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All my dreams come true ✒️ Written by: Abbie Caversham Wildlife Park is just north of Perth, and home to many RBFJs (round brown fluffy jobbies) (aka, my favourite type of animal). The day we spent there will forever be a big day in my life, because it was the first time I ever saw an animal I have always been desperate to see... The wombat. To make things better, we got a photo with one! And if that wasn't enough, it gets even better when koalas are added to the mix. The day started out with…
Cramming Perth's must-do's into one day ✒️ Written by: Abbie Spending a whole month in Fremantle was brilliant for many reasons: the beach, the sunsets, the family time. But only having this brief time in WA, we couldn't ignore the big city of Perth itself. Not wanting to cope with city driving on too many occasions, we did our best to fit as many Perth highlights into one single day. And honestly? It worked a treat. I undertook a pretty hardcore afternoon of planning—mapping out how to get…
Everything we did in Fremantle, Perth ✒️ Written by: Abbie We spent four glorious weeks staying with family in Fremantle, and managed to squeeze in tons of activities. While we enjoyed some awesome days out, camping trips, and explored central Perth itself, we spent the majority of our time local to Freo and here's everything we got up to (plus a couple side quests further afield). Waterfront WalksOn our first day, we took a stroll through town centre, stopping along the way as the Fremantle…
✒️ Written by: Abbie We returned to Marlborough after 11 days of backpacking around the south island and were reunited with our suitcases back at our family friend's house. We only had a few short days left in New Zealand before we made our way to Perth. These last days were spent reflecting on our travels so far, and squeezing in a few more activities. The most important thing for me was to get my kiwi tattoo. After such an incredible trip in this country, and even seeing three kiwis at the…
✒️ Written by: James Lake TekapoWe made our way from Mt Cook to Lake Tekapo / Takapō (the Māori name). The name describes both the lake itself and the little village situated on its banks. It sits bang in the centre of the South Island. It's most famous for housing The Church of the Good Shepherd - a quaint little stone church built in the 1930s. We saw it as we drove past, but didn't go to see it in person... But there are plenty of beautiful photos of it; it's arguably one of the most…
New Zealand's highest mountain ✒️ Written by: Abbie After an awesome few days in Queenstown, and now on our 8th day of backpacking and hostel hopping, our journey took us to Aoraki/Mount Cook. New Zealand’s tallest mountain. At an impressive 3724 metres high, the peak sits almost four times higher than England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike (which little old me climbed when I was knee high to a grasshopper). I certainly wouldn't be climbing this one though, I'll leave that task to the…
✒️ Written by: James Above painting of Milford Sound by Joseph Jack Lister (1889). Milford Sound is far from Queenstown. So, by necessity, we were up at sparrow fart: a 6am alarm to get to the bus stop at 7am. Like all the other dazed half-awake tourists, we got sorted, identified, and packed onto a bus. There was one particular woman whose job it was to get the amorphous flock of bumbling backpackers neatly divided amongst the multiple waiting coaches. She was on it. No-one argued and no-one…
The adventure capital of the world ✒️ Written by: Abbie We arrived in Queenstown after another full day on the bus from Franz Josef. It was about 4pm, and gloriously sunny. Having spent all day on the bus, we were eager to get outside and see what Queenstown has to offer, especially as it is coined the adventure capital of the world. We quickly deposited our bags at the Nomads hostel and bagsied our bunk bed in the six bed dorm room before heading outside. Queenstown is only a small town, but…
✒️ Written by: Abbie The bus trip from Nelson to Franz Josef was about 9 hours long, and we were elated when we changed buses halfway in Greymouth to a much more comfortable one with seats that reclined. Quickly realising that the winding, hilly roads in remote New Zealand cause travel sickness rapidly, we gave up on reading our kindles or writing our blog posts and just sat staring out the window, enjoying the panoramic views and mountainous landscape. It was early evening when we arrived in…
✒️ Written by: Abbie New Zealand's South Island has some incredible places on offer, but they are all very remote. Setting our eyes on all the sights was an absolute must, but how exactly to do so was a tricky problem that needed solving. After much research and deliberation, we decided to use the Intercity bus network to get us from A to B (then C to D to E, and so on...) and each purchased a Flexipass which we used right from Rotorua in the North Island down to the very South. After paying…
Visiting Napier, New Zealand. Mainly to cycle and taste some wine.
