Te Ika-a-Māui, New Zealand

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Te Ika-a-Māui, New Zealand

New Zealand or Aotearoa holds a special connection to most Australians, even if they have never been. Whilst there are countless rivalries between Australian cities, states and other countries, all pale in comparison when held up against the AUS-NZ relations. I am of the opinion (and am not alone) that this stems from the fact that, despite obvious geographic differences, the countries are very similar and moreover, are isolated from everywhere else. I had visited New Zealand for the first time in 2010 and loved every minute, so when the opportunity came to once again visit, I jumped at it. The opportunity was a Jetstar sale, so not a unique opportunity, but a very real one. For the sum of $504, Mia and I we were going to explore all things Te Ika-a-Māui, that is, all things North Island.

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Southwest Victoria

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Southwest Victoria

It was our first summer back in Australia, and with our first lot of holidays, we went to one of our favourite areas: the Great Otway National Park and the south-western coast of Victoria. As it was the Christmas holidays, the area was utterly packed with people, so finding a spot to camp was miserable. We ended up making a base at Beauchamp falls, allowing us to explore the Otways without too much driving. The forest, wildlife and landscape make the area something memorable. We moved onto the Port Campbell National Park which is always spectacular before hiding away in the Cobboboonee National Park for new year's eve. We thought we would be isolated from the festivities, but it was not to be, with a group of campers taking the opportunity to party on. From here we made some day trips to Cape Bridgewater, Mount Richmond National Park and the Lower Glenelg National Park; however our trip was cut short when the weather turned extreme and the fire danger skyrocketed. This meant missing out on the Grampians, but with fires all around, it is not the best place to be!

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Iceland

/ Iceland/
Iceland

Previously I have mentioned destinations that were “must-see” during my time in Europe (Zermatt, Norway), but there was nothing more must-see than Iceland. Ever since I was a child I was fascinated by this remote island that seemed to have some of the wildest landscape going around. It was planned from day one of my time in France that I would be going to Iceland for a couple of weeks during summer to really try and see everything it has to offer. The trip could accurately be titled something like “driving to places in Iceland to go hiking”, which should mount a convincing argument for why one should visit this remarkable place.

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Les Trois Vallées

/ The Alps, France/
Les Trois Vallées

One of the main questions one faces when planning a ski trip in Europe is where to go; one is simply spoilt for choice. Last year we had a week inAvoriaz, part of les portes de soleil conglomeration, which was fantastic, so wherever we went this time had to have a similar amount of terrain. Logistically it was challenging, as there were four of us: one from Paris, one from Geneva, one from Tübingen (Germany) and another from Budapest. To keep costs down, we did not want to be in Switzerland, which left us with Austria or France. We ended with up with France, as we discovered Les trois Vallées region. Nestled in the northern Alps and comprised of eight resorts, the skiable terrain is the largest in the world and with lifts servicing heights of 3230 metres, it was too good to pass up.

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Arctic Norway

/ Tromsø, Norway/
Arctic Norway

Being raised in Australia seems to instil a fascination with snow and all things cold, stemming from a complete lack of exposure to sub-zero temperatures. Winters are by no means warm, but snow simply does not fall at low altitude, nor does the temperature remain below zero should it happen to drop there, so something that is “naturally” frozen is very novel. Possessing the near-polar opposite climate is Norway, and in particular, northern Norway. The Norwegian landscape, characterised by spectacular fjords and soaring mountains, has always been one of the places that I dreamed of visiting. With the winter break offering an opportunity to travel and my desire to experience “a real winter”, Norway seemed like a great option. More than this, the frozen landscapes of Arctic Norway offer many experiences which simply cannot be found anywhere else. This trip was always going to be cool.

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