Category Archives: new zealand

Oamaru, Mouraki, and Dunedin

Posted on March 6, 2019 by juliamenn

Oamaru was a gem of a find – a historic gold-mining and quarrying town renowned for its well-preserved heritage buildings. The Victorian precinct is particularly note-worthy for its Victorian and Industrial Steam themed buildings. In other words, kids, this is … Continue reading →

Posted in new zealand, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged Dunedin, explore, gold-mining, Industrial, Little Blue Penguins, Mouraki, Mouraki Boulders, new zealand, Oamaru, rocks, solo female travel, Steam, Steampunk, time and tide, Travel, Victorian | 1 Comment

Edoras and the Pelennor Fields

Posted on April 25, 2018 by juliamenn

Ok, this is going to be a full on geeky fangirl post. I’ve already shared quite a bit about visiting Lord of the Rings film sites, and there was NO WAY I was going to miss two of the biggest, … Continue reading →

Posted in new zealand, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged battle, canterbury, david wenham, death, edoras, eowyn, golden hall, horse lords, lord of the rings, lotr, mount sunday, new zealand, pelennor fields, peter jackson, props, ringwraith, rohan, rohirrim, sword, tour, twizel, twizel tours | Leave a comment

Queenstown Letdown and Discovering Mount Cook

Posted on April 11, 2018 by juliamenn

From Wanaka, I made my way down to Queenstown, Tourist Central and Home of Adventure Sports such as skiing, boating, sky-diving, and a really big swing. Before I got there, I took a brief detour to Arrowtown, a small village … Continue reading →

Posted in new zealand, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged adventure sports, amisfield, aoraki, arrowtown, arwen, avalanche, burger, chenin blanc, fergburger, film location, glacier, lord of the rings, lotr, mount cook, mountain, new zealand, queenstown, river, sky diving, south island, tourist, trek, wine, wine tasting | Leave a comment

A Brief Sojourn in Wanaka

Posted on December 14, 2017 by juliamenn

Maybe it’s because the weather cleared up, maybe it’s because the Fall colours were on full display, maybe it’s because I FINALLY got to do some adventure sports – but I freaking LOVED Wanaka!

Posted in new zealand, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged aerobatics, aeronautics, aeroplane, airplane, anxiety, church, cocktail, comfort zone, easter, empath, fall, fly, flying, nature, new zealand, snoopy, soul, south island, that wanaka tree, trick flying, u-fly, wanaka, wine tasting | Leave a comment

Wet on the West Coast

Posted on October 28, 2017 by juliamenn

What’s the first thing that springs to mind when I say West Coast? Ok, probably California. But, unlike that warm, sunny, American expanse, the West Coast in New Zealand is generally referring to the section on the South Island along … Continue reading →

Posted in new zealand, Uncategorized | Tagged aoraki, fish and chips, fox glacier, franz josef, glacier, haast, hiking, hokitika, lake mathieson, mt cook, mt tasman, new zealand, rain, rainbow, south island, the craypot, walk, weather, West Coast, wet | Leave a comment

Let Me Count the Ways

Posted on October 22, 2017 by juliamenn

As I’ve mentioned, unfortunately my work visa for New Zealand didn’t pan out, and the past month and a half has been an utter whirlwind as I tried to sort out my path forward. I was waking up every morning … Continue reading →

Posted in new zealand, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged air asia, airport, auckland, Change, china, currency, flights, fly, hong kong, insurance, life, lifestyle, moving, new zealand, nz, passport, plan, question, sell, solo female travel, transferwise, Travel, visa, wellington, work | 2 Comments

Christchurch and Arthur’s Pass

Posted on October 15, 2017 by juliamenn

The day after seal watching was dedicated to soaking at Hanmer Springs – a hot springs facility outside of Christchurch. I got an $11 ticket from a deals website (either grabone or bookme, I think) and spent the entire, rainy … Continue reading →

Posted in new zealand, Uncategorized | Tagged 185 white chairs, akaroa, arthurs pass, butterflies, cardboard cathedral, castle hill, cathedral, christchurch, earthquake, hanmer springs, hot springs, limestone, loss, lyttelton, memorial, monarch, Mountains, road trip, rock climbing, rocks, Sheep, simpsons, springfield, tragedy, wine | Leave a comment

South Island Road Trip: Part 1

Posted on October 7, 2017 by juliamenn

There was a lot of driving done on South Island, and I’d say half of it was because, “Well, I have time, so I’m going to take this several hour long side trek to see whatever’s there.” I zig-zagged back … Continue reading →

Posted in new zealand, Uncategorized | Tagged beach, cape foulwind, colony, drive, iphone, lake, lake rotoiti, lake rotoroa, new zealand, pictures, road trip, sand flies, seal, south island, st arnaud, sunset, walk, West Coast, wildlife | 1 Comment

Farewell Spit

Posted on October 2, 2017 by juliamenn

No, it’s not the name of some strange leaving ritual (though now that you mention it…) – it’s the stretch of land right at the tippy top of the South Island. Weather was inclement, but I wasn’t going to let … Continue reading →

Posted in new zealand, Uncategorized | Tagged anxiety, beach, cove, depression, elements, farewell spit, life, living, nature, new zealand, pilot whale, sand, seal, skeleton, south island, struggle, whale, wharariki beach | Leave a comment

Plot Twist!

Posted on September 26, 2017 by juliamenn

Well, in an unpleasant turn of events, my New Zealand work visa has fallen through. I had been so hopeful that somehow things would work out so I’d get to stay here in this beautiful city I’ve made my home, … Continue reading →

Posted in Musings, new zealand, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged action, america, beach, china, clouds, comfort, difficult, fight, fish and chips, hard, hurt, love, new zealand, paths, persevere, perspective, stability, Travel, usa, visa, wellington, weta, wisconsin, working | 1 Comment