Kia ora and hi! I’m Alice

I’m the writer behind this blog, which is about slow travel in the Waikato; places to visit and things to do in this beautiful part of Aotearoa-New Zealand where I live. The Waikato region is a big part of the North Island, from south of Auckland all the way to Lake Taupo.

In some ways you could also say it’s Middle Earth – Hobbiton is half an hour down the road from my home!

I’ve been living in Hamilton, the only city in the Waikato, for nearly 20 years – long to enough to know my way around, but I can still remember what it was like to be a new arrival. I moved from Auckland with my husband Matthew and our teenage sons.

I’ve done a lot of travelling in my life, but I’m not really an intrepid traveler. (Unlike my parents.) I like comfort. And nature experiences.

I especially love the kind of journey that lets me venture out for the day and sleep in a comfortable bed at night. Rather like a hobbit.

I enjoy day trips, riding my bike along the river paths, walking in nature, thermal pools, gardens and local food. And jamming with my friends on the river bank.

I’ve been a writer and editor since the mid-1980s, in the “old media” – daily newspapers and magazines.

I’m also a musician – you can find me on my music/ ukulele website, Alice Bulmer Music.

About 15 years ago I started a local food blog called the Waikato Food Basket, to celebrate the delicious local food in this region. This slow travel blog, the Waikato Day Tripper, has grown out of that project.

Another aspect I greatly value about the Waikato is the depth and warmth of Māori culture, and the strong connection with the natural world. The Waikato is the home of the Māori Queen, Nga wai hono i te pō, and the Kīngitanga movement.

I don’t feel like I have strong roots anywhere else – my parents were both migrants to New Zealand in the 1950s. I have ancestors from Wales, Scotland, Germany and the Sami people of the far north of Sweden. Plus one great-great-grandmother from India.

Also, I spent my childhood in Papua New Guinea. (If you’d like to know why, check out my posts about my adventurous parents, Sue and Ralph.)

So, this blog is also a love letter to my adopted homeland. the Waikato.

There are so many great things happening in this part of New Zealand, and I’m always finding new places to explore. I’m looking forward to sharing these with you.

Find out more about the Waikato (including how to pronounce the name), here: Welcome to the Waikato.

PS The bird logo at the top of the home page (and in various other places) is one of my favourite local birds, a New Zealand woodpigeon. Its Māori names are kererū or kūkupa. Here’s how to say “kererū“.