Aotearoa Adventures: The New Zealand Travel Podcast

Your annual wrap up with Abigail Hannah, looking back at 2023 and forward at 2024. In this episode Abigail covers: Introduction (00:00) Looking back at Aotearoa Adventures in 2023 (01:21) Travel plans for the summer (05:36) Self-employed business journey (14:20) Looking ahead to 2024 (17:36) Sign up to my VIP email list here to be the first to get all the fresh news: www.abigailhannah.nz (trust me...

Renata Wiles shares about her first time experiencing vanlife in Northland as a family. Renata grew up in New Zealand but spent a couple years overseas before moving back home when her baby, Gaia was born. Following the Covid-19 lockdowns, they decided to give vanlife a go with their toddler, exploring Northland for the first time. Renata loved the 10-day road trip from the Tutukaka Coast, Bay of...

Lauren Korstrom is an outdoor lover from Canada, who now lives in Methven, Canterbury. With Mount Somers in her back yard, Lauren has become quite passionate about the area, and the huge variety of tracks that there are from family-friendly beginner tracks to more advanced hiking. Mount Somers is also home to the popular Woolshed Creek and Pinnacles Huts for an overnight tramp. Lauren has always b...

Ashley Elliott @littlekiwitravels shares about juggling a full-time job and making time for smaller local escapes on the weekends. She methodically plans each detail of the trip, to fit in as much as possible in a small amount of time. We talk about some of the best spots in the Waikato to visit, including the Coromandel and Waitomo - from flower fields to waterfalls to hot springs. Whether you&#3...

We live in a time where we can fly and explore the skies - something our ancestors only dreamed of. Caleb Dearlove and Josh Townshend share their love for paragliding in New Zealand. Josh is a paragliding instructor in Christchurch and Caleb recently found himself hooked on the sport. In this episode, they share the process of how anyone can get their paragliding certification to fly solo and they...

From Franz Josef to Karamea, Neha Paranjape did a solo road trip on the rugged, remote West Coast in her little hatchback. Her adventure included a glacier heli hike, golden sunset at Okarito lagoon, bush walks in the rain and her favourite moment was the kiwi hospitality she experienced at Karamea. Neha was unsure when a local gentleman offered to take her to the Ōparara Arches, but it turned out...

Debbie Cartwright has always had a deep love for the outdoors. She shares about how it took her 47 years to start tramping. Debbie's first overnight hike was the Canyon Creek Track in Ahuriri Conservation Park. Her first time with a pack, almost forgetting her hiking poles and having a really windy night, Debbie shares all the ups and downs of that first time. Over the next three years, she ha...

Pat Nolan grew up on the West Coast of New Zealand and describes his outdoorsy family. From a young age, he would accompany his father on deer hunting trips into the backcountry. In this episode, Pat shares about the Three Passes Route from Arthur's Pass to Hokitika with his daughter over Harman Pass, Whitehorn Pass and Browning Pass. With a sudden change in weather, they had an awfully long d...

Raised in London, Scott Howes was never an outdoorsy person until his late 20s. He moved to New Zealand on a working holiday visa at 30 years old, just before the eligibility cutoff for the visa. Based out of Wellington, Scott has explored every part of Aotearoa, "except for Great Barrier Island and the Chatham Islands." He shares his two favourite places, Taranaki and Fiordland. Scott a...

Aotearoa Adventures host, Abigail Hannah, shares her big life update - quitting her 9-5. While this may look like Day 1, Abigail pulls back the curtain on the last six years that have led to this point, from failed businesses, upskilling in marketing courses and side-hustling. She shares about the self-doubt and imposter syndrome that kicked in pretty quick, while at the same time knowing she made...

Tracy Collins dreamed of visiting New Zealand for 50 years. She shares the highlights and unforgettable experiences of her whirlwind trip - with five days in the North Island and nine days in the South Island. Rotorua was on Tracy's bucketlist since she was a child and saw a TV show about the geothermal wonderland. As a first-time visitor, she raves about Wai-o-Tapu, Te Puia and the Polynesian...

Dunc Wilson is the first person to have cycled the entire coastline of New Zealand. He set off from Mission Bay in an Auckland summer and circumnavigated the North Island, South Island and Stewart Island over the next 8 months. Over his 10,940 km expedition, Dunc's rule was to stay as close to the coast as possible. He shares his love for the simplicity of life - just getting from A to B each...

Warrick and Chené have South African roots and visited New Zealand together in 2022. They fell in love with the South Island and decided they wanted to make it home again. They bought a Toyota Cruiser bus on TradeMe without seeing it and arrived in NZ three months later. They have DIYed the entire build and are really looking forward to hitting the road to travel slowly and revisit their favourite...

[TW: Sexual Abuse] Germaine shares her transformative journey on Te Araroa trail, after contemplating this adventures for years. She opted to only walk the South Island section, as it represented everything she loved about hiking – mountains, vistas and isolation. Germaine faced physical challenges, including navigating treacherous terrain and unrelenting foot pain. Mentally, her toughest moments...

Lisa Jansen moved to Aotearoa for a study-abroad semester and stayed. She wondered what life would look like if it wasn't a family focused or career focused life and decided to travel in a van for a summer. It quickly turned into full-time vanlife as she found herself travelling Aotearoa for 4 years, despite the challenges of lockdowns during the global pandemic. During the winter, Lisa would...

The first hike Renee Cadigan did with her two boys was Mt Brown, a four hour hike which turned into seven. Following a head injury, Renee had a challenging journey to recovery, both physically and with her mental health. When she started hiking with her boys, knew this was something they needed more of. Renee shares some of other her other favrourite walks, even when things didn't go to plan -...

Your host, Abigail Hannah, shares a whirlwind week-long roadtrip from Kaikōura to Aoraki with only three days of annual leave! It was a packed trip - from whale watching in Kaikōura to exploring LOTR film sites to climbing 2,200 stairs before sunrise. This roadtrip was inspired by Abigail's cousins visiting from the UK and it was extra special to be able to share her favourite region in NZ, Ao...

The prep for Penzy Dinsdale's epic Southen Alps Traverse expedition started months in advance. She started mapping a route and included plans A, B, C and D for weather contingency. The final route took her through some of the most beautiful part of the backcountry, including Pioneer Pass, Lochnagar and Aoraki/Mt Cook to Farewell Spit. On day six, Penzy faced her biggest mental hurdle and wonde...

Kaelyn Kingi AKA @misswalkalot started walking after Covid-19. She found that she was sick of being "stuck" indoors all the time and decided that walking was something she wanted to do more. Kaelyn shares the Māori concept of te whare tapa whā and the importance of caring for your physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing. She found that walking helped her connect with all of thes...

Rachel Davies first visited Aotearoa at seven years old and knew it was somewhere she wanted to return. When she moved to Wellington, she started out as a kayak guide. Her next adventure took her on a three week bikepacking adventure around the South Island - the longest bikepacking trip she had done. She fell in love with the pace of biking and had several more adventures and shorter bikepacking...

Bronson and Chelsea hit the road in their caravan with a toddler and 15 month old twins. They spent a year and a half exploring all that the South Island had to offer, including a "trip within a trip" to Stewart Island. We talk how they almost turned around in the first week, and other challenges along the way. Also known as Adventures with Rosy on socials, Bronson and Chelsea share why...

After waiting a while for the right weather window, Sam Harrison hiked the Dusky Track in Fiordland with a few mates. The 84 km, eleven day backcountry route between Lake Hauroko and Lake Manapouri is for experienced and well equipped trampers. Sam opted to do an extra out-and-back detour into Dusky Sound, where they had a rest day, fishing, relaxing and fending off the sandflies. Based in Welling...

Jenifer Silva was an outdoor adventure guide in her 20s, but hadn't done much tramping in over a decade. Wanting to get back into tramping, she set off on a solo eight day walk in the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park, walking the length of the ranges from south to north. Over the course of the journey, Jenifer stayed in both huts and tents, faced plenty of mud, rain, overgrown track, stream cro...

Laura Goldsworthy started competitive mountain biking in her 20s, very "late" to the sport. While she always loved being outdoors, mountain biking wasn't really on her radar. Laura worked in a corporate job for 10 years so that she could save enough to quit and make her passion her full-time gig. She opens up about the highs and lows of downhill mountain biking - from competing along...

Off the beaten track in Aoraki National Park is Mount Wakefield, between Hooker Valley and Tasman Valley. Jinal Govind shares his experience tackling the unmarked track with a bunch of mates, navigating the challenging terrain, routefinding with TopoMaps, and spending the night in bivvys under the stars. We talk about Jinal's outdoor adventures, stepping outside his comfort zone and overcoming...