Find somewhere worth taking the long way for.
Explore New Zealand by region through places we have actually visited, filmed and learned something about along the way.
We are building this collection one adventure at a time. Our first proper destination begins across Tākaka Hill in Golden Bay and Nelson Tasman.
Golden Bay, Nelson Tasman
The trip that convinced us one region could contain far more different adventures than we expected.
We crossed the hill and kept finding reasons to stop.
What started with a cliffside adventure on Tākaka Hill eventually took us underground, through limestone forest, beside some remarkably clear water and all the way north to the exposed coast at Wharariki Beach.
The locations are close enough to belong to the same journey, but they never felt like variations of the same place. That is exactly why Golden Bay became our first destination collection.
Five places. Five very different reasons to stop.
Start on Tākaka Hill, then keep heading toward the coast.
Tākaka Hill Via Ferrata
Our first via ferrata started gently, climbed into serious exposure and eventually showed us exactly where our limit was that day.
Rāwhiti Cave Track
A steep track through dense bush leading to a huge cave entrance filled with some very unusual formations.
The Grove Scenic Reserve
Nīkau palms, enormous limestone blocks and narrow passages made this little reserve feel much bigger than its track length.
Te Waikoropupū Springs
Water so clear that looking down into it can make your eyes question where the surface actually is.
Wharariki Beach
The familiar Windows view was real. So were the wind, rough surf, massive beach and the lesson about arriving at a better tide next time.
The landscape kept changing.
That was probably the biggest reason this part of New Zealand worked so well for our family.
We were never doing the same thing for long. A day around limestone and forest could be followed by an incredibly clear spring, then the next road would eventually end at a huge, windswept beach.
Caves, giant blocks, unusual formations and exposed rock kept showing up throughout the journey.
Te Waikoropupū Springs turned what could have been a quick stop into one of the biggest discoveries of the trip.
Golden Bay can feel sheltered and calm, then Wharariki reminds you how exposed the northwest coast really is.
Heights, caves, easy forest tracks, clear water and huge beaches gave us very different experiences within one journey.
Golden Bay is only the first destination.
We will add new regions when we have enough first-hand adventures to make the destination genuinely useful. No empty pages just to make the website look bigger.
Useful regional collections built from places we have actually explored.
See how individual locations fit together when they belong to the same journey.
Each major stop gets its own practical guide when there is enough useful information to justify one.
We have barely started.
There are a lot more roads on the map and we are still new enough to New Zealand that most of them are new to us too.
Follow the adventure on YouTube or browse the guides we have already built from the places we have explored.