Tag: road trip

9 Day NZ South Island Road Trip

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An unforgettable journey through New Zealand’s stunning landscapes (Dec 2024)

For several years I had been dreaming of taking a trip to New Zealand’s South Island to enjoy winding roads, breathtaking coastlines, and world-class food and wine. Ten years earlier, we’d taken our children on a 9 day tour of the North Island, but I’d never visited the South Island before.

So in early December 2024, hubby and I embarked on a 9 day/ 8 night self-drive adventure filled with natural wonders and culinary delights. When planning our trip, I soon realised 9 days would not be nearly enough time to see all the South Island has to offer and we’d have to effectively cut the island in half, and plan a return for another time to do the other part. So many places to see, such little time!

Here’s how our South Island road trip unfolded.

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How to survive a day at Death Valley

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Death Valley, California, USA (May 2017)

Death Valley (May 2017)

Having driven past the signs for Death Valley several times on our way to Las Vegas, this is a destination we have always wanted to visit but were discouraged due to the extreme heat. According to the nps website it can reach 120F (49C) on a summer’s day and others claim this to be the ‘hottest place on earth’.

When we were planning 3 nights in Las Vegas for May 2017 and considering new places to experience during the day, I wondered if being Spring, this might be an ok time of year to visit Death Valley? We only had one free day due to other attractions we wanted to see around Vegas, so I started researching to see if a day trip would be possible. I was pleased to learn it was a manageable 2 hours drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley Junction and that you can visit quite a few of the ‘must see’ popular spots in one day. Although I also discovered that even though we would be going in early May, it could still be quite hot… low 100’s!

We decided to go for it, and thanks to research and careful planning, this turned out to be a successful trip. However, I will say straight up, while it is possible to visit as a day trip from Las Vegas, there is a lot to see in Death Valley and if you truly want to appreciate this national park and intend to do some hiking, you should consider an overnight stay or two.

Fortunately, it all worked out and turned out to be a very enjoyable, although long, day. We made it to all but one of our planned stops.

This was our route plan: Continue reading “How to survive a day at Death Valley”

2017 Australian Lambretta Jamboree

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Australian Lambretta Jamboree, Mornington Peninsula (March 2017)

The 2017 Australian Lambretta Jamboree was held over a long weekend in March at the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, some 997 km away from our home in Sydney. Never being one to let a long distance deter him, Steve rode down to Victoria on his Lambretta, while I chose to drive down in the car with our children and luggage.

What’s a Lambretta, you ask?

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