Tag Archives: blogsherpa

Hiking the Tongariro

The Tongariro Crossing is considered the best one day hike in New Zealand. It is a 19.4km hike that takes you through the area where they filmed Mordor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a mostly easy walk, though there are a few places where the ascent and descent is pretty steep. Moreover, if you [...]


The Weekly Photo: Royal Botanical Gardens

The Royal Botanical Gardens, Melbourne, Australia


Is This Really Travel?

For the last three months, I’ve been traveling around Australasia visiting New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia (for the second time). I’ve noticed something interesting- a lot of  the travelers I see are  young (18-24) gap year kids and most never consider leaving “the beaten track.” Don’t get me wrong- I am happy to see people [...]


Budgeting in New Zealand

When I went to New Zealand, my goal was to live within a budget. After paying $15 dollars for lunch I knew New Zealand was going to be more expensive than I had originally though. While I work and travel and could afford $15 dollars for lunch, I wanted to live within a budget that [...]


The Weekly Photo: White Sands National Monument

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico


My Favorite Hostels in New Zealand

Traveling around New Zealand, I’ve made it a goal to stay at a variety of different hostels. I didn’t want to just stay at the chains like Base or Nomads. I wanted to see small operations besides just big chains. I quickly found out though, most of New Zealand is dominated by chains such as [...]


The Weekly Photo: Mount Doom

Mount Ngauruhoe a.k.a. Mount Doom, Tongariro Park, New Zealand


The Weekly Photo: Japan’s Imperial Palace

The Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan


How to Backpack the Yasawa Islands

Backpacking the Yasawa Islands in Fiji is a unique experience. It’s not like any backpacking I’ve ever done. I’m not even sure backpacking, with its notions of independent, find your own way travel, is even the right word. Yasawa Island travel is more like an inexpensive organized hop on, hop off tour. Everything is taken [...]


Learning How to Scuba Dive

Learning to dive is something I’ve always found excuses to not learn how to do. Something always comes up. I don’t have the money, I don’t have anyone to go with, I am too busy, I’ll learn when I get to Thailand, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. Traveling Fiji with Gary from Everything-Everywhere, [...]