In this video I take you along on the road trip my wife and I did for the New Zealand Masters Games. The Games themselves are basically a multi-sport event (think Olympics for old people), and I was shooting in the 50+ compound class. It wasn’t just “drive down, shoot, drive home” either—we made it a proper six or seven day loop: down one coast, cut across, down the other, then back up again. Sometimes the trip to a comp is just as good as the comp, and this one absolutely was. We kicked off from Nelson to Greymouth on the West Coast—rugged, wild, and getting everything thrown at it off the Tasman Sea (though we got lucky with the weather). From there we crossed the Southern Alps via Arthur’s Pass, with proper Lord of the Rings views and even snow hanging around in the middle of summer, then stayed in Geraldine where we found a surprisingly comfy bed and hit up the local butcher and cheese shop (use your local butcher, always). After Dunedin for the shoot location check and supplies, we headed to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula for harbour views, a great meal, and the best ice cream I’ve had—Deep South. We finished up in Kaikōura, grabbed top-notch meat from Middlehurst Station, spotted seals, and I even woke up to a Navy ship I used to be engineer on sitting at anchor. Next video: how I actually shot at the Masters Games.