𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 & 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀

Road-tripping around Queenstown, New Zealand = snow-capped peaks, alpine roads, and unreal lake views at every turn. Very happy to be the passenger so I could soak it all in.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘡𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺:

🚗 Choose a 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆. Check recent reviews before booking.

🚗 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 before leaving
Look for scratches, dents, and especially windscreen chips. Take photos or a quick video and make sure any damage is noted on the paperwork.

🚗 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲; you may already have car hire excess cover, so avoid paying twice. Third-party excess policies are often much cheaper.

🚗 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁; Some rental companies don’t allow gravel road driving. That could rule out places like the road to 𝗥𝗼𝗯 𝗥𝗼𝘆 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗿, which would be a real shame.

🚗 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿 for your plans
A small car may be fine for towns, but dirt tracks and remote areas are easier with an SUV or 4WD.

🚗 Watch for 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲. Loose gravel on unpaved roads can cause chips surprisingly easily.

🚗 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿
Give the rental company time to complete their final inspection so you know your bond will be released.

🚗 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝘀
Mobile coverage can be patchy in rural areas, so this is a lifesaver.

Anyone else love a good road trip? 🌍

🌎The TravelTribeUnite is a group of travellers that love photographing destinations both near and far. 🌍Each week we share travel images that reflect a specific theme. 🌎 Check out this week’s theme 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗦, 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦 & 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗦 at #traveltribeunite and feel free to join us by tagging your themed travel shots.🌍 …

𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬

𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘐𝘎 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 …

🌐 This week’s Getaway theme for #traveltribeunite is has got me thinking of all people in the Middle East whose lives have been turned upside down this week and are unable to getaway.

🌐 It is especially close to home with friends and family in the region. 🫶

✈️ The morning before much of the international airspace was closed in the region, I slipped back into London from Australia, blissfully unaware in doing so, of the huge impact on global travel about to happen…

🌐 I’m thinking of all those looking up into the skies and instead of seeing planes and dreaming they could get away, are seeing warplanes, drones, and missiles. 🤍

🌐 We have lived most of our careers as Expats so I’m also thinking of the Expats affected in the region…

✈️ I remember all to well when COVID struck and I’d booked the last flight out of Bangkok to Australia in March 2020, and Mr Wren told me he couldn’t leave the team, but I should go to be with the kids if I wanted….

🌐 Big decisions & choices, we stayed and didn’t get back home to Australia until December 2022.

𝘐’𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 – 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱…🌍🌏🌎

✈️ 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥: 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸?

🌎The TravelTribeUnite is a group of travellers that love photographing destinations both near and far. 🌍Each week we share travel images that reflect a specific theme. 🌎 Check out this week’s theme 𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬 at #traveltribeunite and feel free to join us by tagging your themed travel shots.🌍 …

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Still, to this day, I know that I’m yet to feel 💯 Australian, because I still find kangaroos in the wild the most amazing thing … whilst my Aussie friends don’t bat an eye!

𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘖𝘔𝘎 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳!

And shout out to @charlie_dale standing beside me who had the presence of mind to film that large Roo casually skipping over the fence between us!

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀.

𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 : What extraordinary moments have you had with wildlife?

𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝟻 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥? 👀 🦋 🐞

Today I watched the crows in the garden picking up twigs, it is nesting time again here in the UK 🐦‍⬛

Where ever you are in the world I wish you a peaceful day with the opportunity to enjoy the joy of wildlife in nature.

With lots of love xx …

It seems it’s been a long wet, winter here in the United Kingdom. People have been sick and world news is sad, scary and gloomy…

We feel very fortunate to have had our recent New Zealand holiday…

➡️Do check it out my recent posts and follow along if you are interested in travel ideas and inspiration @littlewanderingwren

Wishing you a lovely day where ever you are in the world. …

𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗲𝗸𝗶 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘩𝘦𝘬𝘪!

Australians it’s super easy, here’s how!

𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹
✈️ We arrived onboard an early flight with @Qantas from Melbourne to Auckland (3 hrs 35 mins) & used Uber for transport to the Pier 🚘
⛴️ Ferry to Waiheke (45 minutes from Downtown Ferry Terminal)
🚌 502 island bus ( hop on, hop off)
🏡 Stay with friends
🐟 Evening barbecue with friends

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭
🥾We spent the morning exploring the local area, via the 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 loop walk, first swims in the pristine water.
🍴a late lunch at 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗸𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘆 & 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘆
🍷wine tasting at 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱.

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮
🥾 𝗠𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗣𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 along north west coast of island 𝗢𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮 return
🍴Picnic lunch bought from 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯
Visiting the east side of the island 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿
🍷𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰
Morning walk and swim along 𝗢𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵
𝗠𝗮𝗶 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 – German bakery for sweet treats
3.30 pm back to Auckland with 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀

📌Save for your future trips to Waiheke Island & follow @littlewanderingwren for more travel inspo. …

𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗲𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱

𝘐 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝟷𝟶 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘩𝘦𝘬𝘦 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥…

🎶In the words of Ed … it’s alright to run from all this pain … 💕

The world is a little crazy right now, we are holding our breath …there is a calm and peaceful world out there and I thought you might be in need of a little escape.

Whereever you are in the world, I’m sending uou this with lots of love 💕

Wren xx

➡️ Follow @littlewanderingwren for more calm and travel joy. …

𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗲𝗸𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱

𝘐 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝟷𝟺 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘩𝘦𝘬𝘦 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥…

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿? 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗽!

The world is a little crazy right now, we are holding our breath … I hear the beautiful sounds of nature, of a calm and peaceful part of the world and I thought you might be in need of hearing this too.

Where ever you are in the world, I’m sending uou this with lots of love 💕

Wren xx

[ filmed whilst visiting @manowarwine ]

📌Save and send to friend in need of some calm today!

➡️ Follow @littlewanderingwren for more travel joy from around the globe. …

Our recent 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 holiday was the best. Here’s what made it great…

✨ Our trip was fabulously planned by our NZ friends and Auckland residents ( we spend a lot of the year travelling and it was so lovely for someone else to do the planning and organising!)

✨𝟭𝟯 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 & 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱

✨𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:
Waiheke island ~> Queenstown ~> Waneka
𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘴 one night in Auckland.

✈️ Melbourne -> 𝗔𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱
⛴️ Ferry to 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗵𝗲𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱
✈️ Auckland -> 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻
🚗Drive to 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗮
✈️ Queenstown to Melbourne

✨ A perfect combo of exploring & exercise, hiking & biking, lovely meals out, visiting wineries and enjoying this glorious country!

𝘞𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦?

📌Follow along & save for future trips

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱? …

☕️But first coffee shops from around the globe! ☕️

Life has never quite been the same since I gave up dairy and with it a skinny cappuccino …a long black coffee is not quite as exciting, but hey ho!

Here’s a caffeine fueled trip down memory lane!

Where are my coffee friends?

The TravelTribeUnite is a group of travelers that love photographing destinations both near and far. Each week, we share travel images that reflect a specific theme. Check out this week’s theme “coffee shop” at #traveltribeunite.

#coffeelover #coffeetime …