Jack and Niamh's Sabbatical Adventures

Category: Sabbatical

  • Abel Tasman

    We stayed in Marahau on the edge of the Abel Tasman national park, an absolutely massive forest full of birds and German tourists
    The area is full of coves and caves that little blue penguins (not pictured, that’s Niamh) use for nesting
    We kayaked out to the islands where they’ve eliminated all predators so it’s a paradise for songbirds. When you get close it sounds like the whole island is singing
    The Fat Tui sells massive burgers, they’ve gone wide instead of tall
    The rocks around the island were full of seals lounging around and baby ones playing in the water
    We’ve been keeping ourselves entertained on the long drives with murder most Irish, a podcast where they get very angry about murders
    Niamh got her phone out while kayaking to get even more pictures
    Pied Shag colony – they were so chilled about us being nearby
    Because I was in front Jack got to be dragged on to the beach in style every time we landed

  • Wellington and the start of the South Island

    Our first stop in Wellington was Zealandia which is a fenced off predator-free reserve with loads of native birds

    A North Island robin was extremely inquisitive
    Jack was mobbed by baby quail
    And had a bizarre feijoa custard sour
    Next day on the ferry I was paranoid about being sick . . . So stayed outside in 80mph winds
    Almost broke the window to get to these dogs on the ferry

    We arrived at Abel Tasman last night in the dark and put our tent up in the rain in a record 20 minutes flat! Then today did a walk – tomorrow is kayaking!

    We saw quite a few weka!
    White faced heron

  • Martinborough

    Small town an hour away from Wellington with a load of vineyards

    Thai food and a gin flight
    Palliser wines where they promised a life changing sauvignon blanc
    The sommelier at grava was quite wet but very friendly
    Platter and flight at Margrain vineyard
    Niamh blends in quite well
    Final tasting at Haythornthwaite
    They also have space in the town for a brewery
    Dramatic goth pony

  • Niamh’s pictorial backlog

    I’ve been letting Jack do all the talking on the blog, but here are a few of my favourites from the last few days. Today we’re off to Whanganui, which we have recently learned is pronounced “Fanganui” (wh = f), and then Martinborough where our plan was to do a cycling tour of vineyards. However there was a nasty accident there just a few days ago involving some tourists so we will see how it feels.

    Butter chicken pie!
    Stuffed kiwi in a really cute town museum in Pirongia
    Our camping equipment from rent-a-tent! Nicely organised, everything we need
    Stunning sunsets
    Impressive teaspoon collection at the blueberry farm
    A lot of dead birds near a vent 😦
    Jack soaking in the free thermal pool in the park
    Tongariro Crossing was so good but very hard. I borrowed hiking poles from Kelly’s mom and I am a massive fan!! My knees are a lot happier today than they should be.
    Lava tube
    The flowers brought me so much joy on the crossing, so cute!
    Soaking in the room’s private mineral pool to ease tired muscles
    MUSSEL MANIA

  • Tongariro Crossing

    The most beautiful hike I’ve ever done, the only one of New Zealand’s “great hikes” that can be done in one day. It took us just under 8 hours to finish, and we are thoroughly knackered

    At the start line, so much energy, so much hope
    Hanging out with Mount Doom after the toughest climb
    Tried and failed to take a picture with all of the distance markers
    The craters from old explosions are now lakes that feel really out of place
    Wrap for strength
    The view of the way down with lake Taupo in the distance
    Selfie at the finish
    Tried my best

  • Auckland/Red Beach

    We’re staying until Tuesday with Kelly’s mom in Red Beach about an hour outside Auckland – a great place to recover from jet lag and start to get to know New Zealand!

    Chip and dip culture here is excellent – kiwi onion, kumaru crisps, basil pesto dip and rosemary and thyme crisps 😋
    My tea came on a tea warmer which was definitely unnecessary, it’s HOT here
    Pūkeko – the only native bird we’ve got a picture of, but we’ve seen parrots and a couple of swamp harriers too!
    Volcanic views from Shakespear nature reserve.
    Jack got this bucket hat in Singapore airport with his last S$20
    Wine tasting on Waiheke island
    Our view for lunch. Lunch was 327 on Waiheke and it was AMAZING.

    Batch vineyard – highest point on Waiheke island with lovely views and less lovely wines. If you zoom in on the centre of the picture you can just about make out Auckland

  • Singapore pt ii and the trip to New Zealand – Niamh

    We did two more zoos – Bird Paradise and Night Safari. I didn’t take any pictures at Night Safari but it was so great to see animals awake and active during their natural hours, including civets!

    Bird Paradise well worth it

    We headed to the old botanic gardens for our last day in Singapore, leaving the bags at the hotel until the afternoon.

    We both loved half boiled eggs from Toastbox
    Old botanic gardens had some amazing specimens
    And the national orchid collection was incredible!!

    Then off to Changi Airport for our flight to New Zealand.

    Best airport meal ever
    Then met up with Kelly on the plane before heading to Auckland and Kelly’s mum’s house!

  • Singapore day 1+2 – Niamh’s pics

    I was feeling very smug about my setup with my bag of essentials clipped onto the cup holder. Unfortunately I left the glass of wine there when I fell asleep and then spilled it everywhere, oops.
    We had coffee here, it was good!
    Curious Bean Man

    We went to two of the zoos in Mandai yesterday – River Wonders and the main Singapore Zoo. Both were excellent. Today we’re doing two more 😂 the lady at reception when we checked in looked at us like we were crazy when we told her our plans, but we love a zoo!

    So majestic
    Agouti protecting his sweet potato from this bird
    The painted dogs were having a big group snuggle
    Obsessed with these arowana
    She was $180SGD 😭

    We went to a hawker market for dinner where we ordered chilli crab and then had to Google how to eat it (with your hands, however you can manage it).

    I love Singapore and we need to come back for more time here . . . but I have one gripe so far which is – where are the paper towels?? You don’t get them with your meals and seem to end up just walking around with sticky fingers.

  • Packing plans

    We’re going to be away for 3 months, across 3 different climates. We’re camping in New Zealand, using hotels in Japan, and in Thailand we know we’ll want to travel light, with a lot of transfers to and from boats where we’ll be wading through the sea!

    So we’ve hatched a plan to post a suitcase of stuff back from Japan. We’ll have some shopping to send back, some camping stuff from New Zealand, plus the warm jumpers and coats we won’t need in Thailand. We’ll report back on how this goes . . .

    Today we packed most of the stuff we need – just the last few essentials (toothbrushes!) to go into hand luggage on Sunday morning. I had far too much fun planning which stuff should go in each packing cube, and how to organise my hand luggage so everything I might need will be easy access.

  • We’re off on an adventure

    Jack and I are heading off on a 3-month trip around the world, starting 2nd of Feb. We’ll post pics and updates here as we go, and write about the things we’ve been up to.

    First stop: Singapore!