by Jenna Thomas | Jun 20, 2016 | Destinations, New Zealand, Round the World Travel
Early one February morning, I woke up in the back of a twenty-year-old minivan to the sound of torrential rain pounding the roof. I muttered a few curses, pulled on my most waterproof clothing, and stumbled through the downpour to a rustic pit toilet on the edge of...
by Jenna Thomas | Dec 18, 2015 | Destinations, New Zealand, Round the World Travel
At the beginning of this year, my knowledge of Maori culture started and ended with the haka that New Zealand’s rugby team, the All Blacks, perform before a match. When Ben and I arrived in New Zealand, I learned that Maori history is a controversial subject, one...
by Ben Thomas | Mar 20, 2015 | BenThere, Destinations, New Zealand
Near every time I arrive at some secluded cove or beachside town and look out, I am immediately drawn to those playing in the water. Not true; first, I am enamored by the spectacular color of the water. Again. I do this everytime. I see actual, blue ocean water and I...
by Jenna Thomas | Mar 17, 2015 | Destinations, New Zealand
I wanted to love Karamea. At the end of a twisty road, on a beachy corner of New Zealand’s South Island, it sounded right up my alley. The town refers to itself as the West Coast’s “best kept secret” and Lonely Planet described it as “a...
by Jenna Thomas | Mar 2, 2015 | Destinations, New Zealand, Round the World Travel
I was twelve years old when I decided that I was going to New Zealand someday. I saw the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and fell irrevocably in love with Middle Earth (I know there’s nothing unique about this; hundreds of thousands of NZ visitors...
by Jenna Thomas | Feb 24, 2015 | Destinations, New Zealand
After a month on the beaches of the North Island, Ben and I were ready for mountains. So after crossing Cook Strait and stopping for a leisurely wine tasting in Marlborough, we set our sights on Nelson Lakes National Park. It was conveniently halfway between wine...
