When you look at a map of New Zealand, one thing that jumps out is the number of national parks and reserves. On the North Island alone, I counted at least 14. A guesstimate would be at least 10 of the island is preserved. The last two days, we've been riding through or near two of these parks - Tongariro National Park and Whanganui National Park. Tongariro National Park is dominated by volcanoes. There are 3 big ones all clustered together - Tongariro, Ngaur...

Rotorua - the Yellowstone of New Zealand... Well, except that Yellowstone doesn't have tattooed Maori warriors giving cultural performances every night and twice on Sunday. Rotorua is in the center of the North Island. The Maori were attracted to this site because of hot water springs that bubble up all over the area. Tourist were later attracted to the site because of spas that were built to take advantage of the abundant hot water. Along with the hot water,...

Thoughs on the first days of cycling in New Zealand... If you don't like the weather now, just wait a minute. We've seen sunny skies, warm temperatures, dark clouds, rain, cold air, high winds and dead calms... and that was in the first hour of cycling! Our guide warned us that we should be prepared with biking clothes for all four seasons in the same afternoon, and after the first couple of days, I believe him. I've never seen conditions change so fast. New ...

Kia ora! I've uploaded some photos from Auckland this morning. Hope to add some more from the first couple days of cycling tonight. A few more words about Auckland... If Rome was the city built on 7 hills, Auckland is the city built on 7 volcanos. Volcano domes are all around the area. The Auckland Museum has a whole section dedicated to volcano's and the possible disaster that could come if one erupts near the city. And that seems likely at some point. In the h...

A new adventure begins... I arrived in Auckland New Zealand yesterday morning. Tomorrow, I start a three week bike trip that will take me across both the North and South Islands. This is my first time in New Zealand and I'm really looking forward to seeing everything I can. I've heard nothing but positive things from anyone I've met who's been here before. This is a guided cycling trip, kind of like the ones I've done in Europe. There are 12 other people on the...