Kia ora, I'm Aaron, a proud born and bred Kiwi from the mighty Waikato region of the North Island.
I started Forty Five South out of pure passion for showing my beautiful country to those who choose to travel to this incredible part of the world. Since I was a child, I've always been excited by touring, the outdoors and planning itineraries. From family bush walks as a kid to hiking world class long distance trails as an adult, such as the 3000km thru-hike Te Araroa (the length of New Zealand). Through years of exploring and guiding all around New Zealand, I've found my home here in the South Island.
So, let me show you around this gorgeous, and in many ways prehistoric place for the adventure of a lifetime.
P.S. I'm also a very keen photographer (photos & videos on this website are by me), so you can be sure you'll have a lovely set of photographs of you and your loved ones to take home, free of charge, at the end of our time together. I look forward to seeing you down here, at Forty Five South.
Forty Five South takes its name from the 45th parallel south — the line of latitude marking the halfway point between the equator and the South Pole. It is one of the loneliest lines on Earth: almost its entire circle runs across open ocean, brushing past only a scattering of land as it travels the globe — the windswept edges of Patagonia, a stretch of sea below Tasmania, and here, the South Island of New Zealand.
The line runs directly through our part of the world, threading past Queenstown and across the lakes and mountains of Otago — the very latitude of the fabled "Roaring Forties." There's a real romance to it: the sense of standing at the edge of the map, halfway to the bottom of the world. That spirit of genuine, old-world exploration — delivered with modern comfort and quiet luxury — is exactly what our name was chosen to capture.
