Having stayed in the House Truck in Motueka for the past few weeks we decided it was about time we made it out to the Kahurangi National Park. Located in the northwest of New Zealand’s South Island, Kahurangi is New Zealand’s second-largest national park and just west of Abel Tasman. In places it is an untrekked wilderness, elsewhere a wonderful...

A popular destination for walkers, joggers, and wildlife enthusiasts. The Motueka Sandspit is also an internationally recognized site for local and migrant shorebirds - some flying epic distances to get here. Thousands of birds roost and breed on the sandpit each summer. Godwits, oystercatchers, terns, and shags are the most common, while turnstones, knots, and dotterels can also be...

Campfire Cookout Near Parapara

The other day we drove down to Farewell Spit. A “spit” being like a large narrow sand peninsula. The drive out was super scenic and the coastline was beautifully distracting. I kept wanting to focus my attention on the bay, the birds, the mountains, colossal-sized dead trees that lay off to the side, and the wildlife before me, instead...

Hearing about gold in the area made me daydream about hitting it rich. Finding gold in the Aorere River. We headed out to Salisbury Falls, a popular spot for swimming during the summer and a place that has the best skipping stones I think I've ever found. I feel like I broke some skipping record for sure. We brought...

A small shipwreck sits derelict along the shore. The Janie Seddon is a famous ship with a long history. Built in 1901 in Scotland, the ship was once used as a fishing vessel and it's the last ship to be used in both World Wars by the NZ government. In the evening, when the tide is low, concrete slab...

Walking across the sandy shore, the estuary is exposed at Sandy Bay. Bella and I took our shoes off and rolled up our pant legs as to not get our clothes wet. The water immediately sent a shock through our system and before I knew it I couldn’t feel my feet. Mallards lay next to a large washed-up log...

I think one of the biggest regrets living in Abel Tasman all this time, is that it took this long to discover the Riwaka Resurgence (Te Puna o Riuwaka). This serene green getaway is just down the road from Riwaka, and it's a perfect place to escape. Take a short walk along the river, which leads to a stunning...

Off the northern coast of the S. Island of New Zealand is Tokangawhā aka Split Apple Rock, a geological rock formation in Tasman Bay. This popular tourist attraction was officially given the name "Split Apple Rock" in 1988 and is a point of interest for many tourists. The granite rock, in the shape of an apple (go figure) appears...

If like me, you were born in America, or another developed country, you come from an inherently privileged position. You have plenty of personal freedom, and you get to exercise this at a time which could be considered the peak of progress in human history. However, that doesn’t mean that your life is rosy. The cost of living in America...