My earliest hiking memory is of a nine-year-old me, climbing Mt Kaitarakihi on the Coromandel peninsula with my Dad and younger brother. At 6.6km return, an 852m summit and elevation of around 400m, this track is an advanced hike for most adults by any standards! I’ll never forget the scramble over the boulders and chains to the top. To this day, a good scramble brings out the inner mountain goat in me.
That walk kicked off what was to be many family adventures (despite my brother's lack of enthusiasm) and continued into my teenager years and adulthood. I met my husband (then boyfriend) at University. We shared a love for the outdoors and decided to go travelling after graduating. A couple of years living and working in the UK, we managed to save some pennies to travel the world for four months.
We've hiked in so many countries we've lost count!
Steve and I hiking in Iceland
As much as we love to hike, we also love to eat and try new culture's cuisines and beverages.
Our travel plans quickly became about food and walks we researched. We splurged on a few guided hiking tours which we absolutely loved.
Our light bulb moment came during a day hike on a small island in Chile. After nearly getting lost and hitchhiking our way out to a trail, we were discussing the pros and cons of self-guided versus locally guided hiking tours. We were also drooling at the thought of a delicious Chilean dish recommended to us. And just like that, the idea for Nature and Nosh Tours was born!
Hiking with a group in Nepal. Mt Everest in the background.
The hills are alive with the sound of music (Salzburg, Austria)
We love our country, and after seeing many beautiful places and tracks around the world, we realised how lucky we were here in New Zealand. We continued to explore our local tracks, trails and artisan food producers at home and started to piece together some pretty special itineraries.
Steve's an accountant by day, explorer/adventurer by weekend and my amazing business partner. My background is business and marketing, and now I'm lucky enough to combine my areas of expertise with my passion and love for the outdoors - running the day to day operations, coordinating guides and taking the odd tour.
Kylie conquering the Pinnacles, one of our Nature & Nosh tracks
We operate currently in the Waikato and Coromandel regions – both known for their rich local produce and accessibility to a diverse range of walks.
An hour or two’s drive can have you from your guesthouse to a waterfall, native bush or coastline walk.
We are absolutely spoiled for choice here when it comes to day walks. We don’t have the drama of the lofty mountain peaks of the South Island, but we can match the serenity and we raise them some pretty amazing foodie experiences after a hard day’s hike!
Save your precious time and leave navigating the New Zealand roads to the locals and even more so, our bush tracks. Many people underestimate our walking tracks, which is evident in the number of hikers that get into trouble on them. As well as safety, it comes down to a stress-free walking holiday enjoying the company of new friends made.
We decided to take two of our favourite things in life and marry them together into our unique, fully inclusive, guided tours – a way for us to show off our slice of paradise. We look forward to meeting many, many more new friends on our tours in the future.