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Ramblings

Ramblings

Photos, travel stories, reportage and random stuff from New Zealand and around the world by Peter de Graaf

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hiking

New Zealand 

Auckland’s island escape: Great Barrier’s Aotea Track

June 5, 2022June 5, 2022 pdg 0 Comments Aotea Track, Auckland, Claris, Great Barrier Island, Hauraki Gulf, hiking, Hirakimata, kākā, Mt Hobson, Tryphena, walking, werewere-kōkako

The island boasts spectacular beaches, hot springs, raucous birdlife and lush forest — and it’s just half an hour from Auckland by plane.

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New Zealand 

Fiordland’s Hollyford Valley: A walk back in time

April 6, 2022April 7, 2022 pdg 0 Comments Fiordland, hiking, Hollyford, Martins Bay, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Te Anau

Where experiencing one of New Zealand’s wildest places doesn’t mean you have to go without fine food and lodgings.

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New Zealand 

Braving New Zealand’s Old Ghost Road

May 22, 2021May 29, 2022 pdg 2 Comments Ghost Lake, hiking, Lyell, Mokihinui River, Old Ghost Road, Seddonville, Westland, Westport

One of New Zealand’s newest dual-use tramping and mountain bike trails, the 85km-long Old Ghost Road is also one of the most spectacular.

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New Zealand 

Getting high in Northland: A peak-bagger’s guide to the North’s 10 highest mountains

April 28, 2021January 9, 2022 pdg 0 Comments Far North, hiking, Kaipara, Northland, peakbagging, Raetea, Te Raupua, Tutamoe, Whangarei

How to climb Northland’s highest peaks — well, some of them anyway — and where to find them.

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New Zealand 

Paparoa Track: NZ’s newest Great Walk

April 2, 2021May 29, 2022 pdg 0 Comments Blackball, Croesus Track, Greymouth, hiking, Moonlight Tops, Paparoa National Park, Paparoa Track, Pike River Mine, Pike29 Memorial Track, Punakaiki

A practical guide to Aotearoa’s 10th Great Walk and the tragic story behind it.

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New Zealand 

Walking the Queen Charlotte Track (the easy way)

March 3, 2021May 29, 2022 pdg 0 Comments Affinity Cruises, Anakiwa, Endeavour Inlet, Furneaux Lodge, hiking, Kenepuru Sound, Marlborough Sounds, Motuara Island, Picton, Queen Charlotte Track, Ship Cove

The 70km Queen Charlotte Track offers fabulous views — and plenty of options for walking in comfort — where land meets sea in the Marlborough Sounds.

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Europe 

Cares Gorge: Is this Spain’s best one-day walk?

May 2, 2020April 26, 2021 pdg 0 Comments Bulnes, Cares Gorge, Cares Trail, Garganta del Cares, hiking, Picos de Europa, Poncebos, Ruta del Cares, Spain, walking

The Cares Trail clings to the side of a 1.5km-deep gorge in the Picos de Europa mountains of northern Spain.

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New Zealand 

Takahē and naked trampers on the Heaphy Track

April 4, 2020May 29, 2022 pdg 0 Comments Gouland Downs, Heaphy Track, hiking, Kahurangi National Park, Karamea, takahe, tramping

The author encounters takahē, kleptomaniac weka and naked trampers on New Zealand’s longest Great Walk.

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Featured New Zealand 

The Te Araroa Project

November 13, 2019December 14, 2021 pdg 2 Comments hiking, Kerikeri, Mangamuka, Ninety Mile Beach, Omahuta Forest, Puketi Forest, Raetea Forest, Te Araroa

What drives more than 1000 people a year to walk the length of New Zealand? I decided to find out.

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New Zealand Top stories 

Walking New Zealand’s Hokianga Coastal Track

April 20, 2019January 2, 2021 pdg 3 Comments hiking, Hokianga, Hokianga Coastal Track, Kai Iwi Lakes, Maunganui Bluff, Ōmāpere, Waimamaku Coastal Track, walking

Three days of wildly beautiful coastline — and chances are you won’t have to share it with anyone.

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Pacific 

Another Samoa: Tramping in the tropics

November 15, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments American Samoa, hiking, Pago Pago, Tutuila

Hikers’ haven American Samoa is home to the only US national park in the Southern Hemisphere.

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Pacific 

Bushwalking in the Grampians

November 6, 2018October 14, 2019 pdg 0 Comments Australia, Grampians, Grampians Peaks Trail, Halls Gap, hiking, kangaroos, Victoria

Wildlife abounds in the Grampian Mountains of northwestern Victoria.

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Pacific 

Five things to do in Australia’s Grampians

November 6, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Australia, Grampians, hiking, Victoria

Hiking, wildlife spotting, Aboriginal culture and wine — a few of my favourite things in Victoria’s Grampian Mountains.

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Pacific 

Walking with koalas

July 7, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 4 Comments 12 Apostles, Australia, Great Ocean Walk, hiking, koala, Victoria

Koala love-calls provide the sound track along the coast-hugging, 100km Great Ocean Walk in Victoria, Australia.

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Pacific 

Twin peaks: Walking Vanuatu’s volcanoes

May 17, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Ambrym, hiking, Vanuatu, volcano

Craters of boiling lava, lush rainforest, bizarre landscapes and charming Ni-Van guides make the walk over Ambrym’s twin volcanoes one of the best overnight hikes in the Pacific.

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New Zealand 

Te Paki: New Zealand’s top hike

May 17, 2018May 29, 2022 pdg 0 Comments Cape Reinga, Great Walks, hiking, Kapowairua, Ninety Mile Beach, Northland, Spirits Bay, Te Paki, Te Rerenga Wairua

Could the Te Paki Coastal Track around New Zealand’s northern tip qualify as a Great Walk? I decided to brave the mosquitoes to find out.

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Pacific 

Exploring Fiji on foot

May 16, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Fiji, hiking, Yasawa Islands

I’m sure my insistence on seeking out walks in Fiji’s Yasawa Islands marked me out as something of an eccentric.

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Europe 

On an Italian mountain high

May 12, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Bolzano, Dolomites, hiking, Italy

In Italy’s Dolomite Mountains hiking doesn’t mean you have to go without the good things in life.

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About Ramblings

Kia ora and welcome to Ramblings, a fairly random collection of travel stories, photos and reportage from New Zealand and around the world by Peter de Graaf. I’m a reporter and occasional travel writer based in Kerikeri, a small town in New Zealand’s Far North. Read more...

LATEST

How to ride New Zealand’s Timber Trail without blowing your budget — or busting a gut
New Zealand 

How to ride New Zealand’s Timber Trail without blowing your budget — or busting a gut

January 15, 2023January 20, 2023 pdg 0

Ancient podocarp forest, soaring suspension bridges and oodles of history make the Timber Trail one of New Zealand’s best cycling experiences.

‘We can hear ourselves think again’: Stillness descends on Mangamuka as highway closes for the second time in two years
New Zealand 

‘We can hear ourselves think again’: Stillness descends on Mangamuka as highway closes for the second time in two years

December 1, 2022January 18, 2023 pdg 0
“We were starving”: How my aunties saved their family from famine
Europe Featured 

“We were starving”: How my aunties saved their family from famine

August 6, 2022August 15, 2022 pdg 0
Jordan in pictures
Middle East Photos Top stories 

Jordan in pictures

July 1, 2022August 6, 2022 pdg 0

WEIRD TRAVEL

The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?
Europe Weird Travel 

The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?

November 18, 2021November 19, 2021 pdg 0

The monks of Sedlec Abbey, in what is now the Czech Republic, turned a problem into a morbid masterpiece.

Is this the world’s most bizarre place for a castle?
Europe Featured Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s most bizarre place for a castle?

July 22, 2020July 4, 2021 pdg 3
The Merry Cemetery: Where folk art conquers grief
Europe Top stories Weird Travel 

The Merry Cemetery: Where folk art conquers grief

August 24, 2019December 28, 2020 pdg 0
Is this the world’s strangest parade?
Europe Photos Weird Travel 

Is this the world’s strangest parade?

August 11, 2019September 20, 2020 pdg 0

PHOTOS

Jordan in pictures
Middle East Photos Top stories 

Jordan in pictures

July 1, 2022August 6, 2022 pdg 0

Proud desert dwellers, extraordinary hospitality, and the ancient, rock-hewn city of Petra: Just three of the reasons you need to visit Jordan.

Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip
Europe Photos 

Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip

March 20, 2022March 20, 2022 pdg 0
Egypt in pictures
Africa Photos 

Egypt in pictures

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021 pdg 0
Cambodia in pictures
Asia Photos 

Cambodia in pictures

October 4, 2021October 4, 2021 pdg 0
Albania in pictures
Europe Photos 

Albania in pictures

September 13, 2021August 6, 2022 pdg 0
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