Destinations
The little towns, places and attractions to visit around the globe.
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Diving The Rainbow Warrior
For a long time before I had even planned on coming to New Zealand I have wanted to dive the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior. Its not often that a shipwreck can claim to have such a rich story associated with it. Built in 1955 Hall, Russell & Company in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Rainbow Warrior started life as a fishing trawler UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. She worked at this until 1977 when she was brought by the conservation group Greenpeace. At the time of purchase the Rainbow Warrior underwent a refurbishment in preparation for her new job protecting the seas. In 1985 the ship was active protesting…
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Diving the HMNZS Canterbury F421
When thinking of the world’s naval superpowers, the Royal New Zealand Navy is unlikely to spring to mind. With ~2000 personnel and a handful of ships they may not be taking over the world but they do play an important role in protecting the small Island nation and helping their neighbours. The HMNZS Canterbury F421 was a Leander-class frigate that served in the New Zealand Navy from 1971 – 2005. She had a distinguished career at sea and was sent to Moruroa Atoll in 1973 as a symbolic protest of New Zealand against French nuclear testing. Which provides a fitting connection to the wreck of the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior that…
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Kepler Track: Control Gates to Luxmore Hut
It’s a little after 8am and the sun is just starting to send some light over the mountains to the East. I am wearing a borrowed pack and my back is letting me know its not a big fan. I would be lying if I had claimed didn’t started to experience some second thoughts. From the car park, the walk to Luxmore Hut is just under 14km and the mountain casts an impressive shadow over the South Island town of Te Anau. So I am expecting the track to make me earn my way in the form of some hard work. The first 5km is easy I have been told…
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Kepler Track: Rainbow Reach to Moturau Hut
First opened in 1984 the Kepler Track is one of the “Great Walks” in New Zealand. Located in Fiordland National Park, the track is 60km long and crosses a number of different environments near the town of Te Anau. Ideally the Kepler Track is done as a multi-day hike ( most people take 4 days ). But time constraints have forced us to experience the Kepler as a series of day hikes rather that one long event. The majority of hikers tend to walk the Kepler in an anti clockwise direction with Moturau Hut often the last sleep over point before heading to the control gates and finishing the track.…
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Kurow Hill Climb
The township of Kurow sits beside the Waitaki River on the mountainous South island of New Zealand. Boasting a population of 312 ( according to wikipedia ) there is a pub, a foursquare supermarket and a few cafes in the main street. Most visitors to the area come to visit the river and the nearby lakes. With the local limestone soils adding in a few local orchards and wineries to the mix. But on our particular visit there was no time for any of that! We had come to town for groceries and to conquer the Kurow Hill Walking track. Starting from the end of Grey St in, the walkway…
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Hooker Valley Track
Located in the Mt Cook National Park the Hooker Valley Track is one of the most popular walking trails on the New Zealand South Island. As a visitor its impossible to not be left in awe of the towering mountains surrounding wide flat valleys created by glaciers moving across the landscape. The beginning of Hooker Valley Track starts at the White Hill Campground a couple of kilometres away from the Mount Cook village. The walk offers a diverse range of Alpine scenery with views of Mount Cook itself and a number of surrounding mountains. The walking trail crosses the Hooker River a number of times, offering views of Mueller Lake…
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Rakaia Gorge Walk
75 km west of Christchurch, where the Canterbury Plains meet the mountains. The mighty Rakaia River has spent the eons carving a path through the surrounding hills on its journey toward the ocean The walk itself starts at a car park next to the river itself. Jet boat tours departing from the area combined with people launching their own boats can make the place pretty busy. So I would recommend arriving early in the day if possible. Near the car park a historic bridge crosses the river in two parts. The beginning of walking trail itself can be found near the start of the first bridge span. While the track…
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Gebbies Pass to Packhorse Hut
Covid19 restrictions were recently down graded to level 2 in New Zealand. Offering a return to normalcy for most of the population after an extended confinement in their homes. So what better way to celebrate than heading outdoors for a hike? Located an easy 30 – 40 minutes drive South of Christchurch we arrived to a full parking area. Getting some time outdoors was not an original thought it seems, so we had to park a bit further up the road. Not sure if the hike is normally this popular, or if it was just the timing of events that had half of the Canterbury keen to escape their houses.…
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Akatarawa Forest Park
The Hutt Valley on New Zealand’s North Island is a great base point for those that enjoy the great outdoors. Surrounded by forest parks and reserves, with the Hutt River river running through the centre. Close enough to the coast and a stones throw from the mountain ranges and hiking trails in the Wairarapa. All while still being located a handy 40 minutes from the centre of Wellington by train. The Akatarawa Forest is located a short drive from Upper Hutt with numerous entry points, some more accessible than others…. We chose to enter from the car park at the end of Karapoti Road. This is also the entry point…
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Diving the HMNZ Wellington
Scuba diving is not an activity commonly associated with Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. The weather is overcast and grey a good portion of the year which goes some way to explain the vibrant food and drink scene in town. But scuba divers would be remiss to skip Wellington in their search for the perfect dive. The city is surrounded by water and countless large mountains dropping dramatically into the ocean. So after some procrastination about the water temperature we headed off to meet with the guys at Dive Wellington. Dive Wellington is in the ocean side suburb of Island 5km south of the Wellington CBD. Their shop…
