Hiking Trolltunga

Jocelyn
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Hiking Trolltunga

I’d been wanting to go to Norway for years. And when that finally became a reality, I knew we had to get at least one of their famous hikes on our itinerary.

Upon doing some research, Trolltunga appeared to be the closest hike to Bergen. I was excited. Then, I started doing some reading and learned that it wasn’t recommended to hike Trolltunga before mid-June without an [expensive] guide. We were going to be there at the end of May and I didn’t want to hike through knee-deep snow or put us in any kind of danger. And well, I didn’t want to pay for an expensive guide for a non-technical day hike.

I started looking at other options and was planning to go to Pulpit Rock, but upon reading more accounts of people actually accomplishing the Trolltunga hike in May, we decided to go for it.

Now, I’m sure every year is different depending on the winter snowfall and how late the winter lasts, but I am 100% glad that we opted to do the hike.

With the long daylight hours at the end of May, I wasn’t especially concerned with being on the hike later in the day but wanted to get a spot at the higher up parking lot that saves you from about 5+ miles roundtrip of hiking. (So think around 13 miles versus 18+!).

We got to the parking lot a little before 6:30am, which is where we, unfortunately, learned that the winding road to the upper parking lot was closed until mid-June for construction. I have no idea if they close it every year, but just something to be aware of!

Around 6:45am we started up the winding road (I believe there is a trail you can take as well) and even without being in the sun we immediately warmed up.

After we reached the top of the road (it’s relentless and not fun!) we were greeted with a fairly flat route that took us to a set of stairs to start our climb again.

We eventually reached snow and had a few different hills (some steeper than others) to climb along the way.

The one thing I will say about the time of the year that we climbed, and on a warm and sunny day, the snow was melting like crazy. If you do choose to hike at this time of year watch out for post holing and lots of mud. We saw some people hiking up in white tennis shoes – do NOT do this unless you want to ruin your shoes and walk around with wet feet all day.

At this point, the landscape didn’t vary too much, snow, melting snow in mud, and rock. Eventually, as you got closer to the tongue you started nearing vistas of the fjord which served as beautiful spots to take a quick break along the way.

Finally, after about 9 miles of hiking through snow, mud, and rocks we reached the Troll’s Tongue! We opted to climb above the tongue at first and relax and have a snack before jumping in a relatively short line to get our photos taken. Another bonus of hiking in May – we saw less than 100 people all day – I can only imagine what July and August could be like!

And…that was it! After our photo shoot, we hiked the 9 miles back to the car (with those last 2.5 or so being absolutely hot and dreadful).

Tips

  1. Get an early start! Especially when that upper parking lot is open, and in the summer, I’d prefer to wake up earlier and beat the crowds (and not hike the extra 5 miles that don’t offer much in the way of exciting vistas or hiking trails).
  2. Wear lots of sunscreen! Especially if there is snow, don’t forget about the sun reflecting off the snow.
  3. The sun is very warm (plus, you’re hiking), I’d recommend wearing layers just in case the weather turns or it’s chilly in the morning.
  4. Bring an extra pair of socks – especially if you’re hiking in the snow or snowmelt, you’d rather carry an extra pair of socks than be stuck walking around in wet socks for hours.
  5. Be prepared with water, but also know that there are numerous places to fill up – the water is probably clean enough to drink without a filter, but we filtered ours just in case.
  6. Bring snacks! It can be a long day, especially if you’re up at the tongue for a while – we like to take along GU, Clif Blocks, bars, trail mix, and maybe a small sandwich so we can have an actual lunch at the summit.
  7. Be careful! You’re at the edge of a cliff, 700 meters above a fjord! But – don’t be too scared to go out onto the tongue! It’s relatively wide once you get out there, and while I didn’t think I was going to swing my legs over, the tongue points upwards a bit so you unless you were to actually peer over the edge, it doesn’t feel like your feet are dangling high above the earth!
  8. Have fun and take lots of photos – you might never be back there!

To learn more about our adventures in Norway, click here!

4 Days in Western Norway

Jocelyn
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4 Days in Western Norway

We only had a short time in Norway, between weekends in Copenhagen and Stockholm, so we opted to skip Oslo and head straight for fjord country. We took a quick flight from Copenhagen to Bergen, picked up our rental car and were at our hotel in no time.

Stay

We used our Chase Sapphire points and stayed at the Augustin Hotel. It was just off the touristy area and across from Bryggen which we found perfect. It also left us a little bit closer to a more residential area (i.e., less touristy restaurants and bars!).

Eat

We ended up trying a restaurant right in the Bryggen area and also one in more of the residential area. Both were good.

In the Bryggen neighborhood, we tried Bryggeloftet & Stuene and had some delicious seafood and meat. Lots of traditional Norwegian dishes to try here!

The next night we went to Trancher Bergen after having it recommended to us by a bartender. The restaurant was cute and the food was good – but do NOT go here unless you want a steak! That’s all they do.

If you do go to Trancher (or even if you don’t) make sure to stop by The Tasting Room for a cocktail – they were delicious!

Do

Mount Floyen – whether you opt to take the funicular or hike to the top, if you’re in Bergen you have to head to the top of Mount Floyen for some spectacular views. If you are thinking about hiking – do it! The hike isn’t very long and can be done all on paved roads.

Wander around Bryggen. Mostly filled with tourist shops, it’s still an adorable section of town with plenty of places to stop for a drink or a bite to eat, especially in warmer weather.

Outside of Bergen

Now, Bergen was great, but that was just our jumping off point. We took our rental car and took the E16 up through Voss (where we stopped for lunch) and down to Odda. We saw endless mountains, fjords and waterfalls until we arrived Husedalen Valley and did a Four Waterfall hike – bonus, we were the only ones there!

The next day we woke up bright and early and set off to hike Trolltunga, a short drive from Odda. We were hiking in late May, which can be a toss up depending on the weather and snowfall they’ve received that year, but we had gorgeous weather. There was a lot of snow melt going on so on the way back there was definitely some post holing (and lots of mud!). Stay tuned for a more in-depth post about this gorgeous hike!

On our way back from Odda to Bergen, we went out of the way to see Latefossen – a waterfall that runs through a road!

We then took a slightly more direct route back to Bergen, hopping on a ferry in Jondal to get us there – be prepared, the ferries only run about once per hour. You pay for the ferry once you’re onboard and it only takes about 20 minutes.

All in all, Norway was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for a few days in between two city weekends. We definitely want to go back and explore other parts of the country… one day! It’s true what they say, Norway is expensive!

A Weekend in Queenstown

Jocelyn
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A Weekend in Queenstown

Before we went to New Zealand, anyone who had been told us how much they loved Queenstown. After visiting, we feel exactly the same. Queenstown is a gorgeous little town surrounded by mountains with beautiful views of Lake Wakatipu. It’s situated relatively south on the South Island and is pretty easy to get to via plane from most other places in the country.

Queenstown isn’t just a beautiful mountain town though. It’s also the adventure capital of the world. And whether to you adventure means bungy jumping, hiking, jet boating, or driving along windy roads, there is something (or everything) for us all.

If you find yourself in Queenstown, here are some of our recommendations for what to do:

Nevis Bungy and/or Nevis Swing – might as well get the adrenaline pumping! The Nevis Bungy is the highest in Australasia and you can check out the Nevis Swing as well. Toby and I had both jumped from Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa so we opted to check out the Nevis Swing instead and I highly recommend it. You think it’s a bit more relaxed because it’s called a swing and you don’t have to physically make the jump but — be prepared! And have fun!

Shotover Jet Boat – while there are numerous Jet Boat operators spread out throughout the country, we opted to do the Shotover Jet Boat located right outside of Queenstown because the scenery looked the coolest. While I originally didn’t care either way if we ended up doing a jet boat tour, speeding through the canyon in a few inches of water was a blast and worth the money!

Scenic Drive to Cromwell – if you have a car and feel like taking a drive, head out on the windy road to Cromwell. You’ll want to stop numerous times along the way – there are plenty of hiking trails, trails to the lake, and lookout spots to take photographs. Once you get to Cromwell there isn’t a whole lot to see or do (at least not that we found) but there is a General Store to grab a bite to eat and you can always spend time relaxing by the lake.

Skyline Queenstown – take the Gondola up and find yourself on a mountaintop overlooking Queenstown. From here you can hike, bike, luge, eat, drink, or just take in the sights. We actually skipped out on this activity because we had taken the Skyline in Rotorua and were in between hiking days in Tongariro and Wanaka.

Hike! – there are plenty of day hikes in Queenstown, with the most popular being the Ben Lomond Trail. Unfortunately, due to our limited time in Queenstown and the hiking we had planned before and afterward, we didn’t make it on any hikes in the area – however, the area is so beautiful I am sure you can’t go wrong!

Ski – we visited Queenstown in peak summer season, but I can only imagine how wonderful the town is during the winter and ski season. If you’re heading there then, I’d imagine you are looking to do some skiing or snowboarding!

Wine Tasting – Queenstown is the gateway to the Central Otago region where you’ll find 200 wineries! While we certainly enjoy wine and wine tasting, we were heading up through the region and into Wanaka so saved our winery visits for there (although we continued to taste plenty of New Zealand wines throughout the trip!).

And when you’re not heading out on an adventure in Queenstown, stop into any number of the lakefront restaurants, grab a bite to eat and enjoy the wonderful views!

To learn more about how we spent our 12 days in New Zealand, click here.

Hiking the Tongoriro Crossing

Jocelyn
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Hiking the Tongoriro Crossing

When we first started planning our trip to New Zealand we planned on spending the entire trip in the South Island, aside from flying in and out of Auckland. Then we learned about the Tongariro Crossing. After reading about the hike we decided to switch our plans up a bit and spend a few days in the North Island doing the day hike and exploring Rotorua and Taupo. Before going I read a few blog posts to really get an idea for how in shape you had to be and what kind of weather I should be prepared for (always terrified of being cold!). Now that we’ve completed the hike, it’s time to pass on our experience and knowledge.

The hike is a crossing, meaning you start from one side and hike to the other. You can start from either side but I recommend parking at the Ketetahi Car Park and then taking the shuttle to the other side of the mountain – instead of starting the hike on the same side that you parked – so that when you finish the hike you can head straight to you car and leave as soon as you’d like instead of waiting for the shuttle to take you back to where you parked. The car park usually fills up rather early but there are additional parking lots and plenty of people parked along the road as well. We used Tongariro Crossing Shuttles and everything worked out fine.

So how long did it really take?

First off, we’re both in good shape – we work out 5-6 times a week and hike throughout the year. I’m sure there are plenty of people in better shape than we were and many who were worse off, so the amount of time it’ll take you is definitely dependent on your level of fitness as well as the amount of times you to stop to take photos, eat, and just take in the amazing scenery. Here was our schedule that day:

4:45am: Wake up in Taupo, get ready, grab our backpacks, and head out a little after 5am.

6:10am: Arrive at the carpark. See a shuttle bus loading up and jump on without checking in. NOT what you are supposed to do.

6:25am: Our shuttle is full so we leave a few minutes early. Our shuttle was stopped on the way due to the fact that we never checked in and are not accounted for, but thankfully since we were registered and paid for they just had to confirm us and we were on our way again.

7am: Start the hike. It’s a Saturday and in the middle of Christmas and New Years so there are A LOT of people. The hike takes approximately 6 hours. That includes many stops for photos, a bathroom break, a full sit down and enjoy a sandwich stop, and hiking about 14 miles. I know the hike says 19.4km which translates into 12 miles, but both of our GPS were closer to 14 miles by the end. Part of that probably had to do with parking at that farther car park which adds some extra steps to your day!

2:30pm: By mid-afternoon we were back in Taupo and spent the afternoon soothing our muscles in the jacuzzi and enjoying a sunny summer day in New Zealand.

What do I wear?

We did this hike spack dab in the middle of summer and it was cold. And hot. Windy. Sunny. So be prepared. I’m also always cold until I’m hot take my advice with a grain of salt. Here’s what I wore throughout the day:

  • Salomon Hiking Shoe – you don’t need crazy hiking boots for this hike but I like to have a designated hiking shoe versus just using tennis shoes. This hike could be done in tennis shoes if that’s all you had (and assuming you aren’t doing this when there is snow on the ground).
  • Lululemon Crop Leggings – Lululemon makes my favorite go-to workout pants but the bottom line is, I’d recommend some pants. People were wearing shorts but the majority of the time we were hiking I was colder than I was hot and I never felt like I needed to be wearing shorts (of course, check the weather!)
  • A workout tank – again, whatever your favorite workout tank is – it did get warm enough at some points for me to go sleeveless!
  • A long sleeve shirt – whether it’s a smartwool base layer or a Nike workout top, you’ll want some layers. I actually had on two long sleeve shirts for part of the hike!
  • A mid-layer jacket or fleece. I wore this North Face jacket and it was perfect. If you wear something without a hood I recommend bringing a warm hat – the wind got brutal at times and I was happy for the hood and warm ears!
  • Lightweight wool socks – Potentially not necessary, but since I was wearing cropped Lulus, it was nice to be able to pull up the socks so that my legs were fully covered.
  • A baseball/trucker hat. This is obviously a preference thing, but it was a very sunny day when we hiked and the sun is brutal in New Zealand – just another way to protect your face!

What do I bring?

Snacks. Water. Camera. And a backpack to carry it all. It’s really that simple. The hike isn’t technical at all so no need for fancy equipment, although some people were using trekking poles which I’m sure might be nice on some parts of the hike.

Other than that I’d just bring your favorite hiking snacks – anything to give you the energy to keep on going! Energy bars (Quest Bars and ONE Bars are our favorites), trail mix, and jerky all work for us. I also brought a sandwich which I devoured halfway through the hike (Toby didn’t need his until after we finished!).

Water-wise I had a 2L camelback and Toby had 3L and that was plenty for us – especially since it wasn’t too warm of a day.

Last but not least, a camera! (or your phone!). There are so many cool shots to take during the hike (as you’re probably noticing in this blog) plus of course just having the record that you completed it! Pictures or it didn’t happen, right?

And if you’re looking for a new daypack to take on these types of hikes, we like the REI Flash 22 Pack.

If you’re planning on hiking the trail any other time of year than smack dab in the middle of summer you may be in for some colder temperatures and definitely some snow depending on the time of year – so make sure to check the weather before you go! Happy Hiking!

To learn more about our 12 days in New Zealand, click here.

New Zealand: A 12-Day Itinerary

Jocelyn
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New Zealand: A 12-Day Itinerary

Many times when we’ve talked to people about going to New Zealand, they say they’d need 3-4 weeks to explore the country. Yes, that would be nice. Yes, there are many spots we’d like to go back and get to visit that we didn’t get to on this trip – but, isn’t that true of most countries you’ve been to?

We ended up with 12 days to explore and were able to pack A LOT of places, activities, and, of course, driving in.

Day 1 – Auckland

We arrived in Auckland around 5pm and picked up our rental car at the airport. While we weren’t overly interested in spending much time in Auckland, we decided to spend one night there instead of immediately taking off on a multi-hour drive after so much traveling. We wandered down to the harbor and ended up stumbling upon a delicious Indian restaurant called 1947 after The Depot Oyster Bar had a long wait.

Day 2 – Rotorua

We set off on a 3-hour drive to Rotorua the next morning after a quick breakfast in a nearby cafe. We decided to drive straight to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. While it is most certainly a touristy place, it was still pretty cool to walk around and check out the different geothermal pools.

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After checking in to our hotel, we decided to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain and check out Volcanic Hills Winery. The views, wine, and employees make for an awesome experience if you have some time and just want to relax.

After we were done wine tasting we took the gondola back down and headed over to Eat Street Rotorua, which is exactly what it sounds like – a street full of restaurants, and naturally, moved on to beer tasting and had some dinner.

Day 3 – Lake Taupo

The next day we took the relatively short drive to Taupo after breakfast and made our way to Huka Falls. I looked up directions on the drive and it seemed like the Spa Park was the place to park. And it is. If you are prepared to hike about 5 miles round trip to get to the falls. Totally doable, but we missed the memo and did the hike in jeans – not recommended! And apparently, there IS a carpark located right near the falls if you aren’t interested in a hike. The falls were absolutely beautiful (and the hike was pretty great too).

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around and grabbing food and drinks around the lakefront.

Day 4 – Tongariro Crossing

Technically, we still stayed in Lake Taupo this night, but we just a good first chunk of our day hiking the Tongariro Crossing. In fact, a big reason we ended up spending time in the North Island was to do this hike. We had great weather – cold and windy at times but sunny and beautiful. If you like to hike and are up for a decent challenge – we ended up hiking about 14 miles (the hike claims to be 19.4km) with an elevation gain of about 2,600 feet in about 6 hours (including all of our stops to take photos and for me to keep eating and snacking), we 100% recommend it!

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Day 5 – Queenstown

We drove three hours back to Auckland from Lake Taupo, dropped off our rental car, and hopped on a 90-minute flight to Queenstown. We then picked up our South Island rental car, checked into the hotel and spent the afternoon walking around town and, per usual, grabbing food and drinks. Day 5 also happened to be New Years Eve, so after a not-normal-for-this-trip afternoon siesta, we went back out for a late dinner and to catch the fireworks as we celebrated being one of the first to celebrate the new year!

Day 6 – Queenstown & Te Anau

Day 6 was a long and busy day. We started our new year off on the Nevis Swing (we opted to do the swing as we had done the Bloukrans Bridge Bungy in South Africa and thought since there was a different option to give it a shot – so. much. fun!). After the swing, we headed back into town for lunch and then decided to take the gorgeous drive up to Glenorchy. When we arrived in Glenorchy we definitely realized it was more about the drive than the destination, and with a lot of driving ahead of us, we started to make our way back to Queenstown, and then out to Te Anau, our stop on the way to Milford Sound.

Day 7 – Milford Sound

We had booked an 11:10am ferry on the Mitre Peak ferry (one of the smaller boats) which meant we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn (which is quite early in the summer in New Zealand!). On the way there we stopped a few times to take some photos – my first word of advice, leave well in advance of when you need to get to the ferry…OR plan to stop for photos on the way BACK. By the time we got to Milford Sound we were running to catch our boat (sidenote: their parking situation doesn’t help your timetable either – be prepared!). Luckily, we made it on the boat in time and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. For a place that gets 200+ days of rain a year and if you’ve read about it, you’ve read to expect cloud, fog, and rain, we were granted blue skies and sunshine.

We enjoyed our two-hour ferry ride, grabbed a bite to eat in the cafe (I’d recommend bringing your own food if you can to avoid waiting in a long line of just okay food at the cafe), and then we were off to make the long drive back to Queenstown. My second piece of advice, make sure you have enough gas, and that the person driving understands that there is NO gas, I repeat, NO gas, in Milford Sound. By another stroke of luck, we made it back to Te Anau (with the gas light on) and then onwards to Queenstown.

Day 8 – Queenstown & Wanaka

Waking up in Queenstown meant it was time for another adventure. While there are shotover jetboats all over the country, the boats right outside of Queenstown take you through a canyon which looked absolutely beautiful. And, it was. It was also really, really fun.

After the shotover jet we decided to take the Crown Range road to Wanaka. A beautiful drive that takes you right past the Cardrona Hotel where you can stop for a bite to eat and a drink. We, however, decided to continue on to Wanaka.

As we neared Wanaka, we could see a lot of smoke over the mountains — and it turned out the mountainside right above Wanaka had caught on fire just that afternoon. In true New Zealand fashion, no one seemed all that worried about it. I suppose when the fire is right next to a giant lake and you have an abundance of helicopters to grab water from the lake to pour on the fire, it’s really not so bad.

Per usual, we went to town and wandered around to a few places grabbing bites to eat and glasses of wine, and then made our way down to That Wanaka Tree as the sun began to set. I’m not sure if there is ever a time when no one is taking a photo of that tree, but a crowd was definitely growing around sunset!

Day 9 – Wanaka

The next morning we decided to wake around sunrise to catch another glimpse of the tree (I know, who are we?!). While less of a crowd around 6am, there were still a handful of dedicated photographers hanging around.

After a few photos we went back to our Airbnb to catch a little more sleep before we hopefully hiked Roy’s Peak. The mountainside that had been smoldering the night before as we made our way home had growing flames again so we weren’t sure if the nearby trail would be open.

And then, unfortunately, it was closed for the day. Our runner-up choice, however, did not disappoint. If you’re looking for a shorter hike than Roy’s Peak (or another hike in addition), we definitely recommend the Diamond Lake / Rocky Mountain Summit track.

After the hike we decided to check out some of the local wineries, Rippon Vineyard and Maude Wines. We’ll go into more detail in our Wanaka post, but the experiences at both could not have been more different. What Rippon offered in breathtaking views, Maude offered in a relaxing atmosphere and wonderful service.

After a bit of wine (and plenty of cheese) we were on the road again to spend the night in Omarama. Like Te Anau, Omarama served the purpose of a place to stay that was relatively close to Mt. Cook/Aoraki National Park.

Day 10 – Mount Cook/Aoraki National Park

We had been so incredibly lucky with our weather so far. And then, the day we were scheduled to take a ski plane flight over Mount Cook, the Tasman Glacier, land on a snowfield, and then take a helicopter back down, the weather turned. While bummed our excursion was canceled, there was really nothing to do besides make the best of it.

So, we drove to Aoraki National Park, past the beautiful blue Lake Pukaki, and took a short hike to the Tasman glacial lake. Then we hiked about 7 miles roundtrip on the Hooker Valley Track, stopping at that glacial lake to pop our New Zealand bubbles from Maude Wines that had been reserved for our helicopter adventure. We had a blast on the hike, even in the rain, so I highly recommend it, especially if you have sunny weather!

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Day 11 – Lake Tekapo & Christchurch

We spent the previous night in Lake Tekapo. Originally, our plan was to wake up in the morning, check out the lake and The Church of the Good Sheppard, and start the 3-hour drive to Christchurch. But, on our way into Lake Tekapo the night before we passed Air Safaris and learned that we could do a helicopter ride or scenic flight from there. The weather was not so bad but also not so great when we woke up that morning, so we ended up hanging around the lake longer than expected seeing if we could make our last adventure of the trip happen. Well, the weather never got great enough for a helicopter ride and landing, but we were able to take an amazing 60-minute flight over amazing scenery – we flew past the Mount Cook summit, and even flew over Franz and Fox Glaciers!

That meant that we didn’t arrive in Christchurch until about 8pm – leaving us time for dinner and officially packing our bags to go home. While we didn’t get to see much of Christchurch, we did stay in the Merivale neighborhood which put us in walking distance of any type of restaurant you could imagine.

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Day 12 – Waiheke Island

We woke up the next morning, dropped off our rental car, and took a quick one-hour flight to Auckland. From there, we hopped on a 40-minute ferry to Waiheke Island and took a Hop On, Hop Off bus around the island, stopping at a couple of wineries for lunch and…well, wine of course. It was a gorgeous summer day and the perfect relaxing way to end our trip. I’m pretty sure if I lived in Auckland I would be a regular visitor of Waiheke!

So there you go. Our trip in a nutshell. There were plenty of areas of New Zealand we didn’t get to explore and things we didn’t have time to do and we plan to make it back there one day (hopefully soon!). Stay tuned for more in-depth blog posts of different places we visited and things we did!

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