New Zealand
Adventure Report
New Zealand
“NZ Frenzy"
NZ Frenzy
“The Fab Fav”
Karl had the opportunity to live and work in New Zealand on a part time basis in 2015 and 2016 and we used a converted 1994 Toyota Hiace campervan that he bought there to explore the North and the South Islands of the country. New Zealand is not only beautiful, but is also full of amazing outdoor adventures, including mountain biking, skiing, surfing, trail running and trekking. Add delicious food, friendly English speaking Kiwis, relatively uncrowded campgrounds and world class wineries and you have a recipe for one of our favorite countries in the world.
Dynamic Evolutionary Ecology
New Zealand was the last major landmass settled by humans when Polynesians arrived around 1,300 AD, eventually developing their own Māori culture.
In the 1800s, New Zealand was colonized by the British and New Zealand is still a Dominion within the British Empire. This explains why cricket and rugby are so popular in New Zealand. New Zealand’s geographic isolation from humans for over 80 million years prior to the arrival of the Polynesians resulted in what is called dynamic evolutionary ecology. Over 80% of New Zealand’s animals and plants are endemic to the island including fascinating frogs, reptiles and spiders. But perhaps the best thing about New Zealand’s ecology is its marine mammals. Over half of the world’s cetaceans including dolphins, porpoises and whales live in the waters of New Zealand. And during our exploration of the North and South Islands of the country, we had the opportunity to swim and surf with lots of them. The best time to explore New Zealand is November through February. Keep in mind that the Christmas Holiday (which lasts longer than in the US) can be busy so if you are going to be there then, head to less crowded regions.
On and Off-the-Beaten-Path Adventures
New Zealand’s adventures offers a plethora of on and off-the-beaten-path adventures.
Some of these include bungee jumping, exploring geothermal areas (some of which have been turned into huge geothermal parks), mountain biking, scaling mountains and volcanoes, surfing, soaking in hot springs, surfing, trail running, trekking and wildlife watching. New Zealand Frenzy is an amazing book on adventures in New Zealand. To find some of the best adventures with a high “Obscure-O-Meter” rating, you have to solve a riddle. We solved some ourselves and got help from locals to solve others. But some remained unsolved, providing us with motivation to return someday to complete all of the adventures in the book. One of the best things about New Zealand is that you can pursue multiple adventures in a single day. For example, during one day on the South Island we went bungee jumping in the morning, did a trail run through a geyser field in the afternoon and relaxed on a beautiful beach with a bottle of Pinot Noir from a local winery in the evening.
The Pacific Ring of Fire
New Zealand is on the Pacific Ring of Fire which includes 75% of the world’s active volcanoes and accounts for 90% of the world’s earthquakes.
Karl learned this the hard way when he led the acquisition of Emendo, a Christchurch-based healthcare IT company, when he was working for McKesson, a US based healthcare IT company. The goal of the acquisition was to use Emendo as a base to expand throughout the Asia Pacific region. Soon after the acquisition, however, Christchurch experienced a series of earthquakes, including a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 2020 and another big and shallower earthquake in 2012 that cracked the foundations of almost every large building in downtown Christchurch, including the building where Emendo was located. Fortunately, only 185 Kiwis died in the earthquake, but the entire city had to be rebuilt and Emendo’s employees had to live in makeshift houses out of shipping containers for years. Karl chose to live in a small house on a ridge above Sumner beach outside of Christchurch with a breathtaking view of the coast all the way to Kaikōura. Somehow, this apartment had not been badly damaged in the earthquake. However, the ridge amplified the force of the aftershocks that rolled through Christchurch on a regular basis, rattling the huge windows of the house.
There are, however, many good things about New Zealand’s location on the ring of fire. The first is the geothermal activity that heats many hot springs across the country, especially on the South Island. In addition, there are beautiful volcanoes to explore throughout New Zealand, especially on the North Island.
The Māori
The Māori are the Indigenous people of New Zealand that arrived in the country from Polynesia around the 13th century.
It’s not that easy to immerse yourself in Māori culture in New Zealand, but it is still possible to visit Māori communities and even observe Māori ceremonies. Māori culture is fascinating, with deep connections to ancestors and the natural world expressed through art, dance, music and storytelling. It was particularly fascinating to experience the relationship between the Māori communities and geothermal activity, especially on the North Island. For the Māori, geysers, hot springs and volcanoes are not only culturally and spiritually significant, they are also used for various purposes, including bathing, cooking and healing.
The Fab Fav
New Zealand will always have a special place for us, not only because Karl lived and worked there, but also because it was one of the first countries we explored and overlanded together. It’s definitely a country that we would love to return to someday to complete and even repeat all of the country’s amazing adventures.
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