Curiosity Drive 🚐

Away missions exploring the galaxy in our 🚐 vanship, one planet at a time. Engage Curiosity Drive! [Currently establishing a base in Germany]

“You learn something new every day—but still die stupid”

💛 Be kind | 🤔 Stay curious

🇳🇿🇩🇪

Public Key

npub18gdhrtna43emmvl93lwrfslygqmekcx2azds2gls0pqs8nycwt7qg37vpw

NIP-05 Address

oCDo_at_mastodon.nz@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsr5xm34e76cuaak0jclhp5c0jyqdumvr9w3xc9y0c8ssgrejv89lqwtuq4m

Author Public Key

npub18gdhrtna43emmvl93lwrfslygqmekcx2azds2gls0pqs8nycwt7qg37vpw

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Last Notes

2024-08-14 18:06:49

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@npub1qzz…n8ud Thank you! It will be less regular than during our time in NZ, as we’re no longer travelling fulltime. However, there’s a lot of exploring to be had on our European doorstep 😀

2024-08-08 18:49:46

Before we introduce you to our new vanship, let’s recap recent exploration sans van and share our experience of buying and registering a vehicle in Germany.
👀 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2024/08/08/food-fossils-and-fahrzeugschein/
🚀#travel 🇩🇪#hessen #baden-württemberg #de 📷#photography
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2024-08-02 05:56:28

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@npub1wec…ruxg FFM is our new home base & Heimat | tūrangawaewae for S, so yes, we know Apfelwein 😎. Recently discovered a rosé variety, adulterated with Johannisbeersaft | red current juice, making it less tart.

2024-05-29 04:43:23

This stopover on our flight out of New Zealand (via Narita) would be our first visit to Seoul | 서울. After a first night in Incheon, we had several days in which to get a feel for this vibrant South East Asian capital while en route to begin a new chapter based in Europe.
👀 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2024/05/29/seoul-of-asia/
🚀 #Travel 🇰🇷 #Korea 📷 #Photography
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2024-04-18 23:24:53

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@npub1s4a…s6sv It’s only an off-season hire away (or “Curiosity” is still for sale!) 😉

2024-04-18 22:57:52

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@npub1s4a…s6sv The whole area is. Quite possibly favourite location of past 18mo if forced to pick just one!

2024-04-17 07:14:01

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@npub1tha…9kpm That would probably market better than “fish-flavoured chewing gum” 😉

2024-04-16 08:05:00

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@npub1hsn…d4wa Umm, would that be pan-fried, or is it some sort of Jaffa-like confectionery?
Yep, we stock Hummingbird for filter coffee 👍

2024-04-16 07:57:19

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@npub1hsn…d4wa Would that be to go with the chocolate fish? 😉

2024-04-16 07:54:57

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@npub193f…qcq6 Too right! We received the odd food parcel containing Almond Gold bars while living in the UK. Could defo have been in the haul—but for the Whittaker’s Doris Plum choc we already had in the fridge! 😊🍫

2024-04-12 19:34:36

[This post used machine translation]

2024-04-06 02:00:58

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And now you can have Philesturnus rufusater | tīeke | saddleback recorded on Rangitoto Island (Mar 2024) as a text message tone for iPhone:
https://curiositydrive.org/downloads/
#bird #song

2024-04-05 19:31:22

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Here’s that saddleback photo again, exported to video so you can hear the #bird #song (it was taken with iPhone’s “Live Photo” feature).
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2024-03-24 06:38:00

Māori & European settlers made bush tea from mānuka leaves. Zealong in Waikato is NZ’s only commercial tea estate, specialising in Taiwaniese oolong cultivars. Est. from cuttings imported in 1996, the plantation covers 48ha, nurtured by the right combo of rail, sun, soil, temp & Hamilton fog! Tea rows w/ resident pūkeko (📷1). Tea tour (📷2) & tasting (📷3). Signature High Tea at The Tea Room (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-23 05:45:26

Nikau Cave on prvt. farm in Waikaretu Valley is a “proper” 987m underworld adventure without the plastic wrapping; stunning formations incld. white terrace with crystal-filled pools; involves tight crawl thru water on hands & knees (📷1). Endemic Elatostema rugosum | parataniwha fond of Waikato’s damp gullies (📷2). Former seabed landscape around Limestone Downs (📷3). Sunset Bch, Port Waikato (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-21 05:29:48

Ruapuke Bch nr. Raglan is popular with surfers (📷1). Te Toto (“the blood”) Gorge is a natural amphitheatre nr. start of Mt Karioi Track (📷2); once home to extensive Māori gardens, the 70m cliffs expose the volcanic succession. Ngarunui Bch is another popular Raglan surfing spot (📷3). The nicely restored Harbour View Hotel, est. 1866, provides heritage charm in a town oriented towards surfing (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-21 04:54:38

Wairēinga (“leaping waters”) | Bridal Veil Falls, Pakoka River, S of Raglan. 2.5myo lava flowed & cooled atop 30myo sandstone. As water cascades over the basalt edge, it gouges out a pool in the sandstone below the falls—undermining & eroding the columnar basalt face; loosened chunks lie in the pool. 4 viewing areas offer distinct perspectives: above (📷1); upper (📷2); mid (📷3) & lower (📷4) track.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-21 04:17:56

A vertical fissure decorated w/ distinct bands of sediment, making it look almost organic; seen in a sea-exposed papa bluff at Puketoa on Aotea Harbour (📷1). Said harbour looked the picture of tranquility this morning (📷2). Over the hill it was a similar picture in Kāwhia Harbour (📷3&4). These are places we’d happily return to, but for now the road continued north…
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-20 03:58:41

Kāwhia Museum has excellent geology displays incld. this “porcupine” ventifact (📷1). Ironsands mined at Taharoa are concentrated & pumped as slurry to cargo ships moored at a buoy 3km offshore for export; the buoy in the harbour is a spare (📷2). Te Puia Springs on Kāwhia’s Ocean Bch produce 45°C water 2h either side of low tide (📷3). An exploratory dig, before workers unionised & pit closed (📷4)!
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-19 21:38:54

(2/2) Aotea Harbour. From Nihinihi Pt there’s a view SW to Albatross Pt, some 14km distant (📷1). Exposed to wind, water & salt, the ironsands had formed a crust; felt like 👣 barefoot walking on icing sugar (📷2). Evening light from the park-over property, a working farm overlooking Matakowhai Bay (📷3). As the day faded, silver ribbons on the mudflats heralded the returning tide (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-19 21:38:12

(1/2) Aotea Harbour. Stingray patrolling the shallows along Maukutea Bch (📷1). Mt Karioi at 756m rises behind the immense & waahi tapu | sacred black sand dunes that back onto Potoorangi Bay, across the harbour from the village of Aotea (📷2); stay off as scientific/ cultural value. Nihinihi Pt is ~2km along the Aotea Walkway (📷3). Opposite is Potahi Pt, creating a harbour entrance ~650m wide (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-19 21:37:29

Kāwhia Harbour is tidal; early Māori settlers flourished here (📷1). Fishing remains an important source of income; part of the small fleet seen from the Kaora Track (📷2). Tangi te Korowhiti is the pōhutukawa tree at which the Tainui waka is said to have landed in ~1350AD; now marked by an anchor-point stone (📷3). A contemporary twin-hulled waka lies at anchor off Maketu Marae at Karewa Bch (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-19 21:36:44

Ruakuri Walkway is a short free loop track offering a taste of limestone karst landscape—without the expense of mass tourism (📷1–3). There are tunnels to pass thru & cave openings to peer into. 1 of 5 paid public access caves in Waitomo, Ruakuri Cave can be toured via black water rafting i.e. sitting on an inner tube in water, with glow-worm ceiling lights; exit point is adjacent to walkway (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-18 06:38:28

Having plunged deep into Taranaki via the Forgotten World Highway, the central position of the region’s imposing mountain within North Island’s western cape dictated a coastal circumnavigation. We began in the south—but not before a near disaster...
👀 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2024/03/18/around-the-mountain/
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-18 06:09:18

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@npub1pfn…ztxj Sorry, that reference is too cryptic!?

2024-03-18 05:23:48

Into the Mighty Waikato, via Waitomo District. Manganui/ Mangatoa Rds definitely the road less travelled, hilly & winding: view looking back (📷1). An elevated view over the coastal settlement of Marokopa (📷2); minimal life signs detected. A short walk to Marokopa Falls ~16km inland (📷3) & into nearby Piripiri Cave (📷4). Access to Mangapohue Natural Bridge sadly closed; skipped Waitomo Caves as $$.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-17 23:30:01

Caves on the coast nr. Tongapōrutu River mouth contained Māori petroglyphs, sadly lost to erosion/ collapse. Several of the current sea caves in this dynamic environment can be transited (📷1). Bands of fine papa siltstone stood out from coarser sandstone layers (📷2&3). A large population of Physalia physalis/ Portuguese man o' war/ bluebottle, a stinging jellyfish, had washed onto the beach (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-17 23:28:52

At Tongapōrutu River mouth lookout on N bank (via Pilot Rd) reveals the Three Sisters & Elephant Rock, w/ White Cliffs behind (📷1). Despite names, of 4 original 10myo sandstone/ siltstone sea stacks, due to erosion only 2 remain (📷2) & the purported pachyderm is now trunkless (📷3); seen at low tide via 3km rtn beach walk from Clifton Rd on S bank. Several “trunks” found sans animal bodies (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-17 00:58:29

(2/2) New Plymouth. Sunday Seaside Market (📷1); perhaps a bit quieter than usual due to coincident WOMAD music festival? Dubious directions at the start/ end of the Coastal Walkway (📷2). Another Sunday market at Huatoki Plaza (📷3); great 🍞 bread & 🍩 donuts! Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, featuring a cloud-encompassed Mt Taranaki (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-17 00:57:48

(1/2) New Plymouth. Wind Wand, by the Len Lye Foundation (📷1). A Taranaki take on the Holstee Manifesto (📷2). One of many murals on the side of decaying buildings (📷3). Mirrored exterior of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/ Len Lye Centre, reflecting the White Hart Hotel opposite (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-16 08:05:16

Lake Mangamahoe on outskirts of New Plymouth is well-known for views of Mt Taranaki. The lake was created in 1932 to supply the city w/ water. Our 1st visit was on a dull morning at 0900h; seen from the picnic spot the summit was however clear (📷1). 24 hrs later, autumn snowfall changed the mood from the lookout (📷2). Same eve the snow & cloud was gone: again, from picnic area (📷3) & lookout (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-16 08:01:01

(3/3) Pouakai Range. Tarn-side Polytrichum juniperinum | juniper haircap moss isn’t unique to these parts; it occupies every continent (📷1). Waxy-leaved Brachyglottis elaeagnifolia is however endemic & only found on North Island (📷2). On the return, views over sphagnum moss swamp of Ahukawakawa (📷3) & to the columnar lava cliffs on the mountain’s shoulder (📷4).
~13km/ 4.5h rtn incld. 🥪 lunch!
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-16 07:59:28

(2/3) Pouakai Range. Boardwalk for nearly all of 6.3km/ 2h to tarns; at ~1,230m elevation views to Nth Taranaki Bight (📷1). Pouakai Tarns | Ruahumoko (named for their protective kaitaki | gaurdian ancestor) where used by Māori tohunga | gifted for spiritual cleansing & scrying; when the breeze stilled, we also saw things in the water from our lunch spot (📷2&3)! Summit refused to be free of ☁️ (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-16 07:58:12

(1/3) Pouakai Range. From Mangorei Rd end took Mangorei Tck to Pouakai Hut then Pouakai Tck to Ruahumoko tarns—which sometimes reflect Mt Taranaki. A clear summit after overnight snow, from 🅿️ (📷1). Section of monotonous boardwalk (📷2). Pouakai Range on approach to hut (📷3). 1st view from above hut (📷4); to R is The Dome, formed when lava bubbled up thru a fracture in the maunga & quickly cooled.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-14 04:06:11

Nth along South Taranaki coast on Surf Highway summarised by “Surf Beach 3km” signs & bleak small towns. Lucys Gully in Kaitake Range, Egmont NP accessed via redwood grove (📷1). Combined Waimoku Trk w/ rtn via Sefton Ridge Trk for 4.4km/ 2h loop. View to coast beyond Sefton Ridge (📷2) & Nth to New Plymouth & Sugar Loaf Is (📷3). Beachfront homes in Ōakura in contrast w/ deprivation to Sth (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-13 01:39:34

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Poi E 🎵🎥 (which resurged after featuring in the movie “Boy”):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq2K8ak47nM

2024-03-13 01:34:36

Pātea’s Mana Bch is ~57% iron (most concentrated ironsands in world), formed from eroded rocks on slopes of Mt Taranaki; 🧲 magnetic & scalding to 👣 in ☀️. SS Waitangi wrecked here in 1923 (📷1). Dalvanius Prime & Patea Māori Club recorded the hit 🎵 “Poi E” here in 1984, after town’s freezing works closed (📷2); iconic 1933 Aotea waka features in music vid (📷3). Museum has dioramas (📷4) & ventifacts.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-11 08:00:54

Dawson Falls on the slopes of Mt Taranaki were rediscovered in 1885 when Thomas Dawson almost fell from them. Known as Rere-a-Noke by Taranaki Māori, the original name recounts the story of a warrior who hid behind them to escape his enemies. The lookout is a short walk from the visitor centre (📷1); it’s also possible to descend to the pool at the base of the 18m cascade (📷2).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-11 07:49:25

Panitahi | Fanthams Peak is named for the 1st European woman to summit it in 1887. The many stairs begin in the “goblin forest” (📷1) & end at the bottom of a scree field (📷2). We turned back at 1,537m due to gusts, the Peak still some way off (📷3). In this wide shot looking down the tussock-clad slopes you can see part of the nearly circular Egmont NP | Te Papakura o Taranaki green boundary (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-10 21:00:11

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@npub1ahr…3j89 Yes en route to Fanthams Peak but just met other walkers who turned back at the scree slope due to wind & flying grit, so may end up turning back ourselves (as we did in 2007 due to fog!)
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2024-03-10 19:17:33

It’s #Taranaki Anniversary Day! Where else should we be, if not Egmont National Park? The day dawned clear from Dawson Falls Carpark (📷1). The summit of Taranaki Maunga | Mt Egmont at 2,518m makes it NZ’s 2nd highest mountain (📷2). On the southern flank, the secondary cone of Panitahi | Fanthams Peak rises to 1,966m (📷3). Siblings Tongariro, Ngāuruhoe & Ruapehu—over 130km away—send greetings (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-09 21:39:58

Fossil Canyon is a 2.5km walk from Bushlands Campground at Tāngarākau, itself a 6km detour off Forgotten World Highway (Ohura Rd). From the ghost town—once home to 1,200 people during 1920s/ 30s railway construction—a track leads upriver to a large natural amphitheater (📷1&2). Wild horses roam in the clearing (📷3) & 15myo sea fossils extracted from the cliff e.g. this crab are displayed at ⛺️ (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-09 21:38:13

Mt Damper Falls are a 15km/ 20min detour off the Forgotten World Highway; it’s a further 1km/ 20min on foot to the lookout from the 🅿️ area. A small platform affords a view of the top of these 74m falls (📷1). Mt Damper Stream continues in the valley below (📷2). The second platform is best for appreciating the curved papa (fine mudstone) bluff (📷3) & full drop (📷4). Unseen by Europeans until 1900!
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-03-09 21:35:15

Took Adventure Highway nth, again admiring Mt Ruapehu (📷1) & flat-topped Mt Hikurangi. Then onto Forgotten World Highway/ SH43 from the King Country town of Taumarunui. Initially it follows Whanganui River, beside bluffs of alternating coarse sandstone & fine mudstone (papa), former seabed up to 1.3km thick (📷2). Rugged farmland (📷3) gives way to bush in erosion-resistant Tangarakau Gorge (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-02-24 21:17:57

(3/3) Ōrākei Kōrako. Rautapu Cave is 1 of 2 found in thermal areas; a clear pool fills the bottom (📷1). Kohua Poharu mud pools formed when chemicals decomposed rock into clay, boiled from below (📷3). Waiariki | Soda Fountain was dormant for 17 yrs, until 1984 (📷3). Kurapae Geyser is unpredictable so out-of-bounds—we saw it erupt twice from visitor centre (📷4); a rare “geyser egg” was found there.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-02-24 21:15:37

(1/3) Ōrākei Kōrako is a thermal park reached by ferry on 12km sq artificial Lake Ōhakuri (📷1&2). Sadly, 2/3rds of the geothermal area was flooded by damming Waikato River in 1961. It’s free to 🅿️ overnight w/ entry tickets. Only Emerald Terrace is seen from near bank (📷2); it extends 35m below water. Once on far bank, that terrace (📷4) is trailhead for 2.2km/ 1.5h path through the park’s features.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-02-23 04:45:00

From Taupō’s Spa Thermal Park it’s 3.5km/ 50min walk to Huka Falls on Waikato River. En route is Otumuheke Stream—popular $0 geothermal bathing (📷1). The river becomes confined by a 15m-wide gorge, seen from the footbridge (📷2). Just downstream, the main fall channels ~200,000L/s over a 9m drop (📷3). Tour boats negotiate the aerated water (huka = foam in Māori) & undertow for a closer view (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-02-10 05:16:18

Rotorua District has 18 lakes. Tikitapu | Blue Lake (📷1) formed ~13,500 yrs ago & may drain underground into Lake Rotokakahi; a white rhyolite & pumice bottom colours it blue from above, as seen from Blue Lake Track (📷2). Rotokakahi | Green Lake coloured by sandy bottom, here seen from lookout—no public access (📷3). Lake Tarawera (📷4) is fed by Wairoa Stream & drains via Tarawera River into BOP.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-02-06 08:20:03

Te Puia, home of the NZ Māori Arts & Crafts Institute, held a Waitangi Day event. We arrived 1h before close from Mt Tarawera. Sadly the hāngī (& other options) ran out of food; the train offering geyser rides was out of action. However we saw some carvings e.g. the Te Arawai waka (📷1); reconstructed Māori village buildings (📷2); Pōhutu geyser from afar (📷3) & a performance on Rotowhio Marae (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-02-06 07:24:58

(1/3) Tarawera. We marked Waitangi Day with a crater walk on Te Maunga ō Tarawera | Mt Tarawera. Now closed to public access, Ngāti Rangitihi permit only guided tours. It erupted as recently as 1886, taking lives & destroying famous Pink & White Terraces. Arrival by AWD Hiace at crater rim, shaken not stirred (📷1&2). Wahanga Dome, a tapu iwi burial site (📷3). Putauaki at 821m, some 24km away (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-02-05 05:09:45

A summer day at Lake Taupō; a pause in our journey to admire some of the 🌋 volcanoes of the Central Plateau. The lake itself at 357m is a supervolcanic caldera (📷1). Taupō township has views to Mt Ruapehu at 2,797m (📷2), Mts Ngāuruhoe (a.k.a. “Mt Doom” to #LotR fans) at 2,287m & Tongariro at 1,967m (📷3). With temps in the high 20s the lake offered respite for some & breeze enough for others (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-01-28 04:54:04

Driving SH2 from Wairoa towards Napier was stop/ start due to poor road surface. Landscape mostly denuded hills bearing scars of erosion, with glimpses across Hawke’s Bay to Cape Kidnappers & Napier (📷1). Mohaka Viaduct, built in 1930s, is tallest in Australasia at 95m (📷2). Lake Tūtira was immensely popular with campers in all guises (📷3); the track around adjacent Lake Waikopiro was closed (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-01-27 05:15:52

(3/5) Waikaremoana Great Walk. While enjoying a well-earned break at Bald Knob, you’ll appreciate views down to the white sand beaches of Paengarua Bay (📷1) & Te Umutiti Pt (📷2). You’ll also marvel at the vast expanse of forest before you, stretching beyond the horizon (📷3). However, a change in orientation reveals the farms of “civilisation” & people with chainsaws are never too far away (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-01-27 05:14:38

(2/5) Waikaremoana Great Walk. There are very limited views as you make your way along Panekiri Bluff, but when there is a window, the vistas are nothing short of spectacular (📷1–3). After 6.5km arrive at Bald Knob, 1161m (579m above lake). This is a short detour off the main track & a great spot for a picnic after about 3h walking. We returned to Onepoto after a bite & drinking in the views (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-01-24 05:05:55

A couple of images of #Gisborne’s palm-lined town centre, with heritage architecture (📷1&2). Beside the port is a vandalised statue of Capt. James Cook (📷3) who sought provisions here, but fled without any—having slain local Māori after misinterpreting a traditional challenge as hostile; thus, Poverty Bay got its name. The plains south of the city contain vineyards & extensive corn fields (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 📷 #Photography
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2024-01-17 19:32:20

Entrance gate at Ōmāio Marae, an open area for greetings/ discussions in front of a wharenui | meeting house (to sleep guests, here called Rongomaihuatahi), but may refer to whole complex. This one serves the hapū | sub-tribe of Te Whānau a Nuku, of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui iwi | tribe (a 17th C ancestor). Also inscribed, the names of 2 of Apanui’s wives. As well as whakapapa | lineage, marae may connect ancestrally to specific waka | canoes & geographic features e.g. moana | sea & awa | rivers. #nz
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2024-01-16 08:22:30

An advantage of being “on site” in a camper is witnessing changing light thru the day. Whakaari | White Is, seen from Ōpōtiki’s Hukuwai Beach Recreation Reserve, smoked shades of white, grey & blue (📷1). Light can also change our mood—from irritation over fly-tipping (for which us freedom campers will be blamed) to joy at the reds & golds of sunset on Hukuwai Beach (📷2–4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2024-01-11 02:35:20

Pāpāmoa Hills Cultural Heritage Regional Park protects an extensive & centuries-old Māori pā complex, with 1,630 archaeological features. Karangaumu Pā one of the largest, adopting a defensive design with commanding coastal views (📷1&2). The site has views to Tauranga/ Mt Maunganui (📷3). After, delicious 🍓 ice cream from Black Stump Berries nr. Te Puke—NZ’s 🥝 capital (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2024-01-05 05:54:16

A bromeliad at #Auckland Botanic Gardens (📷1), which has plenty of space to wander & sniff. If you’re lucky some of the birds may hold perfectly still for a photograph (📷2). Back down memory lane for B on a visit to Maraetai Beach, where jumping from the wharf is still a thing (📷3). Magazine Bay further along the Pōhutukawa Coast another option; that’s Waiheke beyond (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-12-29 03:54:57

Called on “Plan C” for park-up last night (too big/ ⛺️ full), but good AM view from 3rd-try pitch at Manganese Pt on #Whangārei Harbour (📷1). On to Pātaua, two halves of which are linked by a footbridge spanning Pātaua River estuary (📷2). The North side was popular with bathers & people playing on watercraft (📷3). An ocean beach opposes Te Whangai Head on South side (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-11-20 22:54:13

Transited through Tasman District, with an overnight stop in Murchison. On towards Marlborough via SH63 alongside Buller River (📷1) to St Arnaud. Morning tea stop in Kerr Bay, Nelson Lakes National Park (📷2). The endemic NZ longfin eels/ tuna/ Anguilla dieffenbachii plentiful beneath the protection of the jetty (📷3). Would be ideal weather to hike to Parachute Rocks (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-11-15 05:26:34

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@npub147m…7rue Judging from the footprint and other “bird sign”, guessing this impression on the beach the other day probably isn’t moa… 😆
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2023-11-15 01:43:42

We circled back to #Christchurch via southern Canterbury, timing our travel to catch the early blooming of lupins in the Mackenzie Basin. You might even say we were “lupin north”! Before continuing with the northward journey there were several mop-up points of interest to visit (and revisit) in Christchurch City and on Banks Peninsula.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
👀 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2023/11/15/lupin-north-through-canterbury/
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2023-11-11 23:46:47

Le Bons Bay (📷1) on Banks Peninsula was home to French settlers; the name may be that of a sailor who made landfall here to confirm it wasn’t Akaroa Harbour! A fur seal was resting on the sand (📷2); yellow-eyed penguin visit too. The surrounding rugged hills are volcanic (📷3). The estuary is a protected nesting site (📷4) for variable oystercatchers/ Haematopus unicolor.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-11-07 02:54:30

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@npub17nc…9dam I do the same 😀. For insects (or flowers) using iPhone I like that if you shoot in Portrait mode, you can Edit when reviewing to change focal length, for more or less background blur. Similarly, using my semi-proper camera if there’s opportunity (i.e. not for fantails) I shoot the subject on Program, Aperture & Auto to increase the likelihood of being happy with the result!

2023-10-28 06:49:16

The freedom camping area at Lowburn Harbour offers a perfectly acceptable view from pitch (📷1). The edge of Lake Dunstan here is decorated with tree lupin/ Lupinus arboreus (📷2), naturalised in 1889. Another North American immigrant growing with abandon here is the California poppy/ Eschscholzia californica (📷3). Across the road is Lowburn Inlet & Sugar Loaf at 304m (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-10-26 01:14:46

(2/2) It’s not yellow that rules the landscape here, but shades of violet/ purple. We’ve come back for the “purple haze” of wild thyme/ Thymus vulgaris (📷1); more of that soon 🤞. On the surrounding hillsides there’s also naturalised viper’s bugloss/ Echium vulgare (📷2) & wild sage/ Salvia verbenaca (📷3); plus the native poroporo/ Solanum laciniatum (📷4).
🌸 #BloomScrolling
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-10-25 10:34:10

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@npub1vlh…f6as We’re actively populating a guide by area at https://curiositydrive.org/2023/04/08/discovering-new-zealand/. Hiring a camper is a great way to explore, especially for the more remote locations—of which there are many!

2023-10-21 04:30:17

Tulip fields beside Tramway Rd West, Edendale #Southland. We called by as fellow travellers from Southland suggested we make a small detour. Triflor NZ operate NZ’s largest tulip farm. There’s an open day this Labour Day (23 Oct) so public can wander with permission amongst 🌷. They will shortly thereafter be debudded; the bulbs will be exported to the Northern Hemisphere.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-10-20 19:41:17

After a last look at (fully exposed) Mitre Peak (📷1) in Milford Sound, back to DOC’s Cascade Creek Campsite. A pleasant evening (📷2) was followed by a pleasant morning (📷3); these views from pitch are hard to top. We made a third attempt to find the elusive mohua that lives in the beech forest here; only the NZ robin/ Petroica australis was breakfasting in public (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-10-02 03:44:07

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@npub147m…7rue Yup, from t-shirt to fleece with the heater on! I guess you’ll know those gusts have increased in intensity when your weather station stops sending data…

2023-09-28 21:58:04

In deviating to the east of SH1 north of Ōtepoti | #Dunedin we would discover a new favourite locale in Pūrākaunui Inlet & stumble across a beautiful rare bird we were not supposed to see here. At Aramoana, the small town with a troubled past, we would see our first mainland sea lion—having previously encountered them on Stewart Island.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
🚐 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2023/09/29/northern-dunedin/
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2023-09-28 07:22:17

Sandymount to Sandfly Bay track took 1h to descend 2.7km to the beach (from car park at end of Sandymount Rd, via lookout). The track begins as sandy soil but very soon becomes pure sand (📷1&2). We didn’t access the beach due to presence of large sea lion bulls (📷3)/ insufficient beach to keep a respectful distance. Sandfly Bay (as in “Sand flies”) seen from lookout (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-28 06:55:04

Allans Beach on Otago Peninsula takes its name from Scottish surveyor John Allans, who mapped the area in the 1840s (📷1). The wind whipped up the sea (📷2) & threw sand in our faces. Idiots holding phone cameras got too close to sea lions; one beached behind us (📷3), so eyes on a swivel. At entrance to Hoopers Inlet a mother & pup tried & failed to surmount the bank (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-27 09:28:46

(1/2) Victory Beach, Otago Peninsula. We took the loop walk through Okia Reserve, which begins between a pair of volcanic “Pyramids” (📷1). Here you can see basalt columns akin to those of the Organ Pipes nr. Mt Cargill (📷2). Noted trackside pikiarero/ Clematis sp. (📷3) & pōhiri/ Pittosporum tenuifolium (📷4). Cleared for pasture in 1800s, the area is #rewilding since 1991.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-27 07:12:13

Taiaroa Head | Pukekura on Otago Peninsula is home to a blue penguin colony at Pilot Beach (📷1). The paid tours run after dark, but during our daytime visit we admired the robust burrows these #birds construct (📷2). Tours are also offered into Fort Taiaroa with its disappearing gun (📷3), installed to defend against feared Russian invasion. Opposite is Aramoana’s Mole (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-27 06:52:56

Northern royal albatross/ Diomedea epomophora can be seen at Otago Museum, in adult (📷1) & juvenile (📷2) form. Taiaroa Head | Pukekura is only mainland breeding colony: oceanic winds provide lift for these 8.2kg/ 3m wingspan giants who spend 85% of their lives at sea. At Royal Albatross Centre we watched cliffs (📷3) & saw one of the last soaring #birds of this season (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-26 07:11:34

St Clair & St Kilda are contiguous beaches in South Ōtepoti | #Dunedin (📷1). Am I alone in finding the absence of demarcation irritating? St Clair has had an esplanade since 1870s; salt water baths opened 1884 but weren’t heated until 1960s (📷2). Viewed from the lookout at Lawyers Head, St Kilda is the less urbanised end (📷3). The beach here looks almost tropical (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-25 04:19:39

Mt Cargill to north of Ōtepoti | #Dunedin, seen here from Buttars Peak (📷1), summits at 676m. The 105m tower is the city’s tallest structure. These craggs are the eroded younger remains of the 1000m Dunedin Volcano that last erupted 10M yrs ago. Views extend over city & down coast to The Catlins (📷2); the length of Otago Peninsula (📷3); to Blueskin Bay/ N to Shag Pt (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-20 07:33:34

Aramoana. I was on shift in #Dunedin Hospital when bodies came in after 1990 mass shooting; visited memorial. The Mole ideal for spying coastal birds e.g. white-fronted tern/ Sterna striata (📷1) & spotted shag/ Phalacrocorax punctatus—green cheek foretells breeding (📷2). Sea lion/ Phocarctos hookeri blend into sand (📷3). Sandblasted walk to Keyhole Rock on Big Beach (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-20 06:24:29

Long Beach northeast of Ōtepoti/ #Dunedin is just over 2km of sand—much of which was flying during our visit (📷1). The beach is sprinkled with turret shells belonging to the endemic sea snail Maoricolpus roseus (📷2). There are caves at the northern end, including a rather large one used by fire-making campers (📷3). The adjacent crags are popular with rock climbers (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-19 20:16:35

More images from Pūrākaunui Inlet, Ōtepoti/ #Dunedin. A still evening as the tide returns (📷1). Elevated view from green fields of a muted sunset (📷2). Telephoto view of boat sheds reflecting in fading light, Mapoutahi Pā beyond (📷3). Sacred kingfisher/ kōtare/ Todiramphus sanctus, looking for estuarine edibles on the morning tide (📷4); earlier observed dispatching 🦀 crab!
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-18 07:48:32

Kātiki Point forms southern tip of Moeraki Peninsula. Lighthouse built 1878 (📷1). Coastal views from pā of Te Raka-a-Hineatea, in use in 18th century (📷2); little remains. Plenty of 🦭. Saw 2 yellow-eyed penguin/ hoiho (📷3). Also named takaraka after their call, ~20% of the mainland population breed here. Tārapuka/ red-billed gulls (📷4) were nesting; 7% of pairs are female.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-13 19:45:07

Lake Heron at 691m elevation also within Hakatere Conservation Park in #Canterbury high country; sheep-jam on approach (📷1)! Just 360m/ 10min detour to kettle hole left by retreating glacier (📷2), now home to rare & delicate plants. Lake Hill at 762m is a 3km/ 45min rtn track, with views of Mt Sugarloaf 1238m & Harrisons Bight (📷3) & Wild Mans Brother Range opposite (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-09 21:23:10

Rakaia Gorge, #Canterbury. There is river access on south bank via short Taniwha Track (📷1). For longer walk, take Rakaia Gorge Walkway on north bank, which soon rewards with view back to bridge ca. 1882 (📷2); then after 1.7km/ 30min reach Lower Gorge Lookout (📷3). Bursts of yellow on both banks from flowering gorse & kōwhai, with petals folded like butterfly wings (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-09-05 07:54:48

The beach at end of 15min Truman Track nr. Punakaiki on #WestCoast worth a visit. Overlying limestone has eroded away (which is still present at Pancake Rocks), leaving the sandstone bluffs exposed to sea & wind. Watch the breakers roll in (📷1), find a fossil in fallen rocks (📷2), witness the dramatic sculpted cliffs (📷3), & dance with the tide on a fine pebble beach (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-08-24 04:18:47

Lake Rotoroa (“long lake”) is largest lake in Nelson Lakes NP; water taxi runs from jetty (📷1). View south down lake to Maniniaro/ Angelus Peak 2,075m in the Travers Range to L, Mt Misery 1,601m to R (📷2). On western shore, Braeburn Walk 5km/ 1.5h thru beech/ podocarp forest (📷3) leads to waterfall. Source of Te Kauparenui/ Gowan River (📷), draining lake into Buller River.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-08-15 06:46:33

We turned up for our first community litter pick this afternoon. Unfortunately, nobody else did—including the organisers! #NZ is apparently one of the best places for on-land access to Anthropocene sediments. For example, this graffiti in Ngarua Cave (📷1) or this vehicle tyre partially buried on Farewell Spit (📷2). Said layers provide fascinating insights into the behaviour of H. sapiens stupidicus, a species that habitually fouls its own nest & may be headed for self-inflicted extinction.
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2023-08-13 10:15:59

Time-limited Golden Bay/ Mohua “must do” itineraries will typically feature the sands of Farewell Spit at the farthest end and the clear waters of Te Waikoropupū Springs near Tākaka. When time is less scarce, visitors can enjoy many more points of interest around Tākaka and in the adjacent bays, and more still in the Aorere Valley.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
👀 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2023/08/13/southern-golden-bay/
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2023-08-11 07:11:47

Heaphy Track trailhead in Kahurangi NP 34km from Collingwood; last 13 gravel. Flooding wiped out key bridge so no thru route. Aorere River access just beyond 🅿️ (📷1); Brown River (📷2) near 1st hut. Views from track to Farewell Spit some 50km distant as crow flies (📷3) & of snow-dusted ranges across valley (📷4). Bailed on Shakespeare Flat Track due to slips. 13km/ 4h to rtn.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-08-08 07:57:25

(3/3) Farewell Spit/ Onetahua. Walk back along ocean beach felt long, into headwind. The spit has seen mass strandings of whales. Fossil Point (📷1) marks the base of the spit; fossil shells (📷2) & worms can be seen in the rocks here. Cut thru farm back to Triangle Flat, or close loop via Hill Top Walk for views over Spit (📷3), Port Pūponga & Old Man Range. 14km/ 4.5h (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-08-08 07:57:00

(2/3) Farewell Spit/ Onetahua. Longest spit in NZ: 25km stable land + 5km sand. Sediments from rivers draining Southern Alps over 14k yrs are deposited here, where northward Westland Current meets Cook Strait. Wind carries most sand to shores of Golden Bay; rest forms dunes that creep E given dominant W wind. Inner Beach (📷1). Interior wetlands (📷2&3). Ocean Beach (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-08-08 07:56:21

(1/3) Farewell Spit/ Onetahua. Free access limited to initial 4km of coast to protect birds; paid tours go further into nature reserve. Waders eat mollusks, crustaceans & worms in the sand flats. Black swan (📷1) & SI pied oystercatcher (📷2). Argonauta nodosus—fragile octopus eggcase, on bed of seagrass—largest meadow in NZ here (📷3). Translucent shell of horse mussel (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-08-04 07:48:03

Saw this endemic purple hebe/ Veronica speciosa flowering on the roadside (📷1) during walk to Grove Scenic Reserve at Clifton. Featured here are limestone formations, through which a 1km path meanders; there are also nīkau palms & vine-like northern rātā roots to admire. A lookout reached via passage thru blocks (📷2) gives views over pasture (📷3) & Motupipi Estuary (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-08-03 21:20:18

Pōhara in Golden Bay/ Mohua does a good line in sunsets. There are reflections to capture in the extensive sand flats at low tide (📷1), and silhouettes to be made of NZ beachfront icons: cabbage tree/ tī kōuka/ Cordyline australis (📷2); flax/ harakeke/ Phormium tenax (📷3); & native toe toe—but wait, could it be similar but invasive pampas grass/ Cortaderia selloana (📷4)?
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-08-02 01:59:13

Tākaka is the township you reach having crossed Tākaka Hill & serves as the visitor gateway to Golden Bay/ Mohua. As for other motorhomers, for us it’s a convenient base to restock food, fuel, etc. We can recommend the quirky Wholemeal Café (📷1). As with many small NZ towns there’s heritage architecture to admire (📷2&3), as well as the inevitable Kiwiana-themed mural (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-07-11 07:05:03

Karaka Point (📷1) sits btw Whatamango & Waikawa bays; a worthwhile 2.5km road walk from the DOC camp. The reserve contains remnant defensive earthworks, pits & hut foundations from a 16th century Ngāti Mamoe pā (📷2); it was subsequently taken by various iwi, falling most recently in 1830. There are views far down Queen Charlotte Sound/ Tōtaranui (📷3) & a small beach (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-07-11 06:35:43

About 20% of NZ's total coastline is said to be within the fractal-like submerged river valleys forming the #Marlborough Sounds, which also include 100s of islands/ islets. Whatamango Bay (📷1-4) is off Queen Charlotte Sound/ Tōtaranui, the easternmost of 3 principal bodies of water or “sounds” (the others are Kenepuru & Pelorus/ Te Hoiere). This shallow bay is often windy.
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-06-30 08:24:18

(1/2) Kaikōura Peninsula Walkway kicks off with views back to the snow-capped Seaward Kaikōura Ranges, rising dramatically behind the coastal flats (📷1). People come here though for the fur seal colonies: visible from the car park (📷2), or seen on the rocks/ beach/ grass below the scenic cliff top walk—such as at Point Keen Viewpoint (📷3) or overlooking Whalers Bay (📷4).
🚐 #VanLife #Motorhome #CamperVan #RV #Travel #RoadTrip #Nomad 🇳🇿 #Aotearoa #NZ #NewZealand 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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2023-06-02 21:36:14

(2/2) A highlight for visitors to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the #GoldCoast is undoubtably the twice-daily rainbow lorikeet feeding. Feedings have been a tradition since 1947 when a local floriculturist began coaxing wild flocks away from his flowers—to the delight of spectators, leading to establishment of a 🦜 sanctuary. A milky “wombaroo” feed is a protein shake served in metal bowls held aloft to invite close encounters.
🚐 #Travel #Nomad 🦘 #AU #Australia 🤔🌲🧭❤️ #CREWmission 📷 #Photography
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