Aotearoa Adventures: The New Zealand Travel Podcast

Often found underwater, Annika Andresen is a passionate scuba diver, whose love for the ocean began as a child, spending every summer living on a 30 ft yacht and sailing around New Zealand. During university, she started off working as a deck hand on a boat, and working in Kelly Tarltons during winter. She now works with leading scientists on ocean research and is program manager for expeditions a...

Morgan Healey always wanted to do a vanlife trip, but didn't have a van and found that holding her back. Then she was inspired when she saw someone else do a road trip out of their station wagon and booked ferry tickets that same night. It was her first time driving on her own, her first visit to the south island and her first solo trip. Morgan's adventure had it's fair share of mishap...

The Te Araroa Trail stretches from Cape Reinga to Bluff and each summer, enthusiastic hikers like Zoe take on the thru-hiking challenge. She walked 3,026 km over 138 days and shares her favourite moments and the challenges she faced. As a kiwi-born, returning to Aotearoa from a stint overseas, Zoe loved connecting with people along the way and rediscovering what makes New Zealand so special. We ta...

Robert Bruce founded Got to Get Out, a social enterprise adventure group based out of Auckland. After being made redundant from his own company, he had an epiphany while hiking in Nepal and realised the importance of the outdoors for social and mental wellbeing. We talk about the shift from corporate hustle to running over 800 events, including hiking, rock climbing, skiing, canyoning, biking and...

Chris Long had a unique upbringing, living remotely on the West Coast of the South Island, a two day walk from the nearest road. Chris shares the best parts of his childhood, learning to live off the land, fishing and hunting everyday, and the unique perspective it's given him about the importance of looking after the planet. He shares about the challenges of moving from Gorge River to Wānaka...

Cody and Callie Chase met surfing and adventure in the outdoors has continued to be a constant in their lives, with Callie continuing to surf up to full term pregnancy. With a love for being in nature, Cody and Callie enjoy rock climbing, surfing, rock climbing, skydiving, wind foiling, snowboarding and sailing. Callie shares tips for beginners wanting to learn to surf, including breathwork, stren...

Dylan Arthur's passion for the outdoors started on the Tongariro Northern Circuit, with borrowed gear and challenges that made his first multi-day journey memorable. Now he spends his summer guiding in the North Island - from Tongariro to Te Uruwera to Aotea. We swap stories on hiking to Angelus Hut in the Nelson Lakes National Park - the incredible views from Robert Ridge, the stunning photog...

Hooked from her first flight, drone photographer Petra Leary shares her love for the art form. Her breathtaking compositions capture the symmetry and patterns of natural and urban landscapes. She talks about a recent trip to Rotorua, where she captured the unique geothermal textures and colours of mudpools and steamy lakes. Petra also shares advice for aspiring drone photographers and details the...

Lauren Murray grew up as a beach girl on Waiheke Island and now finds herself calling the mountains in Queenstown home. She shares about her first solo adventure in the mountains, to Earnslaw Burn and how underprepared she was. Another favourite adventure was to Gertrude Saddle, watching the sun set over the incredible Fiordland landscape and waking up amongst the giant mountains. Lauren talks abo...

When the pandemic closed New Zealand's borders, kiwi travel vloggers Dane and Stacey hired the largest campervan possible (a six berth) and travelled from Auckland to Queenstown. In this episode, they share all the spots they visited, from Rotorua and Taranaki to Franz Josef, Ōamaru and Bluff - and almost everything in between. Although they ran out of gas, almost got stuck under a bridge and...

Between hospital shifts, Dr Wiktoria and her partner filled their weekends with adventures around Southland. Her first alpining experience was a guided mountaineering tour at Single Cone, where their love for snowy peaks first began. One of her most memorable trips was summitting Pikirakatahi, Mount Earnslaw - a five day adventure starting in Rees Valley, where they only met one other person. Her...

Your host Abigail Hannah shares all the details on her most recent Great Walk adventure - a last minute trip to hike the Milford Track. She details what to expect on each day of the track and valuable advice for the trip. Abigail's favourite moment was catching sunrise at Mackinnon Pass and having four kea come to say good morning. The trip was not without it's challenges and Abigail share...

Tanya set out on a unique 500 km journey, traversing the South Island from coast to coast along the following the circle of latitude that is 45 degrees south of the equator, from Caswell Sound in Fiordland to Oamaru. On the expedition, she hiked across mountain ranges, climbed up waterfalls, kayaked over lakes and cycled through historic Otago over eleven to sixteen hour days. As an ultra-marathon...

Hazel Phillips describes herself as backcountry addict and a Ruapehu addict. She shares about the "adventure bender" she went on which lead to her authoring her first book, "Solo", all about backcountry adventuring in New Zealand. Now living in Ohakune, she shares some of her favourite adventures in the Central Plateau, including Blythe Hut, Rangipo Hut and traversing from Turo...

Tara Tavener first stepped foot in New Zealand in 2011, as a uni student on an exchange program to Palmerston North. She fell in love with the country and has been back on multiple trips to visit the friends that became family and made Aotearoa a home. Now Tara is a full-time travel blogger and shares tips and advice for anyone that wants to start in that industry. She shares the incredible moment...

Sam Fulton moved to New Zealand just before the pandemic and found herself living in the country's outdoor capital, Christchurch. She quickly fell in love with the outdoors, rock climbing and hiking. In this episode she shares about hiking the Milford Track, 'the finest walk in the world'. Sam shares a breakdown of each day, what to pack, what to eat and what to expect for one of the c...

Guy and Alisha first met on a photo mission out at Piha. Fast-forward a couple of years and they got married, moved to Christchurch and continued to adventure together. Guy had a bucketlist photo that he wanted to capture at Tasman Glacier, so the pair bought an old canoe and gave it lots of love. They didn't even know if it would float when they took it out to Aoraki Mount Cook to get the sho...

Jen Parkes is a mother of three and says, "I was a city girl!" Yet now she finds herself on hikes with her family in New Zealand's beautiful backcountry - and is absolutely loving it. One of the places that is most special for her kids is Mueller Hut in Aoraki National Park. Jen shares about her visits to the red hut along with tips for hiking with your kids, keeping them occupied and entertained...

Many of us look up at the night sky with childlike wonder. Larryn Rae has taken this fascination and built a career in astrophotography. From growing up in Taranaki and pulling mattresses out of huts to look up the night sky, he has won multiple awards for his landscape and astro photography work. He shares his journey and tips to experience and capture the night sky - whether you're chasing your...

Kyle Mulinder moved to Abel Tasman 20 years ago for a "boring" sea kayaking job - and never left. Better known by his Instagram handle @barekiwi, I talk to Kyle about his career in tourism and photography and he shares wisdom from decades of guiding in New Zealand's smallest national park. If you haven't been to Abel Tasman yet, this episode is filled with tips to ensure you have an epic experienc...

Abigail Hannah reflects on the first year of the Aotearoa Adventures Podcast, the epic journey it has been and what's to come in 2023. Tune in for a review of the year and some exciting news. Do you have an epic story to share with the world? I bet you do! Send me a DM or email and I can't wait to hear it. Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjo...

Having almost drowned twice as a child, no one thought Stephanie would grow up to love the ocean. Now she spends all her time outside of work sailing, scuba diving or having adventures with the community she's found through those activities. Stephanie Haden shares stories from racing, where they had to do repairs mid-race behind Whakaari, White Island. She currently sails on a 114 year old classic...

Russell's adventures started during school, when he would skip class to explore the local forest and bush. Now retired, he's walked and cycled most of the North Island and hiked 317 km across the width of the North Island in 14 days - from Napier to Taranaki. He's cycled around Lake Taupō over 14 times, including a 640 km endurance race. He cycled 6600 km across Europe over 7 weeks and still has m...

After being away for ten years, Alice recently moved back to the deep south, an hour from the farm she grew up on. She loves how close she's located to prime hiking locations - Fiordland, Stewart Island, the Catlins, and even Mt Aspiring. We chat about her experience hiking during pregnancy and Alice shares her advice, "unless your doctor or midwife have told you not to, don't listen to random peo...

Justine Jehanno grew up in the French countryside and when she met her partner, Ben, their passion to see the world sparked their travels. They called Aotearoa home for three years, living and working in Auckland with Ben's skilled migrant work visa and Justine's partnership visa. Justine shares advice from her first hand experience on the visa process, how to find a job, where to find a house and...