Travel

Located at the top of the South Island this 35km spit is the world’s longest natural sandbar. Known by the local Maori as “Onetahua” (heaped up sand), its large sand dunes form a coastal barrier that provides protection for migratory shore birds. over 80 species of wetland birds at some time call the spit home, including the Australasian Gannet which uses it for a breeding grounds. There is evidence that Maori occupied this area and used it for hunting moa …

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New Zealand is home to thousands of glaciers, many larger than a hectare. Most of New Zealand’s largest glaciers are in the Southern Alps, which have the highest mountains and heaviest precipitation (rain, snow, sleet or hail). Glaciers in the Aoraki/Mt Cook area include the 29-kilometre-long Tasman, the Murchison (18 kilometres), the Mueller, Hooker and Godley east of the main divide, and the Fox (13 kilometres) and Franz Josef (12 kilometres) west of the divide. One of the most famous and …

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White Island is an active Andesite Volcano located 48km from the East Coast of the Bay of Plenty, in the North Island. White Island is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano and has been built up by thousands of years of volcanic activity. The Island was discovered by Captain James Cook (the discoverer of New Zealand) in 1769 and has been known to be continuously smoking since. Attempts at mining Sulphur from the Island initially took place in the late …

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The Taieri Gorge railway travels through the Taieri River Gorge offering amazing views which would otherwise be inaccessible. The trips show an insight of the building of the railway as well as demonstrates the resilience of the early pioneers and settlers of New Zealand. The Otago central Railway branched from the South Island Main Trunk at Wingatui and ran through Middlemarch, Ranfurly, Omakau and Alexandra to Cromwell in the heart of Central Otago, 235 kilometres from the Junction. Before the route was chosen there were seven different options and the …

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