Volcano-based fun

Hiiiiii,

It's been a quiet month here in Wellington, mostly spent working hard and trying to save up some cash. Still, we did manage to get away for one weekend, and we have a few photos to share with you. Oddly none of them involving tigers...

Here's the view from our tiny flat, of a moonrise over Mount Victoria.

And this seabird was spotted posing on a sculpture by the city waterfront...

We spent a weekend in the Tongariro National Park in the middle of the North Island, near to the spectacular Mount Ruapehu (good for skiing apparently).

And on the Saturday we took a 17 km hike over the top of the active volcano Tongairiro. Climbing to nearly 2000 metres we had great views of nearby Ngauruhoe, which starred as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies...

The Tongariro walk is recognised as the best one-day walk in New Zealand, and is sprinkled liberally with reminders of its volcanic nature such as these red cliffs...

...and emerald pools with nearby steaming vents.

However, there were some peaceful and non-scary parts of the walk...

...with the descent gifting us views which stretched for miles and miles...

...and taking us past a very picturesque waterfall in dense bush.

Back in Wellington, Griff has been volunteering her time at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. Her duties include monitoring the feeding stations for endangered birds such as this Kaka:


Although thankfully she doesn't have to get too close to these huge Cave Weta, which properly freaked out Rich in an abandoned gold mine at the sanctuary.

And, job done and bucket in hand, she starts the long walk back to the bus stop.

Also, here's a really big carrot.

That's all for now, but we'll post more in the coming weeks!

Love
Rich, Neen, Tigs, M. Lapin & Justin
xx

New Zealand Roadtrip Maps

Dear loyal readers,

With the roadtrip completed it's high time we showed you where we've been for the last four months, and exactly how we managed to rack up 8,500kms...

We finally got around to making our routemaps public, so now you can make sense of the pictures and placenames we've been bombarding you with.

North Island route: [click to enlarge]

South Island route: [click to enlarge]

Love,
Team Tiger
xx

Back in the real world...

Hello friends,

It's been a while (yet again) since we filled you in on our goings-on. Our NZ road trip is over and we've settled into a flat in Wellington and found jobs. End of fun weblog, you say? Not so! We've still got plenty of stuff to show you...

We continue our story somewhere in the South Island, by a lake named Tekapo.

A small church beside electric blue waters, with the stunning backdrop of the Southern Alps.

Quite an impressive view from the altar too.

Further up the east coast, we stopped in Kaikoura where the South Pacific teems with dolphins and whales (of which we saw none).

Still, rather pretty there. And we had a mean fish sandwich.

Leaping across the Cook Straight to the North Island, we saw the mighty volcano Taranaki.

Which was en route to Auckland to sell Billy the Van (sob). By which time Rich's beard and hair were this big:

Tigs passed on the baton of van ownership to a fine young insectivore called Hedgey...

...and Hedgey's chauffeurs Ellie and Jon.

Tigger struck up a friendship with a blue penguin (imaginatively) named Bluey.

He was also caught napping with a young holiday-maker in Wellington, baby Beth...

...although Beth's buddy Donkey got on considerably better with M. Lapin (similar ears, perhaps).

Onto the wildlife update -

This month we have mostly been charmed with (then kept awake by) the strange song of the Bellbird in the Peel Forest.

In Akaroa, near Christchurch, we took an afternoon's swim with dozens of Hector's Dolphins (the world's smallest and rarest).

And we finally caught up with the nation's favourite, a Spotted Kiwi.

Last but not least, and fulfilling the plant section of the flora and fauna section, we would like to introduce our new team member and flatmate Justin.

That's all for the moment but keep your eyes peeled for exciting pictures of our flat, and maybe even our new offices (ooooh!).

Love
Rich, Neen, Tigs, M. Lapin & Justin
xx

South Island Fun

Hello friends of Tigger,

Thanks for waiting so patiently for the latest installment of TiggerTours. Rest assured we have been very busy in the South Island, and have lots of photos to show you.

Just before Christmas we spent a couple of nights in the Nelson Lakes National Park, being eaten alive by insects.

But returned to meet friends for a very happy New Year's Eve. Tigger showed everyone some new dance moves to a bit of Kylie.

A couple of days later Team Tiger hit the road again in proper. Some bizarre rock formations at the Pancake Rocks of Punakaiki, on the west coast.

A little further south we came across the Franz Joseph glacier, where we took an afternoon heli-hike.

Rich (sporting his new holiday beard) attempting some innovative ice-climbing techniques.

Some startlingly blue ice caves...

...which became rather claustrophobic on closer inspection.

Then onto the comfort of Lake Wanaka to defrost, beside the Mount Aspiring National Park.

Next stop Fiordland, for a scenic encounter cruise in Milford Sound.

And a short nature walk to Lake Gunn, on the way home.

Across to Dunedin on the east coast, where Tigger played barman in the Speight's brewery (yum yum.)

Inland to Mount Cook, where a momentary respite from the constant monsoon provided a glimpse of the mountain at sunrise.

Back en route to the east coast, we passed the startling light-blue waters of Lake Pukaki.

More on the travel side of things in the next update.

Now, however, we would like to introduce some of the new friends of Team Tiger.

Firstly, we caught up with Tigger's relatives Marion and Mike at their home in Ruby Bay.

Our friends Maria and Fritz from across the pond, who recently emigrated to NZ.

Jane (previously seen on a Napier wine tour), trying to get Tigger drunk for a New Year's Eve snog.

Sue, who so kindly took us into her home at Christmas.

Mags and Gav in Nelson (also from our Napier wine tour)...

...and their new travel mascot Mini-Rich, who in turn got on rather well with Tigs.

We've seen an abundance of exotic animals so far in the South Island, so there's a bumper wildlife section this time.

An endangered Tuatara, a kind of reptile found only in NZ.

We met a very friendly New Zealand robin near Lake Gunn.

Plenty of New Zealand Fur Seals in the Abel Tasman National Park, and in Milford Sound.

Some very inquisitive car-eating Kea (alpine parrots).

On the Otago Peninsula we met a young Yellow-Eyed Penguin (rather endangered too)...

...and also a fully grown adult with its very hungry (noisy) chick.

We also spied this Royal Albatross coming in to land.

Two pods of Bottlenose Dolphins swam alongside our boat on Milford Sound.

Finally, and possibly the rarest of all, a Pygmy Tiger Antelope.

Hope you've enjoyed the update, and more from us in a couple of weeks

Tigger, Neen, Rich and M. Lapin
xx