Laura Bell is a Kiwi living in Melbourne who came home this year to cycle the length of the country. With time off between jobs, she took on Tour Aotearoa, the 3,000 km bikepacking route from Cape Reinga to Bluff, riding it with her dad. She shares how they rode semi-supported over 31 days, changing direction on day one to dodge a fierce southerly, sleeping in the trailer-cabin he built from old refrigeration panels, and working through a hard fight on the Timber Trail. Having started the ride off the back of burnout and grief, Laura reflects on the simple rhythm of eating, sleeping and pedalling, and why a hard day was never a reason to quit.

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow Laura on Instagram: instagram.com/adventure.revolution/

Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/

Follow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Follow Abigail on TikTok: tiktok.com/@abigailhannnah/

David Haunschmidt is an emergency medicine doctor who moved from Scotland to New Zealand. Working around shift work, he shares how days walking DOC tracks turned into trail running, then ultramarathons. In just two years David found himself on podiums, with course records, an XTERRA world title and fastest known times on Great Walks. David talks about his first mountain race on the Karioi Trail near Raglan, running the Kepler, Milford and Rakiura tracks across one six-day summer down south. David doesn't run to win, but he does it because it's fun and adds more life to his days. He reflects on getting into running later in life, listening to his body through injury and the 1% improvements that add up.

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow David on Instagram: instagram.com/david_zebedee/

David's coaching and website: davidzebedee.com

Read the Blog: www.abigailhannah.nz

Follow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_

Penzy Dinsdale works in expedition medicine, from Antarctic ships to Everest Base Camp. She shares her 48-day traverse of Fiordland, the sequel to her 85-day Southern Alps journey, which together complete a full South Island traverse from Farewell Spit to Slope Point, a goal she has had since university. Penzy talks about packrafting the lakes and fiords with strangers-turned-friends she met online, crossing Centre Pass in 100kph winds, losing her inReach at Stevens Falls, and being invited aboard a yacht in Dusky Sound for a hot shower and crayfish. She reflects on building a career around adventure, setting a deadline to make a big trip happen, and still processing what finishing it means.

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow Penzy on Instagram: instagram.com/penzyd/

Penzy's photography: southerlystormphotography.com

Follow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_

Shalane Hopkins is an author, speaker and coach based in Otago, originally from Canada. In 2010 she walked the length of the country on Te Araroa, more than 3000 km from Cape Reinga to Bluff, before the trail had officially opened. She shares how she walked it with friend, a backpacker she had known only four days, carrying a map and compass instead of GPS, on a tight budget. Shalane talks about the culture shock of tramping, a week of rain through North Island farmland, a bout of giardia, and helping with the Christchurch earthquake recovery in 2011. Fifteen years on, she reflects on her memoir One Step at a Time, scaling a big goal back to the next step, and learning to stop making herself small.

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow Shalane on Instagram: instagram.com/shalanehopkins

Get Shalane's memoir One Step at a Time: shalanehopkins.com

Follow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah

Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_

Nick Thompson is a squash court engineer from the UK who builds all-glass courts for events like the New Zealand Open. Since 2022 he has returned almost every year, tagging on extra days to explore New Zealand and leading him to run Great Walks in a single day. He shares about that first year, running the Tongariro Northern Circuit on brownies alone and landing in hospital with an electrolyte crash, plus the Kepler and Queenstown Marathon. Nick talks about a 60km day on the Abel Tasman, and returning in 2025 for a slower, family-led trip. He breaks down his solo Hump Ridge Track push, where a missed signpost added 21km to his day, finishing in the dark. He reflects on hitting the ultra wall late in the day and the raw, vulnerable headspace it brought. Nick share about how New Zealand quiets his mind and is a place he loves revisiting.

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Read the Blog: www.abigailhannah.nz

Follow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Follow Abigail on TikTok: tiktok.com/@abigailhannnah/

To mark four years of Aotearoa Adventures, the tables turn and Abigail is interviewed. She shares her story, from growing up in India and moving to New Zealand at 18 to the 2020 South Island road trip in a 1990 rust box van that first opened her eyes to life on the road and made her world a little bigger. Abigail shares about struggling with depression, and rebuilding her identity. She talks about quitting her corporate job to build Feijoa Social, then the next two and a half years without a fixed address, moving between van life, overseas trips, house sits and kayak expeditions. She reflects on holding plans loosely, why a non-traditional life is possible at any stage of life, and the advice that made the Slow Paddle happen: put a date in the calendar and tell people.

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_

⁠Follow Abigail on Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

After four years and exactly 182 weekly episodes (plus a few bonuses) we are taking a pause.

Since 2022, every single Friyay without fail (minus Christmas and New Years), a new epiosde has landed in your feed. Adventures from the tops of mountains, remote coastlines, hidden trails, icy glaciers, and deep fiords. You have shown up and listened week after week - from your cars, your trails, your gyms, your desks - and that means the world.

We are stepping back to build something bigger, better, and more sustainable for the long run, because this show and this epic community deserve that.

While we are away, we would love your help shaping what comes next. Take two minutes to fill in our listener survey, tell us what you love, what you want more of, and what would make Aotearoa Adventures unmissable for you. Everyone who completes the survey goes in the draw to win a $150 Prezzy Card (Ts & Cs apply).

Fill in the survey here: https://forms.gle/qZs4WSDvvY9CSRRp7

And til we're back - keep bingeing past episodes, re-listen to your favourite stories, send me guest recommendations, leave a review and tell all your mates about the show.The stories are not done. The adventures are very much still happening. We will see you on the other side.

Until then, keep adventuring :)

Abigail

In the meantime, come hang out on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Or send me an email [email protected]

(miss you already)

Host Abigail and husband Isaac are reflect on the last section of the Slow Paddle sea kayak expedition from Cape Reinga to Tauranga. They share a day-by-day breakdown and decision making leading up to the end of the journey, challenges encountered, favourite moments on the water and what's coming next.

Listen to Episode 162 and 178 for previous Slow Paddle episodes.

Abigail & Isaac are kayaking for 1,000km from Cape Reinga to Tauranga in Feb-Mar 2026 to raise $20,000 for mental health and the ocean. Join the community to follow our journey closely, donate or paddle with us.

👉 DONATE: givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/slowpaddle

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Follow Isaac on Instagram: instagram.com/isaacjnaylor/

Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=JON334jG4QU

Read the Blog: www.abigailhannah.nz

Follow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Follow Abigail on TikTok: tiktok.com/@abigailhannnah/

Get my NZ Map & Guide

Tyla grew up a gymnast, spending long hours inside - and found her freedom outdoors, especially underwater. Now based in Wellington, she shares how a childhood love of the ocean turned into a career as a scuba instructor, and why diving became her way to explore, teach, and slow things down. Tyla shares the technical side of diving, covering gear, qualifications, costs and options in New Zealand. She also breaks down fears like sharks, deep water and claustrophobia - and how knowledge, exposure and good training can help those fears. Alongside scuba, Tyla also loves riding motorbikes and reflects on how both underwater and on a bike, you have to be so in tune with your surroundings. Her advice is practical, calm, and grounded - especially for people curious about scuba or motorbikes, but unsure where to start.

 Abigail & Isaac are kayaking for 1,000km from Cape Reinga to Tauranga in Feb-Mar 2026 to raise $20,000 for mental health and the ocean. Join the community to follow our journey closely, donate or paddle with us.👉 slowpaddle.nz

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow Tyla on Instagram: instagram.com/tyla_bow/instagram.com/tyla_bow_arts/

Read the Blog: www.abigailhannah.nzFollow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/Follow Abigail on TikTok: tiktok.com/@abigailhannnah/Get my NZ Map & Guide

Alice is a tramper, blogger, speech & language therapist and mum, based in Southland. She shares about a special trip with her Dad to Cascade Saddle in Mt Aspiring National Park. Waiting for a rare bluebird weather window, they tackled the demanding route in late summer. It involved a relentless climb, exposed scrambling with huge drop-offs, and having to stash gear in long-drops away from kea. Alice shares she special moments shared with her Dad on this trip, the sweeping views of the Dart Glacier and Tititea Mt Aspiring at sunset. Alice also reflects on tramping through different life stages, levelling up her outdoors skills through courses and joining a tramping club. We discuss the realities of social media and mass tourism and the responsibilities that come with travelling and sharing wild places online.

Abigail & Isaac are kayaking for 1,000km from Cape Reinga to Tauranga in Feb-Mar 2026 to raise $20,000 for mental health and the ocean. Join the community to follow our journey closely, donate or paddle with us.👉 slowpaddle.nz

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow Alice on Instagram: instagram.com/alice.adventuringaliceadventuring.com/Cascade Saddle Route: what you need to know to climb safely

Read the Blog: www.abigailhannah.nzFollow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/Follow Abigail on TikTok: tiktok.com/@abigailhannnah/Get my NZ Map & Guide

Daniel Mauden is a German-born traveller and photographer, who now lives full time on the road with his partner Dinah. He shares about childhood family trips, volunteering stints in the US, India, and the Bahamas, and the spontaneous decision to move to Aotearoa. Daniel worked in Hamilton for several years, squeezing weekend adventures around full-time work, before leaving his job and freelancing as a content creator. Daniel talks about places he keeps returning to - Cape Palliser, Castlepoint, French Pass - and why lighthouses, remote coastlines, sunset, are his favourite places to explore and photograph in New Zealand. He shares openly about the trade-offs of van life, from tight spaces to constant decision-making, alongside the freedom of waking up beside the ocean or hiking before sunrise. Daniel shares his perspective on slowing down and revisiting places deeply, instead of chasing checklists

 Abigail & Isaac are kayaking for 1,000km from Cape Reinga to Tauranga in Feb-Mar 2026 to raise $20,000 for mental health and the ocean. Join the community to follow our journey closely, donate or paddle with us.👉 slowpaddle.nz

Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can’t wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :)

Follow Daniel on Instagram: instagram.com/roamdates

Read the Blog: www.abigailhannah.nzFollow Abigail on Instagram: instagram.com/abigailhannnah/Follow Abigail on TikTok: tiktok.com/@abigailhannnah/Get my NZ Map & Guide