Tag Archives: New Zealand

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 [...]


New Zealand’s Backpacker Buses

One of the biggest ways travelers get across New Zealand is by backpacker bus. These buses offer a hop on/hop off service allowing travelers the flexibility to go at their own pace but also the convenience of having travel and activities organized for them. New Zealand has three major hop on/hop off buses: Kiwi Experience, [...]


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 [...]


Great Reasons to Visit New Zealand

New Zealand’s far away location ensures that its natural beauty is protected from the hordes of tourists who would overwhelm this place if it was easy to get to. True, New Zealand’s greatness has been exposed to the world by movies like Lord of the Rings but, surprisingly, few people make their way down here. [...]


The Weekly Photo: Mount Doom

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


Bungy Jumping the Nevis

New Zealand is known for its adventure activities. People come from around the world to white water raft, hike, glacier trek, sky dive, and bungy jump. And one of the best places to do a bungy is in Queenstown, New Zealand. Queenstown is home to a lot of bungy operators, the most famous of which [...]


A Look at Maori Culture

Maori culture has always fascinated me ever since I saw the movie Whale Rider. Their history, cool tattoos, dancing, beliefs, and general relaxed personality make them very interesting to me. As the indigenous people of New Zealand, they haven’t done well since the arrival of European settlers. Then again, no indigenous population fared well after [...]


The Weekly Photo: Bay of Islands

Bay of Islands, New Zealand


Waitomo’s Glow Worm Caves

Waitomo, New Zealand is famous for one thing. Every year, heaps upon heaps of travelers come here to see the infamous glow worms that line the ceilings of the nearby caves. The glow worms emit a phosphorescent glow that shines from the roofs of the caves like a starry night. The interesting thing about the glow [...]