Welcome to WannaBeKiwi

A Site About Travel, Photos, and Fun

And a history of our quest to become Kiwis

The Grand Adventure

Our blog about our travels and adventures on our quest to be Kiwis

Photography

A collection of some of my photos over the years

Travel Blogs

Travel blogs from some of our most memorable trips around the world

Recipes

A collection of our favorite recipes

Biking

Bike ride descriptions and directions

Hiking

Hike descriptions and directions

Recent Blog Posts

  • A Night at the Opera
    Things have been going along swimmingly here in Oamaru and we continue to be impressed by the place. Sitting in our Airbnb and looking at the expanse of the ocean, every evening is a treat. It has become exceedingly clear that it was complete luck and quite rare that we had such a close encounterContinue reading “A Night at the Opera”
  • Yellow-Eyed Steampunk
    Oamaru is the steampunk capital of the world. I did not know this before coming here. Well, I didn’t even know what steampunk was, for that matter. Never heard of it. That shows you how non-hip I am. According to the dictionary: noun: steampunk; noun: steam-punk A genre of science fiction that has a historicalContinue reading “Yellow-Eyed Steampunk”
  • A Whale of a Tail
    We left Waitomo, both glad we had come to see the glow worms and very apprehensive about the trip ahead. It wasn’t because the driving from Waitomo to Kaikōura was particularly difficult; it was because it involved another ferry crossing to get from the North Island to the South Island. We were both feeling aContinue reading “A Whale of a Tail”
  • Mind Like a Steel Trap
    I’ve always prided myself on having a good memory. In college I almost never took notes in my classes or if I did, they would be some obscure representation of the lecture. When people borrowed my notes, they would exclaim “What the F$%@! is that?!” “I have a mind like a steel trap” I wouldContinue reading “Mind Like a Steel Trap”
  • The Party’s Over
    Our time in Cooks Beach has come to an end and we are making our way back to the South Island. We have spent a very lovely 5 weeks here that has allowed us to get a pretty good feel for the Coromandel Peninsula. It is lovely. We were a bit constrained in our abilityContinue reading “The Party’s Over”