This past weekend was Michelle’s Birthday weekend, so we headed down to Raglan for a little R&R! We scored a deal from grabone, which is an online discount site where you can get deals on everything from clothing to weekend getaways. For $150 we got 2 nights accommodation at Solscape and surf lesson (board and wetsuit included)… pretty good deal.
Upon arrival to Raglan we had some fish and chips and then headed out to check out Bridal Falls – a 60-meter waterfall just outside of Raglan. There are three viewing decks; top, middle and bottom. It only takes about 10 mins to walk to the waterfall and another 10 to walk to the bottom. Very picturesque, def worth the walk. It is here I realized that I didn’t charge my battery for my camera, even though I had thought I did… oops! After Bridal Falls went back into Raglan to get some food and pick up a disposable camera – who knew they still made them! Finished shopping we headed out of Raglan to Solscape an eco hostel part of the YHA chain.
Solscape is nestled in the hills mount Karioi which over looks the tasman sea. They have a variety of accommodation 1) Cabooses – 12 NZ rail cars that have been fitted out for a good nights sleep, which offer singles, double and dorms. 2) Tipis – 3 different sized tipis that are outfitted with beds and are located a short 5 minute walk into the bush – def want to go back and stay in them 3) Camping – 6 camper van and 8 tent sites that overlook the ocean. All of the accommodation have access to the two kitchens and lots of shower facilities and we cannot forget an eco reading room… yup this place is run by hippies! It is a great little hostel and I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for a unique hostel in Raglan. The staff was very friendly and helpful and even provided a bit about the history of the hostel.
We stayed in the caboose which was a new experience for both Michelle and I. It was outfitted with a double bed, a couple shelves and a heater to keep that tin can warm! It was really cozy! After settling in there we went into Raglan for a nice birthday dinner at the hotel. There isn’t a lot of choices for restaurants in Raglan but the hotel did put on a mean feed! After dinner we picked up some beers and chilled back in our caboose ahaha that just sounds funny eh! The next morning we went to the beach, collected sea shells and drift wood (michelle’s choice) and then toured the touristy shops of Raglan where we scored some sweet xmas presents from some family back home.
Our surf lesson was at 2pm so we had a quick lunch and headed back to the hostel to chill before our lesson. There were only 4 people in the lesson, which was way better than the last one I had at another hostel in Raglan (40 ppl in that) We did a bit of a briefing at the hostel and then squeezed into our wetsuits and headed down to the beach. Once at the beach we did a couple more practice paddles on the sand and then it was straight into the water. I did so much better this time around! I got up the majority of the time.. I loved it! Michelle on the other hand wasn’t enjoying it as much as me. After a few attempts she decided it wasn’t for her and called it a day.
Once back at the hostel it was a quick shower and then off to a mates place down the road for a BBQ. Their batch was sick! It had a hot tub and nice private deck – super chill! Here we had a couple beers and a good feed. I didn’t get carried away as i usually do since i was driving..yup i had to behave. We were sitting around on the deck when we heard a rustle in the bush. At first we thought it was a Tui bird, but it seemed a bit loud for that. All of a sudden a shadow emerged and started coming towards the table. I thought it must be a possum and as soon as i said that one of the girls at the table screamed. Just after the scream emerged a dog. Im guessing it smelt BBQ and was hoping for a treat. It hung around for a while and then wandered off. We stuck around a couple more hours and then headed off to our caboose to call it a night.
The tracks in the morning were closed since it rained last night, which didn’t really bother me. After riding a full day prior a half day up the hill was sounding pretty good. The morning consisted of eating day old Indian for breakie, cleaning and checking my bike and finishing my book. Nice chill way to start the day – let the body rest before thrashing it again!
At 11:30am we headed into Queenstown to grab a lunch at Bob’s Weigh – my favorite café in Queenstown. You will also get a good coffee and feed at Bob’s! All fuelled up off to the skyline to huss some tracks.
We got out first ride in around 12:30 and managed to get 12 runs in throughout the half-day. Same as the other days; we rode everything. I did manage to have a pretty good crash on Rock Garden. Somehow I went over the bars and head first into the ground. I was pretty lucky not to hurt my neck and am now considering getting one of those neck braces for riding DH – probably a smart move. Our plan was too meet up with a mate at 5pm who was willing to show us a bit of the Fern Hill Loop. You can access it from the trails with a bit of pushing the bike. We met at the bottom of the track at 5pm and hit up a couple of runs together. There were 4 of us, which was pretty sweet. On a couple of tracks we all broke off and headed different routes which pretty cool seeing all these guys rolling together and then all of sudden they flick off in different directions – it reminded me of a bike movie. We waited until the last run up the skyline to head up the Fern Hill Loop. This way we would have an extended day of riding, which is always good!
The push up was about half-hour and being that it was the end of the day it felt like an hour. There was even a river crossing in the middle. The track was steep, rooty & rocky – similar to craigieburn. It was all native bush so lots of beach trees, which means a tonne of roots and slippery ness. Walking up it and seeing what I would be riding back down left a happy/nervous feeling in my gut – it will be fun but there is potential for a good crash ehehe. The thing with roots is they can spit your bike out from underneath you very easily. To ride them you want lots of speed and to be light on the bike so you sort of just skip a long the top of them. Fun eh! After the exhausting push up we had a bit of a breather taking in the amazing view and then it was time to ride. Helmet on, goggles in place, drop in and start hussing. All the apprehension that I felt walking up was instantly gone. My bike was just skipping a long the tops of the roots and the suspension was getting a full work out as I tried to keep up with my mates. A couple of times the back of my bike went sideways, but I always managed to stay on it and keep rolling. Exhilarating! What an amazing trail. I think it is better then some in the park. Definitely worth the push up.
Once back at the car it was time for a beer and then we headed off to Fergburger for a feed. This time I got the Cod Burger… good as! Definitely give it a go! After the feed it was back home for a couple more beers and then bed. Another exhausting, but epic day!
Before I even arrived in Queenstown I was a little apprehensive when it came to camping. When I flew into Queenstown there was a cold front coming through and it was snowing/raining, but thankfully that first cold night I was in a hostel. Last night though was my first night camping and luckily I managed to stay nice and warm in my tent. I had the thermals and was rocking a toque as well, which kept me nice and cozy all night long.
I first awoke at daybreak to the chirping of birds – as you do when you are camping! I grabbed my ipod and tossed on some tunes allowing me a couple more hours of sleep before getting up for good! I crawled out of my tent at 9 am ready to go. We cleaned up the bikes, loaded the car and went into Queenstown for breakie. After a quick bite to eat we hit up the skyline at 10:30 am to start a great day of riding.
The weather was a bit overcast and there was a chance of showers, but the rain seemed to hold off for the most part and when it did rain it just made the tracks sticky! There wasn’t a track we didn’t ride! I ended up hitting some tracks that I didn’t really mean to hit. I thought they were a bit above my ability but I pulled through. Basically I was just following my mate and then all of a sudden it was drop after drop after drop through narrow trees… there nothing I could do but ride it out. There was no where else to go but down so I just rolled with it. When I came to the end of that track there was definitely a smile on my face – I survived ahah! After that it was game on for all the tracks; Vertigo, Hammy’s, Shit Sandwich, Thingymajig, Armageddon, Rock Garden, Drop Garden, Ants, Grundy.. it was steep and gnarly. Fawk yah!
We had a lunch break at 1pm and then back up the skyline. We rode until the days end and managed to get in 20 runs and we weren’t even going that hard. It was a casual 20! Everyone we spoke with thought we were completely mad for doing so many runs in one day. I would say on average people will ride 8 runs… smoked them all. When you are visiting from out of town you def want to make the most of your time.
At the end of the day we definitely deserved a beer! We headed into town to grab some Indian for dinner and then out to the house to drink some beers and play some ping-pong. My body was feeling pretty good; the only thing that was sore was my hands. It was an early night to bed as I was rinsed. The rained and wind picked up throughout the night, but it didn’t matter I managed to keep warm and sleep through the lot! Another epic day of riding! My riding has improved ten-fold… man I love this place!
My prayers were answered and I awoke to blue skies and sunshine on Wednesday. The lifts weren’t opening until 1pm, so I lazed around as long as I could at the hostel and then went back to the library to jump on a computer and read.
At about noon I headed back to the hostel, changed into my riding gear, built up the bike and then it was off to the skyline for an afternoon of riding. Being that it was mid-week there wasn’t too many people out riding so no waiting to get on the skyline! Last time I was down I managed 12 runs in a half day so that is what I was shooting for.
My mate wasn’t arriving until the evening so I rode solo just getting used to the speed of riding downhill again. Around Auckland it is mostly single track so it does take a few runs to get used to flying down a hill with trees, roots, rocks and drops all over the place. I warmed up on Hammy’s track, which is the easiest, but one of the most fun trails. It is pretty wide trail, but it littered with HUGE berms, lips, tabletops and jumps to pop off of. Also hit up Vertigo, Armageddon, Original, Shit Sandwich and Thingymajig. I managed to get in 11 runs in about 4.5 hours. Not bad, just one short of my goal of the day.
At 6pm the skyline stops taking mountain bikers up as it gets pretty dark in the forest, so my day was done. Complete success, no crashes just heaps if fun. My mate arrived just at 6pm and met me at the bottom of the hill as I was coming off the trail. He was all geared out and ready to get up the hill, but he missed the last run of the day.
Hungry from riding we hit up Fergburger for a feed and then we head out to our accommodation to set-up our tents. We are staying on a mate’s front lawn about 20 mins outside of Queenstown. The location is stunning – over looking the lake surrounded by the mountains! One of my favourite things about this place is the outdoor shower. Nothing beats a steaming hot shower while gazing up at the stars.
Since my mate didn’t get any laps in he was itching to ride so we quickly tossed up our tents and headed out to 7 mile to get some runs in. We were told of a short cut to the trail head, but in typical fashion we ended up in the middle bush just making our own track through the bush. We ended up going to high in elevation and had to ride our way down which was an adventure in itself. We soon found our desired track; Kochong, which is one of the best tracks at 7 mile as it is super flowy with jumps. We were able to get in 3 laps as the sun fell. Once back at home we drank some well deserved beer. I was beat and was wondering how my body was going to feel the next day. I had a full day of downhill a head of me… fawk yah!
What an epic day – 11 laps at the bike park, 3 laps at 7-mile. Sweet!
This weekend I was out ripping around at Woodhill Bike Park have a pretty goodtime. Usually when I see someone on the trail Ill bust my ass to catch up and pass them, just a bit competitive I guess and it keeps ya pushing yourself.
Well this weekend some dude passed me and I thought, not today buddy. So I get off the saddle and catch him staying on his back wheel. He’s fast and a good rider. We have a bit a chat as I follow, just the usual; where ya from, what are you doing in NZ, have you been to Canada ect. He is a pretty chill dude, but a hell of rider. So I ride out to the trailhead on his tail and he just breaks into another track, no break/water just riding. So I follow suit and ask him if he minds me riding with him. He’s keen and we are off.
As we ride he tells me that he is an ex-pro tri athlete and that he is training for a couple races. That explains the speed and super fitness – this isn’t a ride in the forest it’s a race against time. Buddy would sprint for 4 minutes and then ride for 4 minutes and then back to sprinting – yikes! I ride with him for an hour and we hit a tonne of tracks. We end up at the back of the park and I am done. I need a water break and I know buddy is not stopping, so we part ways.
It was a great ride and really pushed me. I hope to catch up to this guy on the trails again so I can try and keep-up. That is what it is all about, meeting someone who is better and just trying to hang. It only makes you better I guess, though it did make me feel like I was going to puke ehehe.
A cargo ship is stuck on a reef 28km off of Tauranga's shoreline and is leaking oil into the ocean. This is BAD!
If you haven’t heard New Zealand is potentially facing one of its largest ecological disasters. A cargo ship has hit on a reef of the coast of Tauranga and is now hung-up on it. Why they hit the reef, no one knows. It’s not just like it sprouted up over night – where the fu*k was the captain and why wasn’t he aware of this reef? It is now sitting with a 10-degree tilt in the water. If it remains this way for too long the ship could split in half and sink.
When these types of ecological disasters happen it pisses me off something fierce since they are so easily avoidable. Argh! This area is known for its abundance of sea wildlife as well the people of Tauranga survive through tourism and the fisheries and now that is all in jeopardy.
They are not saying how much fuel has leaked into the ocean but the ship is carrying 1700 tonnes (2 million litres) of heavy fuel oil on board. There is a 5km oil slick at the moment, which is bound to get worse.
People are urging the government to take over, as it really seems the owner of the ship isn’t exhausting all means necessary to stop the catastrophic event. A ship has been sent from Auckland so they can transfer the remaining fuel to it, which will be a very difficult task.
Three seabirds have died, luckily enough this little penguin has survived.
A bird cleaning and rehabilitation centre has been set up in Tauranga and there is a major risk to seabirds such as; terns, gulls, gannets, penguins, petrels and shearwaters. Just landing on the oil slick for these birds can be deadly. The feathers will become clogged with oil and they will sink, drown or be unable to fly. Even swallowing small amounts of oil can have major repercussions to their chicks.
It has been said by the Transport Minister Steven Joyce that the crisis was likely to get worse before it gets better. The oil hasn’t reached the beaches yet, but it is just a matter of time.
Hopefully with a whole lot of luck and hard work they can empty this ship of its oil and end this nightmare.
Ive been living in Auckland for over a year now and I just can’t understand why everyone hates on this city? If you are from Auckland and you travel anywhere else in New Zealand you will hear this familiar term ‘JAFA,’ which means ‘Just Another Fucking Aucklander.’ I’ve met people from Auckland who cringe when asked where they are from because of the response they will get from other kiwis. In one case a taxi cab driver pulled over and tossed his Aucklander passengers out of his cab because they live in Auckland! How could someone make such a rush judgment about a person just because they live in a certain part of the country.
In any other country Auckland would be the ideal holidaying city. It has a temperate climate, plenty of nice beaches, cool neighborhoods, 2 harbors and enough going on that you won’t be bored out of your skull. I’ve met plenty of kiwis from outside of Auckland that feel the people living here are not friendly – I haven’t experienced that. Auckland is a small-big city with a very friendly feel. If you were to give the city a chance you will most likely enjoy yourself here. I’m not saying that backpackers should base themselves here, but to trash it and really only spend a couple days in the city is not giving it a fair go. Recently I met one backpacker who hated on the city, but now calls it home and has realized that it not such a bad place after living here for a while. Don’t get me wrong, Auckland isn’t for everyone but to say it is not a good place to live is totally untrue.
When I lived in Toronto it was the same thing with the rest of Canada. Everyone hates Toronto. The crime, the pollution, to busy, to much traffic, rude people.. ive heard it all and to be honest I was hater until I lived there. Once I gave it a chance it really grew on me. When I first thought of moving to NZ I didn’t really think I would be based out of Auckland, but when I scored a great job here why wouldn’t I give it a shot. I don’t regret it at all.
I think it all comes down to hating the ‘big guy.’ The UK hates London, Canada hates Toronto, Australia hates Sydney, everyone hates America and I could go on. Hating really doesn’t do anyone any good. So if everyone could just understand that the ‘big city’ isn’t for everyone and that really in the scheme of things you shouldn’t knock a place until you’ve actually lived there the world would be a happier place.
The newly renovated Auckland waterfront is looking great!
Auckland’s grimey waterfront has now had a major facelift just in time for the 2011 World Cup of Rugby! They built a new spring bridge to connect downtown Auckland to the Wynward Quater where all the cool new attractions can be found. The once industrial waterfront is now filled with tourist friendly restaurants, bars, cafes, art displays, kids play area, walkways and even a 1920′s red tram which loops the around the waterfront showing off all the new attractions. There is even a piano under a veranda that is free to use.
This past weekend over 50,000 people visited the newly $120 million renovated water front area and 4000 of them qued to ride the tram loop. It will be a huge pull during the World Cup and a great area to visit while in Auckland.
It’s back to the grind for me! My month long vacation has come to an end and I am now back in New Zealand. My trip home was amazing. It was great to be able to catch up with my friends and family. My month consisted of visiting friends in my home town, a couple trips to Toronto to visit old co-workers, hanging out with my young niece and nephew, helping my brother move into his new house, and two weeks of bliss at the cottage. To be honest I think I forgot how beautiful Canada was. Maybe I took it for granted, but going home with fresh eyes made me realize how lucky I am to be able to live in Canada. I know I rave about how stunning and amazing New Zealand is, but Canada is right there beside New Zealand.
Im now working on obtaining residency in New Zealand and hopefully it will be a smoother process than obtaining my second work visa for New Zealand. I love being in New Zealand. It just feels like a second home. Flying into Auckland felt great, it just felt right. Don’t know why, but it did. I do think I will move back to Canada one day, but for now New Zealand is home and I feel lucky to be able to call it that.
So what is in the forecast for me? Of course lots and lots of riding! Taking a month of the bike has let my shoulder fully recover – sweet! I keep thinking to myself I should have a more balanced life, not just riding in all of my sparetime. This is easy for me to say and hard for me to do. All I want to do is ride on the weekends/evenings, but I am going to try and make a effort to mix it up. Meh.. we will see, but odds are Ill be riding just as much or more a year from now. Who am I kidding I live to ride and ride to live.
