauri Trail, more commonly known as the Pinnacles Walk, is located in the Kauaeranga Valley. This is a scenic reserve located in the Coromandel Forest Park. We had to take the…
From New Zealand to Fiji: Our Fijian Experience

We went to Fiji! When we decided to spend the better part of 2024 in New Zealand, we wanted to travel to other places nearby. This mainly meant visiting some of the other Pacific Islands, like Fiji, or Australia. After a couple months in New Zealand, we realized that we would want to spend a…