By Bruce
I spent March through July of 2026 in New Zealand. I started off my adventure exploring the biggest city of Auckland before traveling farther north on the North Island to Northland. I spent my time in Northland with two amazing incoming Duke students who lived in NZ. I stayed with them for a week while they showed me around their area. They took me to beaches, waterfalls, historical places, out fishing, spearfishing for the first time, and to the Far North. In the Far North, we went to 90 mile beach, the lighthouse of Cape Reinga, and my favorite: boogie boarding the Giant Sand Dunes. They also of course introduced me to the best NZ movie in my opinion: Hunt for the Wilderpeople. I got to explore the earliest places of western civilization in New Zealand.
I went south from Northland back through Auckland, and into Waikato. I explored Hamilton, which a lot of Kiwis will probably tell you to skip, before heading to Hobbiton to see where some of the scenes for the Lord of the Rings were filmed. From there I went to Rotorua to enjoy the hot pools and dive into Maori culture. Next up was Lake Taupo for more hot springs and Maori rock carvings. I took the Forgotten Highway to Taranaki where I laid eyes on this majestic volcano that can be seen for miles. I did the Surfer’s Highway enjoying lots of surfcasting and skimboarding on the many beaches. It was here near Hawera when I broke my phone and lost all communication before getting a new one because the repair shops refused to work on my phone because it was US based. I traveled south on Highway 1 doing more surfing and enjoying beaches and museums before ending up in Wellington. In Wellington, I met up with a friend I had met in Taupo before exploring the city. The next day I took a ferry across the Cook Strait to Picton on the South Island. The sounds and scenery were gorgeous.
I kicked off my journey of the South Island by exploring Picton and taking the Queen Charlotte drive to Nelson. I spent about around Nelson exploring the town, beaches, kayaking, and experiencing Abel Tasman. I kept on my journey south heading to Nelson Lakes National Park for more camping, kayaking, and hiking before heading onto Westport to explore the Cape Foulwind seal colony. From Westport, I actually headed back up North to Kahurangi National Park for the Heaphy Track and Oparara. I got stuck on Highway 67 near Granity when a big storm flooded the road and left trees scattered on it. Once I finally got through I went back through Westport and headed south to Punakaiki to explore Paparoa National Park and Pancake Rocks. Next up was Hokitika.
In Hokitika, I started my first WWOOF. If you are unfamiliar with WWOOFing, it is an organization called WWOOF – pronounced “woof” that stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, where you volunteer on Organic Farms in return for food and accommodation. For my first ever WWOOF, I worked with a local doctor who was an amazing dude. At the time he was helping his parents move, so I helped a lot with that. But, on the organic side of things I took care of free range chickens and helped with composting practices. My host was super cool about introducing me to his friends and taking me packrafting for my first time. My first WWOOF was over before I knew it, and I started heading south again.
The weather was already starting to get colder with the first frosts on the West Coast. I explored Franz Josef, Fox Glacier, and Gillespies Beach before attempting my first big backcountry excursion. I was going to attempt to solo climb Mt. Sefton via the Bluewater Route. I hiked up the Copland Pass to Welcome Flat Hut where the ranger warned me of a landslide wiping out the route, but I thought I would try it anyway. I spent almost the whole day in the valley trying to find the entrance to the Bluewater Route, but, sadly, the ranger was correct; it had been blown out by a landslide. I knew of the NW ridge route of Sefton from someone who had done it, and thought it would be my next best option, so I carried on to Douglas Rock Hut. I thought I would be the only person at the hut that night, and for sure the only person attempting the mountain. But, late that night well after dark someone walked into the hut solo. I said “Hello,” before staring at him in silence. That’s when I noticed the mountaineering boots hanging from his bag. I asked if he was planning to climb Sefton, and yes he was. He was a french alpinist and ski mountaineer who was living in Christchurch. We talked over our options: the route was very exposed, we would have to bivy below the summit and summit with gale force winds, then navigate the glacier back to the Bluewater Route where we would have to bush bash our way down to the valley and find a way around the landslide, and all while battling an incoming storm with over 100mm rain that would definitely cause flash flooding and close the track forcing us to stay at Welcome Flat Hut for a day or two without enough food (something my new climbing partner had happen to him the last time he attempted Mount Sefton). Sounds fun right? We decided it probably was not the best idea to attempt it, and decided to go to Copland Pass instead to make the trip worth it. The next day we woke up early and did the Coplan Pass before heading back to Welcome Flat Hut in time to make it out of the track before the good weather window closed. We did 30 kms that day and were moving for almost 16 hours. But, in the end we made it out safely before the rain started, and boy did it rain.
From the Copland Track, I kept heading south exploring: Haast, Wanaka, and Lake Hawea before ending up in Queenstown. My time in Queenstown was fun but really cold. I explored the city, did the Routeburn Track, climbed for two days in Wye Creek, and summited Mt Earnslaw East Peak. Next up was exploring Milford Sound and Te Anau before doing the Kepler Track in four days with a stupidly dangerous storm. From there I went to Invercagill, another place locals will tell you to skip. I took the ferry from Bluff across the Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island. NZ’s third largest island with only a population of 400 residents in a small town called Oban. I did the Raikura Track in 3 days and explored the pest free Ulva Island before heading back to the South Island. Now my journey north had started. I explored the Catlins, Dunedin, Oamaru, and Timaru on the coast before heading back inland for Aoraki National Park, the Hooker Valley Track was closed so there wasn’t much backcountry stuff to do. But, I was able to do Mueller Hut.
Next was Christchurch, where I did my second WWOOF on a farm just 30 minutes outside the city. I worked with sport horses and angus cattle. The farming practices here were completely different from what I had grown up with in Iowa, which was cool to experience. This WWOOF was also short lived but absolutely amazing. The hosts and people I worked with were super nice. They even took me hunting which was something I really wanted to do while I was in NZ. I head north along the coast to Kaikoura to see seals and whales, before taking the ferry from Picton back to the North Island.
Once I was back on the North Island, I finished exploring Wellington and headed up the East Coast. I explored Hawke’s Bay, the surf town of Gisborne, the remote East Cape, the Bay of Plenty, and the Coromandel seeing iconic places like the Pinnacles and Cathedral Cove. From here, I headed back into Waikato for my last and longest WWOOF. I spent two weeks helping a farmer after their recent surgery taking care of cattle and working with sheep. She was super nice and had an amazing story of moving to NZ from England due to her amazing sheep shearing skills. They took me to an amazing play in Auckland that captured the life of Islanders immigrating to NZ. During my free time I did caving and surfing in Raglan. Before I knew it my time in NZ had come to a close. My lovely hosts dropped me off at the Auckland Airport for my long journey back home.
