The Scenic Route

The Scenic Route From alpine lookouts to hidden beaches, we help families discover practical adventures across New Zealand. https://www.youtube.com/

Come along with us on The Scenic Route YouTube channel.

15/06/2026

Seeing Hokitika Gorge from the bridges was beautiful, but getting right down beside the water was something else.

The colour looks even crazier up close. That milky turquoise comes partly from glacial flour, tiny pieces of rock ground down in the mountains and carried through the river.

This is a quick moment from our full Hokitika Gorge adventure on YouTube " The Scenic Route "

Watch the full episode here:
https://youtu.be/nSgWo_SRPWQ

14/06/2026

The famous turquoise water of Hokitika Gorge. It looks too blue to be real!

This moment is from our newest West Coast adventure on The Scenic Route.

Watch the full episode here:
https://youtu.be/nSgWo_SRPWQ

13/06/2026

We finally made it to Hokitika Gorge… and yeah, the water really is that blue.

This day gave us beautiful back roads, more bridges than we could count, a few good family laughs, our first pounamu find, and one warning sign that definitely got our attention.

The full West Coast adventure is up now on The Scenic Route:

https://youtu.be/nSgWo_SRPWQ?si=oAaQNH-4pRJMAHhN

13/06/2026

Bridge Day is finally here 😅

We left Hokitika Holiday Park and started chasing bridges toward one of the bluest places we’ve ever seen.

One-lane bridges, suspension bridges, forest paths, crazy turquoise water, sandflies with personal issues, and our first pounamu find.

This Short is a quick look at our newest West Coast adventure at Hokitika Gorge.

Watch the full episode on The Scenic Route:

https://youtu.be/nSgWo_SRPWQ?si=oAaQNH-4pRJMAHhN

Bridge Day is here on the West Coast! New West Coast episode dropped 🎥Watch it here 👇 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS...
12/06/2026

Bridge Day is here on the West Coast! New West Coast episode dropped 🎥

Watch it here 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSgWo_SRPWQ

We leave Hokitika Holiday Park, head toward Hokitika Gorge, start counting bridges, and somehow the road just keeps getting better.

One-lane bridges, wild suspension bridges, boardwalks through the bush, that crazy turquoise water, our first pounamu find, and a few classic family laughs along the way.

This is the second-last episode in our West Coast series, and it’s a good one.

Thanks for joining us on The Scenic Route.

08/06/2026

Barely wide enough to walk through. 😮

This was one of the coolest sections of the Blue Spur walk near Hokitika.

One minute you’re in thick West Coast bush, and the next you’re standing inside this narrow old goldfield cut, with mossy walls almost shoulder to shoulder.

In a few spots, we had to turn sideways just to get through.

It’s wild to think miners worked through this area back in the 1860s, and now the forest has completely taken it back.

Moss, ferns, dripping rock walls, and one very tight little passage hidden in the bush.

This moment is from Episode 2 of our West Coast adventure on The Scenic Route.

Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/

07/06/2026

UM… WHAT? 😅

We were just getting ready to head into the Blue Spur bush near Hokitika when we noticed that little warning symbol on the sign.

This walk ended up being way cooler than we expected.

Old goldfield history, thick West Coast bush, hand-cut mining tunnels, narrow channels, tiny fungi, and one of those tracks where it feels like the forest is hiding stories everywhere.

This Short is from Episode 2 of our West Coast New Zealand adventure on The Scenic Route.

The full episode has the whole Blue Spur walk, Hokitika at sunset, the wild river mouth history, and our family cabin night at Hokitika Holiday Park.

Watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/

06/06/2026

This Forest Trail Felt Like a Secret Passage

This is the moment our Blue Spur bushwalk near Hokitika turned into something way cooler than we expected.

The trail drops into a narrow cut through the ground, surrounded by thick New Zealand bush, old goldfield history, and tracks that feel like they’ve been swallowed by the forest. We end the day at the Hokitika Holiday Park

This is from Episode 2 of our West Coast adventure on The Scenic Route.

Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel.
https://www.YouTube.com/

Our newest West Coast adventure!This one has a bit of everything we love about exploring New Zealand: wild coastline, go...
05/06/2026

Our newest West Coast adventure!

This one has a bit of everything we love about exploring New Zealand: wild coastline, golden light, thick West Coast bush, Hokitika views, and one very strange little trail that had us asking…

" Is this really the trail? "

We’re continuing our South Island road trip exploring New Zealand, and this adventure is full of those unexpected stops that make the West Coast feel so special.

New episode is out now on The Scenic Route.
https://www.YouTube.com/

Come along with us, and let us know if you’ve ever found a trail like this one.

03/06/2026

Kristine met a cave wētā… and the cave wētā chose violence 😅

While exploring the dark tunnels at Tunnel Terrace Walk near Hokitika, we spotted a wētā on the wall. Cool little New Zealand wildlife moment, right?

Then it jumped.

Kristine’s reaction was so good we had to do an instant replay.

This Short is from Part 1 of our West Coast adventure, where we cross the South Island through Arthur’s Pass toward Hokitika and start finding the hidden stuff tucked away in the bush.

Watch the full adventure on The Scenic Route:
https://www.youtube.com/

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