new zealand Archives

Canyoning with Deep Canyon Wanaka

Paulina DaoApril 25, 201602.2K views

The waterfall roared beneath me. It didn’t seem that big. I’d rappelled off walls about a million and a half times before. Why should this time be any different? I gripped the rope in both hands, nodded at my guide, and headed down into the rushing water.

The frigid cold water blasted into my face. My feet slipped off the rock in my crappy, thrift store, “rental” boots. I couldn’t see. I swallowed a ton of water. It was my first time canyoneering and I thought I was going to drown.

I’d never been canyoneering in my life but it seemed like an exciting to do with no plans and three days in Wanaka. I discovered that there was a guide company based out of Wanaka and I was sold.

Finding climbing partners in New Zealand

Paulina DaoMarch 23, 201602.1K views

Climbing at Wye Creek outside of Queenstown

While prepping for my solo trip to New Zealand, I tossed in my personal climbing gear into my backpack. I knew there was awesome climbing to be had outside of the three major cities I’d be visiting. I wasn’t sure how I’d find climbing partners, but I didn’t want to risk not having my stuff with me like I did for summer OR.

Endless googling proved to be fairly fruitless, so I ended up mostly winging it in the Southern Hemisphere. Fear not, I put together a little guide so you aren’t stuck without climbing partners in New Zealand like me!

Cruising Milford Sound

Paulina DaoMarch 14, 20160857 views

After finishing up my kayaking trip with Rosco’s Milford Kayaks, I had all the time to kill in the world. Lack of a car made it very difficult to get out of Milford Sound and the weather was too incredibly nice to spend it lazying around Milford Sound Lodge. With the US dollar’s strength, I was livin’ large, so I booked the last cruise for the day in the sound with Mitre Peak Cruises.

Kayaking Milford Sound

Paulina DaoFebruary 29, 20162829 views

Milford Sound is one of the must-see places in New Zealand, according to anyone who has ever heard of New Zealand. After coming off the Routeburn Track, I hopped on a bus to Milford Sound. The standard sound exploration is via boat cruise. I wanted something different; I wanted to work for my experience, so I booked a trip with Rosco’s Milford Kayaks for the Stirling Sunriser trip. I was going to kayak under a waterfall!

Getting around New Zealand’s South Island for those afraid to drive on the left side

Paulina DaoFebruary 26, 20160821 views

My trip to New Zealand was my first ever international solo trip. Well, my first real big solo trip, ever. The idea of figuring out transport from destination to destination was really daunting. Really, really daunting. Normally I’d be okay with renting a car but factor in hours and hours of driving and the whole driving on the other side of the road thing and that idea died pretty quickly. I hate driving, except for the fact that I can sing along to my favorite country songs.

I considered hopping on the Kiwi Experience for a good period of time as it touched a little bit of everything I wanted to do. As I kept researching, my itinerary ended up diverging from the trip’s itinerary, and frankly, I like the outdoors more than I like being outgoing. After booking my huts for the Routeburn track, I said hell with it, I’ll figure out how to travel around the South Island without a car. To my surprise, it was surprisingly easy.