It was a Sunday afternoon when me and my girlfriend were walking on Stuart street in Dunedin aiming for the famous railway station building. On our way we saw a sign saying “Photo Gallery Open” and pointing into one of the old doors. We became curious and decided to come in. We came inside and saw old stairway leading to a mysterious place above us. Intrigued we climbed upstairs and entered the open door with the sign “Photo Gallery” (maybe it was a little different sign I don’t remember exactly). We came into an apartment and I was stunned by the photographs that were on the walls. There were different photographs - mostly black and white, but some in color, portraits and some landscapes… but they all had one thing in common: each photo captivated my attention for at least a couple of minutes. While we were staring at the photos I heard voices in one of the rooms.
We followed the voices and came into relatively small room, also full of stunning photographs. Two men were sitting there having a conversation. When we came in one of them, pleasantly looking man in his sixties stood and greeted us. It was Lindsay McLeod, photographer whose photos made such a great impression on me. He was very nice and talked to us about his photographs and photography experience. I take a great interest in photography, and therefore I had many questions to ask Lindsay. Then Lindsay gave us a tour of his working space and showed us more of his works. We enjoyed this short visit to Lindsay’s photographic gallery very much.

One of New Zealand’s main sources of income is tourism, hence there are many businesses that rely mostly on tourists, and among such businesses there are many photographers. I saw hundreds of photos from different photographers across New Zealand and I must say that not all of them were professional, not all at all! But the photographs of Lindsay McLeod touched something deep inside of me, and made me realize from within that they were real works of art. I wish him many more years of photography and health.

Thank you Lindsay for sharing your photographs with me!

Greg.

P.S. If you would like to see for yourself the photography of Lindsay McLeod, please visit: Lindsay McLeod Photography

This was one of my nicest social experiences in New Zealand. Just imagine - Nelson Lakes National Park, tens of kilometers of nearest civilization, Blue Lake Hut, Christmas eve.
Me and my partner were walking whole day to get to this hut. We came across the Sabine pass, skipped one hut walking two days distance in one day because we were running out of food, and on top of that this whole day it was raining as hell. This last section between West Sabine Hut and Blue Lake Hut was very difficult, partly because we were tired and partly because of the rain which made every stone slippery.
When we saw the Blue Lake Hut, we said a little prayer and very tired came in. We didn’t expect to meet anyone inside on such an unfriendly day, but to our surprise the hut was full of people! They all were young - in their early-mid twenties, and they all were great! One more surprise for me was the fact that they all were Kiwis. Seeing us as we were at that point they quickly made a place for us at the stove to dry our clothes and boots and we felt very peaceful and relaxed in their company.
We talked a lot about different things that evening, and the most memorable thing of that Christmas eve was the Christmas Pudding that one of the guys made, I am so sorry that I don’t remember his name!
Anyway I wish you all guys good luck and many more fantastic tramps! Dunkan and Alice, if you ever read this post, big HELLO from Greg and all the Best!

If on your trip in New Zealand you will reach the town Wanaka on the South Island, then don’t leave until you spent at least half a day at Puzzling World. There is really something interesting for everyone from children to adults. The entrance fee is low relative to other attractions available in the town and you get to spend as much time as you like inside. I will briefly go over all the attractions that you will encounter in Puzzling World:

1. Huge Labyrinth - consisting of 1.5km (1 mile) of passages. This is a really interesting “puzzle”. There are two challenges for you there. One is simpler and the other is harder. It took me about an hour to complete the difficult challenge of this maze, and I am 29 years old. So it means that adults will also enjoy this. For less patient people there are emergency doors in the maze so you can quit whenever you like (loooosers!). The best thing - is to watch other people struggling to find their way in the labyrinth.
2. Room with following faces - after completing the maze you can enter the big hall with many faces of famous people on its spheric walls. As you go from face to face these faces are seem to follow you - as if they were turning their heads to see where are you going. If anybody knows how this works please tell me!

3. Hologram Hall - here you will see huge amount of fascinating holograms. They claim that this collection of holograms is unique in the world, and I tend to believe it.
4. A rooms with optic illusions - you will go through couple of halls with posters each one featuring different interesting optic illusion. Very interesting.
5. Tilted house - the whole house is built not horizontally but tilted by 15 degrees. As a result you will think that it is a usual house but somehow you can’t go straight and will feel the gravity as strange sensation.

6. Even the toilet in this place is originally made - in Roman style. Before entering the actual toilet you arrive in this big hall where you see a very realistic painting of people using the toilet. Have to see it to believe it

7. There are also many posters with magnificent paintings by Escher. If you don’t know who he is - just Google his name.
8. At the entrance to the Puzzling World there is a cafe where you can sit, relax and … solve some puzzles! There are many different small but difficult puzzles laying on the tables in the cafe which you can take and solve while drinking your coffee or chatting with friends.

And the last but not least - The Leaning Clock Tower of Puzzling World! I don’t think that there is even one person who has been there and didn’t take a photo with him holding or doing something with this clock tower.

In conclusion - great experience, recommended for everyone!

Te Nikau retreat was one of the best places that I stayed in on my last trip to New Zealand.
It is located on the South Island, a couple kilometers to the north of the famous Pancake Rocks. Situated in the midst of Rainforest and only a couple of minutes walk from the beach. It is very quiet and peaceful place in which you automatically relax and forget about all your problems. With very homely atmosphere and the best owner ever, there is nothing really that I would like to improve. I came there with intentions to spend only one night and then continue my trip on the West Coast, but ended up spending three nights because I simply couldn’t leave! They bake their own bread and muffins each morning and if you want to get some of it you’ll have to rise early or everything will be taken. Te Nikau has a number of units all very originally built in the forest with narrow walkways between them. When you walk there at night it gives you almost magic feeling to see these little cozy lights hidden in the vegetation to light up your path. And when you walk through this magical “jungle” and after only 7-8 minutes arrive at the beach, you get to see a very beautiful coastline. I was lucky enough to see there one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.
I recommend staying there to anyone who loves nature, scenery, peace and quiet, and warm welcome. Though you should probably book in advance since this place is almost always full.
You can see more detailed information about this place here
For more accommodation options take a look at KIWI Accommodation

This is just a hint of what scenery you can see on the beach near the Te Nikau Retreat.

Hot water beach in New Zealand is located on the North Island in the Coromandel region. There are two hot springs located right on the beach underneath the sand. During the low tide many people come to this beach and dig themselves a natural spa in the sand which is filled immediately with hot water from the springs. This is such fun! It is also a social experience as you meet many people there. You can also rent a little shovel in the nearby store to aid you with the digging. But one movie worth a thousand words. Here is what I have found on you tube: