Sarah and Nathan

Auckland is home to many amazing hiking tracks (or as we Kiwis like to call them, bush walks), including a secret spot best known by locals; the Goldie Bush Walkway which adjoins the Mokoroa Stream Track and Mokoroa Falls Track. Though the tracks can be completed in both directions, we recommend heading clockwise (along the Goldie Bush Walkway – Mokoroa Stream Track – Mokoroa Falls Track). At the bottom, after crossing over the footbridge, you’ll have the option to either turn left onto the Mokoroa Stream Track or to continue along the Goldie Bush Walkway. If you’ve followed the stream in a clockwise direction, you’ll get to the end of the Mokoroa Stream Track and notice the signs that direct you up and to the right onto the Mokoroa Falls Track.

With one of the world’s top 10 beaches (and our favourite in New Zealand) an easy drive from Auckland, there’s no need to fly to a tropical island for a taste of paradise! New Chums Beach is the next bay over from Whangapoua and, as it’s only accessible by foot or boat, Whangapoua is precisely where you’ll need to head first. If you’re relatively fit and able, it’s well worth a little side trip up to the New Chums lookout, and as it’s right off the main trail, it’s impossible to miss if you know what you’re looking for. Anyone making the hike across to New Chums Beach is going to find themselves in the same position – faced with a beautiful beach, beckoning them over, and nowhere particularly secure to store their belongings.

If food is the way to a man’s heart then a street food tour is surely the best way to really experience a new city. Though of course we can’t share the specific details of each stop we made on our food tour, we sure can tell you the best of the best when it comes to traditional Hungarian food – I must admit, it wasn’t my cup of tea but as someone that doesn’t drink straight spirits, I’m probably not the target market. I love what I love and I’m very hesitant to try things I’m less familiar with.

The speed on your Segway will be controlled to limit it to the perfect around-town-starter-speed so as long as you keep your wits about you, there’s really very little challenge in riding one of these incredible machines through the streets of Budapest. The Heroes Square Tour will zip you down towards Budapest’s most significant monument, past a number of important sites and around the city’s largest park (where you’ll also find the Szechenyi Baths and the City Park Ice Rink/Városligeti Műjégpálya, should you wish to return at another point in your travels.) Making your way alongside the river and up the hillside towards the Fisherman’s Bastion, you’ll soon find yourself standing in front of two of my favourite buildings in all of Budapest; the aforementioned Fisherman’s Bastion and the Matthias Church. Following your Buda Castle stop, you’ll start working your way back across the bridge and back to your base in the Old Town, before saying goodbye to your guide and begrudgingly leaving your Segway behind.