Running New Zealand: New Zealand made for some fabulous runs. From city sights, to beach bliss to hard hills, there was a little of everything. Read on for the highlights!
Our New Zealand trip was mid-January to end of March, including a stop on the Big Island of Hawaii on the way home. So YES, I’m a bit late posting. What can I say? We so much fun “living it” that I didn’t make time to post! And the weeks since have been busy too: reconnecting with friends and family, taxes, Easter, and our daughter Jessi’s jewelry launch (she has some great new pieces, check them out at J. Athavich Design).
And of course, I’ve been planning the rest of 2023!
But at long last, I’ve time to write the first Travel Byte from New Zealand. More in the coming weeks!
Best of Running New Zealand
My 2023 goal is, again, 52 Cities in 52 Weeks. New Zealand provided a great start: 26 new cities added to my Run Collection! Here are the Running New Zealand top 5: Christchurch’s Hagley Park, Acker’s Point Trail on Stewart Island, That Wanaka Tree, Marlborough Vineyards near Renwick, and Te Pare Point Trail above Hahei.
Christchurch’s Hagely Park, its botanical garden and the connected Avon River Greenway were a great start to NZ running.
Second, Acker’s Point Trail on Stewart Island was an up and down challenge that rewarded with fantastic views. Stewart Island is the “third” and southernmost NZ island. Rakiura National Park covers 85% of the island, making it a backpacker and bird-lover’s dream. We even saw kiwi in the wild!
Wanaka is famous for… well, that tree. It even has its own Instagram tag! The town is about 90 minutes north of Queenstown, with a beautiful lake and plenty of hiking and the nearby Gibbston Valley wineries.
Marlborough is wine country, with vineyards from peak to peak. I enjoyed several morning runs among the vines. After, we biked back to these to enjoy the fruits of their labor! This was one of our favorite parts of the trip (earthquake and all).
Te Pare Point Trail above Hahei gave wonderful such wonderful views, it was worth the uphill climb. I brought Jean up the next morning for the sunrise, and it was even better.
And the Rest
There were so many great New Zealand Runs; here are some of my favorite pics from each run. Hope you enjoy!
On Banks Peninsula, an extinct volcano
This NZ fur seal gave me a start!
with Anzac Square Gardens
Otakaro Park Invercargill
Mount Lyall beyond
Queenstown Gardens
Franz Joseph Town
North of Punakaiki
Near Abel Tasman NP
Near Golden Bay
Blenheim (in Marlborough)
Before our Ferry to North Island
Wellington
Kansas Connection Uknown!
Town run was dull, so this pic! instead!
New Plymouth
The caldera of an extinct volcano
Near the Waitangi Treaty Grounds
Auckland
Big Island Hawaii
Big Island Hawaii
More Running Bytes from Around the World
The Best Runs of 2023
Our travels this year made for phenomenal runs, from Kansas to Kyoto and more! Below is the countdown of the six best runs of 2023, along with my favorite run photos from the 2023 run collection. Read on!
The Zagreb Rerun
We had time for a quick Zagreb Rerun this year. Though short, it was a nostalgic stop, like visiting an old friend.
The Budapest Run
The Budapest run covered a millennium, from Magyars on invading on horseback to the 1956 revolt against the Soviets. What a city! What a run!
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