Welcome to Stray.
This one is for the wanderers and the wild ones. Stray is your guide to less trodden paths, secret swimming holes, and the kind of adventures that leave mud on your boots and memories that stick.
Blundstones on. Let’s go.
The Secret Sauna - NZ
Migrating from the barrel to the lake every 15 minutes was ritualistic - Lake Hāwea feels energetically calm, but not sleepy.
Sealy Tarns Track - Aoraki / Mount Cook
Sealy Tarns track is what I imagine being on a stair-master feels like, but with better views. Don’t let that deter you, this is a walk I would recommend to anyone spending time in the Mount Cook region.
Key Summit Track - Piopiotahi / Milford Sound
Almost immediately, you’re pulled into what feels like a real-life fairy forest. The trees are draped in hanging moss, and there are a number of tree stumps with little hollows that look like tiny doorways for animals!
Mitre Peak Cruises - Piopiotahi / Milford Sound
Mitre Peak Cruises have smaller vessels that allow for a more intimate experience. The boats are designed for manoeuvrability meaning they can get into positions that the larger boats can’t access. I’m glad I took a chance on the ‘little guy’.
Bob’s Cove Track - Ōtākou / Otago, NZ
Bob’s Cove Track is the type of walk that you could do before breakfast!
Roys Peak - Wānanga / Wānaka
We made friends with a cow, which was kind of terrifying in the pitch black dark when all you can see is their glowing green eyes reflecting from your headtorch. Once I told him I don’t like beef burgers we became allies and passed each other without a scrap.
Six Foot Track to Bowtells Swinging Bridge
DISTANCE : 12.6km
TIME : 5 hours
GRADE : moderate
DARK MOFO
Lean in. Once I watched a naked man paint a wall with a paint roller strapped to his hips. He just thrusted up and down the wall until it was partially painted. I watched Pope Alice bless The Hanging Garden. I watched a giant teddy bear shoot red laser beams out of its eyeballs across the city. I was told by a sign that laughing was not permitted. etc. etc.
Paradise Pool - Blue Mountains, NSW
DISTANCE : 2.8km
TIME : 1.5 hours (including swimming time)
GRADE : easy/moderate
Sauna Boat Tasmania
What better way to kick off the season than a session at Sauna Boat Tasmania! Moored in the Oyster Cover Marina in Kettering, this experience is one you don’t want to miss.
Lake Rhona
A special little adventure in the Southwest of Tasmania. Lake Rhona is an alpine lake that is the result of Ice Age Glaciers located deep within the Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.
