The best ways to discover Milford are hiking the many walking tracks, taking a cruise on the water or flying above it all, to really understand the vastness of this area. I did two of those in one! No, I didn’t take a flying boat. I did jump on a scenic flight from Queenstown to Milford, explored the fiord by boat, and flew back to Queenstown via a different route. What a day!

I had already explored the area by foot, but seeing Milford Sound from above put it in such a different perspective. You’d be surprised of the new things you discover from above.

Have a look yourself! 

Because we left from and returned to Queenstown, I also shot some photos around there. Throwing these ones in for free

Check out the other articles in this series here:
1. New Zealand From Above: Mount Cook National Park
2. New Zealand From Above: West Coast
3. New Zealand From Above: Tasman region

Disclosure: The flight experience was offered to me by Milford Sound Scenic Flights. All opinions are, as always my own.

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The New Zealand West Coast is known for its glaciers and is therefore often called ‘glacier country’. Thousands of years ago the glaciers were way larger and when they retreated they left lakes behind, formed by the glacier water.

I really wanted to kayak on one of those glacier lakes. I found a Kayak Glacier and Walk Experience via Koru Enterprises, which offers heaps of fun activities in New Zealand. Lake Mapourika was the lucky lake. It’s close to Franz Josef and has the best reflections.

There I was, ready and geared up to kayak in New Zealand and break those reflections. I was a bit wary when we slid into the water, because it had been a while and my kayak partner had never done this before. After a few seconds we realised we were not going to capsize. Yay!

A big plus for me was that the activity was in a small group. It makes such a difference. We were only with four people plus guide.

Our guide was Zak, happy 25-year-old English chap with awesome hair that had a life on its own. It was his birthday, but that didn’t change much for him. He was all-in for this tour.

Because I chose the morning kayak activity the lake was still and the reflections were going on.

Tip: there is a bigger chance on reflections in the morning as opposed to the afternoon.

We kayaked an hour and then docked on land at the Okarito Forest. We did a little walk through the bush, which is home to the native kiwi bird! I was very impressed by Zak’s knowledge of plants. He gave tons of information and don’t be surprised if he asks you to eat some plants!

Zak also shared a Maori legend and told us that Lake Mapourika means ‘Flower of the Dawn’. It was named after a Maori chief’s daughter, because she was very pretty, and the lake was prettiest in the morning. I totally agree. After our walk and a cup of tea we went back on the water.

When you kayak in New Zealand, and definitely at the West Coast, you are surrounded by mountains and forest the entire trip. The weather was nice and I just didn’t want to go back on shore. Time always goes too fast when you’re having fun!

Disclosure: Koru Enterprises hosted me on this glacier kayak trip. All opinions are, as always my own. 

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That could possibly be because I am more a mountain than a beach girl and because I just haven’t visited enough beaches around New Zealand, but a fact is a fact and Wharariki beach is my number one.

I’ve visited Wharariki three times in the last two years, and I highly recommend you visiting it too.

Why Wharariki Beach?

Good question. There are plenty of beaches in New Zealand, so why this one?

I’ll start by saying there are some unique rock formations in the ocean. Some see a gorilla or even a lion in there – and yes ‘some’ means definitely me. If you’ve followed my blog for a while you know I have a big imagination. Others just see rocks with a hole in, anyhow it is really cool and looks great on pictures.

This place is also great to stretch your legs. There are a few walks around, going from 1 up to 5 hours return. The walk to the beach is about 20 minutes one way. You first pass your friends the sheep and then the beach throws some sandy dunes at you. There is also a hilltop walk which is a bit longer and gives you a nice and higher overlook on the ocean – bring a jacket because it can get windy up there!

Wharariki beach is also a perfect place to explore. And that’s what makes our heart tick! There are hills, caves, little pools and so much more. I’m a big fan of the caves. When you walk toward the ocean you go left and you’ll notice a few rocks touching the water. The caves are huge, with many little chambers. Careful, there might be seals inside!

TIP: Go at low tide, so you can explore the ‘secret bay’ on your left side. On your left there is a hill touching the beach. At high tide you cannot walk by it. At low tide (or in between) you get access to a second smaller beach. Be careful when the tide rises when you are exploring the caves or the other bay, you might get stuck.

Always save the best for last, right? Ok – are you ready? Puppies!! Yes there are playful seal pups (most chance to see them is in December-January). Other times of the year you find the bigger seals, but the little ones are just the cutest.

I was so lucky when I visited this place at the start of the year. There were a few little pups playing in a little pool. In case you go the same period I went: they were on the right hand side of the beach, where there are a few rocks. Again, visit at low tide as you otherwise won’t be able to get close to them (and see them).

Wharariki beach is a popular spot, so don’t expect to be alone. Regardless it still has a place in my heart. The area is large enough so you can explore, have fun and won’t get stressed out of the amount of people.

How to get there? 

Excited? Great! Here is how you get to this little Kiwi pearl.

Wharariki Beach is at the top north of the South Island. It is about an hour from Takaka. You just drive north in the direction of Farewell Spit, that’s that weird but cool long sand spit. Almost at the end of the road in Puponga you take a turn left into Wharariki Road. This road turns into gravel and at the end you find the car park and start of the walks.

I know what you’re thinking… car park! Unfortunately it is forbidden to sleep at the car park. You can try, but there are quite a few controls and you might find a $200 fine under your windshield wiper.

There are a few other options. You can stay at the holiday park – I usually never go to Holiday Parks (I always try to look for something more unique), but this one is quite all right. It is right at the start of the walks and we were getting up for sunrise, so proximity of the accommodation was important to us. It is $18 per person in a tent and $25 to stay in the hostel.

Another option is staying in a hostel, B&B in Golden Bay, or you can rent a bach (that’s how they call renting a holiday house).

This is a great option with more possibilities. You only have to do a little drive to the car park. But if you don’t need to be at Wharariki at 5am then that’s no problem!

To look into places to stay in Golden Bay, have a look HERE at booking.com .

Pin now, read later:

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I spent my last day of the year on a volcano… And I don’t mean a dormant one, but an active one! White Island, or Whakaari in Māori is only 48 kilometres from Whakatane, on the east coast of the NZ North Island.

Only three months ago there was a minor eruption on White Island! But that didn’t scare me off; I wanted 2016 to end with a bang! Not a literal one of course (sorry, I couldn’t leave this one hanging).

Every year I try to find something different to do on the last day of the year. In 2015 I found myself motorbiking the NZ South Island and in 2014 I had the weirdest, alcohol-less New Year’s Eve in the Maldives.

White Island you beauty

There are two options when visiting White Island: accessing the island by boat or by helicopter. I chose to go by boat with White Island Tours. It turned out to be a good choice, as they were awesome!

At 8am we were cruising to White Island – I was so excited! For the first time in my life I would walk on a volcano. And not just any! It is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano and has the majority of its cone under water. The volcano is playing a trick on you by showing only 321m of himself, however this is only the peak! The full height is 1600m!

The boat ride was perfect to wake up slowly. One hour and a half on the water, with my hairs in the wind, enjoying the ride and getting a morning greet from the dolphins.

WAIT – what?

Hell yes, on this trip there is a big chance to see a pod of dolphins. If you’ve never seen dolphins in the wild, it is magical – believe me. They’re so playful and just spread this joy. I promise you they put a smile on everyone’s face – even the sourest person.

You also pass Whale Island, a protected wildlife sanctuary that’s home to a number of endangered plants, birds and reptiles. It looks quite impressive when riding by. Because of it’s precious nature it is highly restricted to the general public and you can only visit with White Island Tours.

Masks on!

Our arrival at the volcano felt like a moon landing. Was this rocky, weird shaped, moon like surface covered with white steamy clouds our planet?

Once divided in small groups we began exploring the island. Just mind-blowing. I was walking on a volcano of 150.000 to 200.000 years old! Can you imagine that? I find it sometimes hard to think beyond our time. These amazing artefacts of nature have been here so long and so much has happened on the place you’re walking. I just love it!

Because the majority of the volcano is under water we were actually walking in the inner crater, which is quite unique! There were a lot of little hills that I love to stand on, but in this case the guide had to temper my enthusiasm a bit.

Those little hills aren’t as innocent as they seem. Many of them only have a thin layer of crust, which means you would crack through and fall down in the volcano… My lovely guide tested a few hills for me, so I managed to get this photo.

Hayden, the lovely guide, told me has been working at White Island Tours for eight years now, and said that it never gets old. His daily visits to the volcano stay interesting, because the scenery changes every day. A few months ago for example there was a blue crater lake and that now has disappeared. Another plus is meeting new people every day. I hope he still agrees after testing those dodgy hills for me…

Walking on White Island is an amazing overload for your senses. The colours, the view, the boiling mud, the smells… Ten minutes in our walk the gases were coming our direction, our cue to put the gas masks on. Those steam vents are officially called steaming fumaroles, it is an opening in the planet’s crust, which emits steam and gases. It’s a weird sensation walking in between them, they’re very cool to see and in general harmless, but it might be harder to breathe for some people and it stings the eyes.

What I really appreciated is that the tour guides ask everyone to really stay on the one track, to ensure minimum human impact. And White Island Tours doesn’t take visitors to the island when it is raining, to prevent damage to the soft surface. Companies that care about the environment are always better!

What’s in a name?

A nice little fact is that the full Māori name for White Island is actually Te Puia o Whakaari, meaning The Dramatic Volcano, pointing at all the white steam that’s coming out of it. A little bit of drama on the last day of the year, I like it! 

Explorer James Cook chose the English version in 1769. He called it White Island because to him it appeared white. Cook never got close enough to realise it was a volcano.

Since its discovery there have been a few mining operations to get sulphur. But in the 1930s mining came to an end, after a few fatalities due to eruptions and a crater collapsing) and the economy. The remains of the sulphur factory are cool to see. You can walk between very old buildings, corroded by the gases. It feels like you’re on the set of an apocalyptic movie.

Goodbye 2016

We spent about an hour and a half on the volcano and then it was time to go back.

To finish this already amazing last day of the year we got AGAIN a visit from a pod of dolphins. I’m not sure if 2017 will be able to top that… but I hope so! Bring it on!

Disclosure: I got offered a free tour to White Island via White Island Tours in order to be able to write an honest review about my experience. All opinions are, as always my own.

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It isn’t easy to get there, you do a challenging hike for 13hours, or you take a helicopter. My friends and I chose the last option. It feels a bit like cheating when you arrive at a hut with no drop of sweat, but the beautiful surrounding made my guilt ooze away quite quick!

We had a weekend of photography, eating and drinking and enjoying the scenery. It is still a dangerous place with heaps of avalanches and crevasses, so be prepared when you go up there.

My photos and story of the weekend is all here: https://theworldisacircus.com/2016/11/best-views-in-mount-cook-np/

VIDEO

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It has been a bit quiet on the blog lately because of a few reasons: I was working hard on a new design (I hope you like it!) and my car broke down. Our hearts broke a bit when saying goodbye to that beautiful old van. It was also weird to be a few weekends stuck in Christchurch, but now we’re back on the road! Our beloved van would turn in her wreck grave knowing we found a new car after three days…

I’m so ready for my dose of adventure. And man do I have some adventures planned.

In less than a month I will jump on a plane to Australia to discover Victoria State. I’ve been before to Melbourne – which I adore – but now I will be discovering the area around it. On the programme so far is the Great Ocean Road, where I’ve already been but without a good camera and then I’ll be checking out some national parks and coastline. If you have any recommendations, let me know! Anything that is pretty, impressive and mind blowing sounds good! No pressure

But first: plateau hut! This is a magical hut in Mount Cook National Park. Tomorrow a helicopter is dropping my talented friends and me off at the hut, 2200 meters high.

We’ll spend two days taking pictures, filming, climbing up a peak, chasing the stars (and hopefully the aurora) and of course… drink beers at sunset. High up in the mountains sounds like a perfect location for this.

Yes…there is more. At the end of the year the boyfriend and I will travel around the North Island. It’s already a luxury that I can explore the South Island every weekend (if the car doesn’t decide to die), but now we’ll be able to explore the North Island. And man, am I excited! We already planned one activity including a boat and… an active volcano!

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 It is a certain way of climbing, without rope or harness. My first time trying this I got some bruises and hit my head as you can read in a previous post. That’s now about a year and a half ago.

A couple of months ago my friends and I decided to go again to go Bouldering in Castle Hill (and the nearby Flock Hill). It is only a 1,5h drive away from Christchurch and the scenery is so different and stunning. I love that about New Zealand, you drive a couple of hours and you find yourself in totally different surroundings.

This time I took my camera and had some fun filming. I hope this video shows you why it is such an awesome spot!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlRfYYhX9Cs]

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About a year and a half ago I got (happily) dragged along by my couch surfer hosts in Christchurch. We jumped in the car, drove 1,5 hours and arrived in Flock Hill.

We decided not to go to the more touristy spot Castle Hill, but chose for Flock Hill. It is around the corner of Castle Hill, as beautiful (maybe even better) and way less people. We walked a bit uphill and all these rocks (boulders) appeared. Bouldering is basically climbing on rocks. No ropes. No harnesses. You don’t climb high, but it is very technical, all about trying to find the good holds and grips. It sounds easy and maybe ridiculous, but it is awesome and way more difficult than you would think!

And because it is New Zealand, the views are just amazing. So there I was, trying to find a route up some rocks, trying not to make a fool out of myself. My first time bouldering I managed to hit my head and scratch my legs, but at least I was committed!

Since then I’ve bouldered a bit more (this doesn’t mean I’m good at it), also at Castle Hill. Even at night. But that time we had a beer or two (or three), so I ended up more posing than actually bouldering.

And is it just me or are there figures in the rocks? I have a huge imagination, so it could just be me…

Castle Hill and Flock Hill are the perfect day out. Take some beers, music, food and have fun!

Ps: On the way back stop at cave stream, where you follow an icecold river through a cave! Check out the route here: DOC NZ. Pretttty damn cool.

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