Adventure tourism is an ever-expanding industry, and today roughly 20% of all adult travelers are considered adventure tourists. However, most travelers don’t want adventure merely for adventure’s sake. Instead, today’s savvy jetsetters want to combine an exciting experience organically with the beauty and local flavor of a location. If you’re looking
Milford Track. The 3 day, 33 mile hike in New Zealand's majestic Fiorland is the lushest, greenest environment I've ever seen. The hike is often otherworldly- like a background imported directly out of the movie Avatar. It's a botanic wonderland filled with draping moss, ferns, crookedly ancient trees, bubbling brooks,
Early morning at Milford Sound. On this particular morning, the sun was out. It was early enough that the dozens of tour operators coming from Queenstown hadn't yet set sail on the water, and all was still. I was lucky to capture this reflection, to have this private encounter with
Everyone knows that adventure sports are all the rage in New Zealand. But sometimes, life is best lived at a slower pace. Kayaking to Hahei's spectacular Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel Peninsula is the perfect balance of both.***To contribute to the "Snapshot of the Week" feature, please review the submission
2010 turned out to be an incredibly liberating travel year for me. With a brief stint of unemployment came a robust time of opportunity, full of adventures and exciting destinations. Here are my top 10 places that I visited in the past 12 months… 10. Taupo,New Zealand Taupo itself isn’t the most
The quest to complete my 55 Places continues... During my month-long trip to New Zealand, I was able to cross off my bucket list item #25, "Try not to lose my footing on a glacier", at Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of the South Island. I had been fortunate
For the past 5 years or so, I've really yearned for some tangible time off to travel. One or two weeks just doesn't always cut it, especially if you want to go far, but quitting your job for the sake of travel never made much sense to me either (especially
After my fantastic relaxing break in the fall-drenched Queenstown, I was rested and off to complete the last leg of my journey. I took the InterCity bus from Queenstown to Franz Josef Glacier, an 8 hour bus ride that could have easily been done in 6 hours (because they stopped every
Every summer when I was growing up, my parents would dutifully take me on trips to some of America’s finest national parks. Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Glacier, the Grand Tetons, Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park… We’d go for two weeks and try to explore as much as possible, having fun
If you know me, you know I tend to stay on the safe side of the street; I don’t really seek out danger or adventure. But something has gotten into me, and I’ve fully embraced the adrenaline-filled activities that New Zealand is known for. Last Sunday, I went whitewater rafting
Day 1 – Auckland to Hahei Leaving Auckland we stopped at Mount Eden, a dormant volcano, for views of the city and the famous nearby Rugby stadium. We traveled through the Coromandel Peninsula to Hahei, a beach town most notable for its spectacular Cathedral Cove. As we made the drive to Hahei,
New Zealand is a country that’s known for being overwhelmingly welcoming to backpackers. With so many young people on their year-long sabbatical to Australia (aided by a working visa so they can work at orchards and farms or the random odd-job to further fund their travels) New Zealand is frequently
