Aotearoa Adventures: The New Zealand Travel Podcast

Billy Nunweek is a landscape photographer and filmmaker who four-wheel drives in Caia, his 1994 Land Cruiser Prado. What started in 2022 as a mission to take one photo he was proud of became a five-year project to drive to a glacial lake in the Rakaia Valley that locals said no vehicle had reached. He shares about the 2023 attempt that ended in gale-force winds and a damaged truck, and why he shelved it. Billy talks about the phone call that changed his mind and the run of setbacks before the trip that tested his resilience to breaking point. He reflects on unfinished business and what it takes to go back to something that beat you. Billy shares advice for anyone in the messy middle of a big goal, from learning from setbacks to allowing extra days. Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride.If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Follow Billy on Instagram: https://instagram.com/billynunweek/Follow Caia on Instagram: https://instagram.com/caiathecruiser/Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Recording from Cape Town, host Abigail Hannah celebrates 200 episodes of Aotearoa Adventures with a solo episode. She shares how the podcast started after a 6-week South Island road trip, and celebrates the guests whose stories led to her first solo hike on the Old Ghost Road, full-time vanlife and a two-month sea kayak expedition with husband Isaac. She reflects on moving away from photography, the issues with social media algorithms and ads, and struggling to share on socials in a way that feels meaningful. She marks three years of running her own business, the joy and the imposter syndrome that come with it, and the very exciting news that she and Isaac have signed a lease on a home in Motueka, within an hour of three national parks. Abigail shares how the life you dream of is possible, whatever your dream. She shares the future of the podcast, and looks forward to a party for episode 250!Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Read the Blog: https://www.abigailhannah.nzFollow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Till Middelhauve moved from Germany to New Zealand in 2020, after years of family via ferrata trips across the European Alps. Finding no public via ferrata here, he wrote the first concept during two weeks in managed isolation. Till shares about two and a half years of permits, surveys and landowner agreements before a small team of volunteers built New Zealand's first public via ferrata on Tākaka Hill. He talks about scaling loose rock off the cliff, securing fridge-sized boulders to the bedrock and the 150 climbers who turned up when the first route opened. He reflects on how rewarding it is to watch people have a great day out on the cliff. Till shares advice for first-timers, from the gear you need to why the afternoon is the best time to climb.Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Climb the via ferrata and book gear hire: https://viaferrata.org.nz/Follow Via Ferrata Aotearoa on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554219810332Watch the via ferrata documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p57VbxT4dMAFollow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Kelsea and Olivia met on the first day of year one and are still best mates, sharing their adventures as Girls Off Grid while fitting tramping, hunting and mountaineering around busy Auckland jobs. They share about walking the Around the Mountain Circuit on Taranaki in three days rather than the recommended four to five, while much of the track was closed and overgrown. They talk about finding an eight and a half hour sign under a strip of tape, a near fall in the first hour of a 12-hour day, and a wrong turn in the dark before reaching the hut at 10pm. They reflect on vibe checking each other when one of them hits a wall. Kelsea and Olivia share advice for women that want to get outdoors, from renting gear to being the older newbie. Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :) Follow Girls Off Grid on Instagram: https://instagram.com/girls_off_grid/ Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/ Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Hazel Phillips is an author and journalist who grew up scared of the outdoors, until a friend carrying all her own gear on the Milford Track made her think she could do it too. She shares about her new book Great Hearts, the stories of 30 women climbing around Aoraki Mount Cook from 1873 to the first all-women unguided ascent in 1953. Hazel talks about climbing in long skirts and motoring veils, a woman who bluffed her way into a guiding job at the Hermitage, and the small erasures that wrote women out of mountaineering history. She reflects on how many of these women were never going to take no for an answer. Hazel shares advice for women that want to progress past basic snowcraft, and why Ruapehu is the ideal place to start mountaineering.Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Follow Hazel on Instagram: https://instagram.com/hazelvonwonderpants/Buy Great Hearts: https://masseypress.ac.nz/products/great-heartsJoin Secret Women's Mountain Business on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretladiesFollow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Tom Waters grew up on a farm near Tekapo and found the outdoors through hunting with his dad, before whitewater kayaking became a healthy obsession. He shares about a packrafting trip to the head of the Landsborough River, approaching from the West Coast via the Karangarua Valley and the Douglas Traverse. Tom talks about crossing a glacier lake at first light to beat an incoming front, ice falls coming off the Douglas Névé on Douglas Pass, and a 14-hour day through a boulder-choked gorge before putting in at Percy Creek. He reflects on why a river carries a different type of risk to walking. Tom shares advice for anyone that wants to start packrafting, from checking flows and sticking to grade one and two, to never paddling alone and knowing when to leash to your boat.Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Follow Tom on Instagram: https://instagram.com/alpine_dog_/Find packrafting trips by grade: https://www.packraftingtrips.nz/Join PRANZ: https://www.packrafting.org.nz/Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Tsewang Nuru Sherpa is a freshwater researcher and freelance travel journalist, who grew up in the Everest region of Nepal. He shares how adventure came to him late, because trekking at home was a profession rather than something you did on a weekend. After moving to Christchurch, Tsewang spent weekends with the tramping club discovering trails in Arthur's Pass and around Canterbury. He went on to cycle the South Island section of Tour Aotearoa, and then started Te Araroa later that year. Tsewang has done his fair share of big expeditions, and reflects on why he still enjoys microadventures close to home, including the Christchurch 360 Trail. He also shares his advice for other people that want to get outdoors and how to find local adventures.Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Follow Tsewang on Instagram: https://instagram.com/tsewang.sherpa/ Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/ Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Brooke Thompson AKA @sparkygirlnz is a self-proclaimed 'South Island snob' passionate about the beauty of her Southland home. She shares about the summer she spent working for DOC on Stewart Island, after signing up to volunteer with the dotterel team and being brought across as a sparky instead. Brooke talks about fixing the solar systems in the huts, a hut ranger stint on the Rakiura Track, and doing track maintenance from Freshwater Hut to Mason Bay. Brooke previously guided two summer on the Milford Track, after a spiritual moment that lead her there. She reflects on starting her apprenticeship unable to name a single female electrician, to advocating for culture change within the trades industries and better working conditions for all. Brooke proves that you can carve your own path in life and shares advice for others that are finding their purpose.Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :) Follow Brooke on Instagram: https://instagram.com/sparkygirlnz/Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Emily Thompson owns MD Outdoors, an all-women outdoor store in Nelson, and grew up on the West Coast of the South Island. She shares about a five-day solo tramp through the Richmond Ranges in late November, from Slaty Hut over Mt Rintoul, then through Mid Wairoa, Hunters Hut and Red Hills before hitchhiking out to St Arnaud. Emily talks about going lightweight, underestimating her food and trading Radix meals for noodles in the huts, and leading a struggling walker over the hardest section. Emily reflects on micro goals, eating every 45 minutes, and why she is stepping back from ultra running toward tramping. In life, she has pivoted multiple times, always building a life that she finds fulfilling and shares advice for others trying to create a life they are passionate about. Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Follow Emily on Instagram: https://instagram.com/em.russnz/Follow MD Outdoors on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mdoutdoors/Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Abigail & Isaac share all that the Top of the South Island has to offer and how they spent six weeks road tripping around a region that most people skip. From multi-day hikes on the Old Ghost Road and Abel Tasman, to long drives on gravel roads, to hidden caves and hidden coves, they share plenty of ideas for couples, families or solo roadtrips. In six weeks across Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough, they share how this road trip surprised them and delighted them, including a 2 night self-guided kayak trip in the Queen Charlotte Sound. They suggest bringing cash with you for real fruit ice cream and roadside stalls, and keeping an open mind to what you'll discover.Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/