Posts tagged just giver
January 8, 2012 · Filed under MTB BIKE, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged auckland new zealand, bike blog, just giver, justgiver, mike, mike blog, mountain bike, mountain bike blog new zealand, mountain bike new zealand, mountain bike nz, mountain bike waiheke, mountain biking in new zealand, mtb waiheke, travel blog, waiheke mountain bike clubs, waiheke new zealand
While I was over in Waiheke I managed to get out to some of the there local bike trails and I must say they didn’t disappoint! Weather was pretty average, so the trails were sticky getting to the point of muddy by the end of the ride. They are located Onetangi Sports Club and the trails are marked very well so you cant miss them.
I would classify all of the trails at Ranghoua Hill single track/cross-country. There are some enjoyable downs and switch backs, but no big jumps, drops or gaps. It is all pretty flowy stuff.
The first trail I rode was Ragihoua Loop track. This trail will take you to other trailheads or you can ride it as a loop. It is a short climb up and then it winds it way through native bush with a lot of fun turns to keep you on your toes. It isn’t overly long, but fun to loop out over and over. It also links to Zoom-Zoom and Nice & Easy. These tracks start at the top of the hill, which gives you a great view of some wineries and Waiheke.
I then hit up Zoom-Zoom, as I thought the name was promising and it didn’t disappoint. It was pretty much all down and a lot of fun to ride. There isn’t a lot of peddling involved, its pretty much winds you down the hill and has some nice off-camber spots. You can get some good speed going and if you are creative pop off of some of nature’s booters to make it even more enjoyable!
I pushed back up zoom-zoom so I could ride it again! I really didn’t want to ride all the way back around the family loop and up Rangihoua loop to get to the trail head. It took about 15 mins and I then decided I would only ride it a couple more times as I really wasn’t enjoying the pushes… since it was all down the push was all up. Argh! I may have been a bit out of shape since all I was doing the couple days prior was drinking and eating. Heheh.
After hussing Zoom-Zoom a couple of times I hit up Nice & Easy. The name is deceiving. I was thinking it would be a nana track, but I was wrong. This was a great trail too! It is a tight winding track that takes you through thick native bush. With the majority of the trail being covered by bush it was the wettest/muddiest of the trails after all of the rain we had. I really enjoyed this trail as it was just switch back after switch back. This track comes out to the mid point of the Rangihoua Loop, so you can either keep looping it, hit up Zoom-Zoom or jump on to the Rangihoura Loop and head back to the car park. I looped it a couple of times as well.
There were a couple linking tracks too. The Prairies takes you through a field and on too Chicken Run, which links you back to the start of the track. Both of the tracks are just linking trails and not much to go on about here.
Overall it is a fun place to ride your bike. I rode each track a couple times and then headed back to the batch muddy and happy! Kudos to the Waiheke Mountain Bike Club for creating and maintaining such great little trail network. I cant wait to come back and ride again!
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January 7, 2012 · Filed under AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged auckland new zealand, batch in waiheke, just giver, mike just giver, new zealand things to do, swap.ca, things to do in auckland, things to do in waiheke, travel blog, travel new zealand, vacation in waiheke, waiheke bike tracks, waiheke new zealand, waiheke nz
Had a bit of a sleep in with the help a bit of booze from New Years Eve! We then had a proper big breakfast to soak up the booze from the night prior. The weather really hadn’t gotten any better, it was grey and off and on with some showers, so we chilled for a bit.
After lounging around the batch for a while we decided to go for a paddle. The rain had stopped so we hopped in the car and were in search for a suitable bay with calm water to go paddle boarding. We are not at the level of surfing these boards in good swells… one day, but not now! Three bays later we found a suitable place to take the boards out. The sun was peaking through the clouds and we stayed at the beach swimming and paddling for a couple of hours. I’m really digging the paddle boards! It is pretty chill and calming being on the water.
We then headed back to the batch to have a bit of lunch after working up a hunger on the boards. We all picthed in and made viatnamese summer rolls with prawns.. fan fu*k’n tastic. Full bellied it was chill out time. I wanted to take the bike out, as earlier in the week I had researched some mountain bike tracks close to town.
I packed the bike into the car and went in search of the Waiheke bike tracks. Unlike me, I didn’t get lost and managed to find the tracks right way – I guess that is what happens when it is a small island. I was definitely impressed with the tracks they had in Waiheke and wouldn’t mind hitting them up again. They weren’t overly long, but you could tell work had gone into them! The trails were all single track winding through native bush – brilliant! It rained on me, making the ride even more fun, slippery and messy! I came home covered in mud, which is a good sign for a ride!
That night it was another mean feed and some causal beers! We watched a couple movies and crashed. Another great day in Waiheke! Oh how I would like to live here.
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December 6, 2011 · Filed under AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged auckland blog, blog new zealand, just giver, live and work in auckland new zealand, live and work in nz, live in auckland new zeawland, live in new zealand, living in auckland, mike, new zealand blog, nz blog, nz travel, travel, travel blog, travel new zealand, work and travel in new zealand
I know I have been a bit slack on the blog lately, but I have an excuse. Ive moved house! I am no longer living on Queen St in the midst of the downtown core. I now live in a garage that has been converted into a 1 bedroom apt. It’s better than it sounds eheh.
We started looking for a new place while back, but were pretty picky on what we wanted. There had to be an outdoor space, big kitchen, lots of natural light, washing machine and parking space. After visiting and applying for a few rentals we finally got one that checked all the boxes!
The new place is located in Eden Terrace, which is a short bus ride or ½ hour walk to work, which is located in Auckland’s CBD (central business district). Though I keep saying that I now have a new excuse to get a new bike for the commute to work – hello dirt jumper!
Our place is conveniently located near a grocery, fruit, dairy and liquor store – I must have the essentials close by! Best of all we have security in the neighborhood, meaning; we live around the corner from the Hells Angels Motor Cycle Club Auckland. You can’t beat that security. They don’t shit in their own back yard, so I don’t really expect any trouble and really who is going t fuck with the Hells Angles. You can always hear the roar of their bikes when ever they are coming or going. The club house looks pretty cool; high stone walls, what looks like a nice house and two huge garages… though I won’t be going over to take a closer look.
The flat is all windows – two sky lights! We have French doors on two sides of the house allowing for the cool summer breeze to act as our air condition, a nice court yard at the side of the house with a bit of yard where we can hangout (re bbq and get on piss) and front area with clothes line and did I mention that I have my own driveway. Pretty sweet! House warming party to come… bring on summer.
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September 21, 2011 · Filed under MTB BIKE, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged activities queenstown, backpack new zealand, bike new zealand, downhill mountain biking in new zealand, iep new zealand, just giver, lift access mountain biking new zealand, live and work in new zealand, mike just giver, mountain bike new zealand, mountain bike queenstown, NEW ZEALAND, new zealand blog, new zealand mountain biking, queenstown bike park, queenstown gondola, queenstown new zealand, queenstown nz, skyline queenstown, swap, things to do in queenstown, travel blog, travel new zealand, work new zealand, www.swap.ca
This past weekend was the opening of the Queenstown Bike Park – the only lift access bike park in New Zealand! I flew out of Auckland at 7:00am meaning that I had to be up at 5:30am. Yikes eh! Ah well, it was worth it! On Saturday night Ireland beat Australia at the RWC, which was a huge upset. So at 5:30am there was still a lot of drunk Irish kicking around the city, which was amusing when waiting for the bus. I caught my bus and off to the airport I went. 2 hours later I was in Queenstown.
I caught another bus into Queenstown from the airport and then it was off to drop my gear at Nomads Queenstown. I had planned to drop my bags and then hit up the skyline to start rocking some downhill tracks, but it didn’t work out that way. When I went to purchase my ticket at the skyline I found out that wouldn’t be opening until 1pm. I guess on Saturday it rained during the day and the riders ripped up the tracks pretty bad. The tracks had to dry out and the maintenance crew had some work to do, so it was a waiting game.
So what do you do with time to kill in Queenstown? I headed to the local bookshop and read magazines, had a coffee at Bob’s Weigh; Queenstown’s best breakie spot and checked out some really expensive real-estate that I could never afford.
Soon enough it was 1pm and up the skyline I went keen for that first ride. Oh I was not disappointed. The tracks were mint! Dark brown earth, sticky… oh brown pow how I love you! Not all of the tracks were open, but still enough to keep me grinning from ear to ear. It was a great day of riding and I managed to get 12 runs in. At the end of the day I was beat. My legs, arms and shoulders were sore as… but so worth it! I can’t wait to get back down south in October. I plan to make a week of it.
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August 15, 2011 · Filed under AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged auckland weather, canadians in new zealand, cold weather in nz, just giver, living in auckland, mike in new zealand, mike just giver, new zealand blog, new zealand weather, snow in auckland new zealand, snow in new zealand, travel blog, travel blog new zealand, travelling to new zealand, weather in new zealand, weather patterns new zealand, wild winter weather in new zealand, winter in new zealand, work in new zealand, work new zealand, www.iep.org.nz, www.swap.ca
It is not too often you get experience something that happens once in 72 years and today was one of those days! What happened? Well it snowed in Auckland. It hasn’t snowed in Auckland in 72 years. It’s not unusual for the south island and the mountain in the north island to get snow, but for it to reach this far north is pretty crazy.
The bitterly cold polar blast that is hit both north and south islands has closed roads, schools, airports and cut power to thousands. The snow has made some roads impassable and down south people are being asked to stay home and stay off of the roads.
Met service believes that more snow could fall over the next couple of days. The snow is not sticking around in Auckland as the ground isn’t that cold, so it wont accumulate. But it is still quite the event. People on Queen St are kind of just looking upward at the snow, wondering wtf! I love it.
Now you can’t really compare the ‘snow storm’ to anything Canada has, but to a kiwi this is a full blown winter storm. Pretty funny to read about and I am just glad I am not on the roads. I know how Canadians drive after the first snow storm of the year (terribly – you would think they didn’t see snow every year!) so I can’t imagine how a kiwi would drive. Yikes.
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May 8, 2010 · Filed under MTB BIKE, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged adventure, auckland blog, backpack new zealand, backpacking, bike new zealand, canadian working in new zealand, canadians working abroad, canadians working overseas, dunedin, dunedin mountain biking, i heart mountain biking, just giver, mountain bike dunedin, NEW ZEALAND, new zealand blog, riding in new zealand, singletrack new zealand, switchback track, travelling, travelling with a bike, whare flat, work new zealand
The piece of shit bike from Cycle Surgery... dont go to cycle surgery!
What an amazing day of riding. I was totally blown away by the two trails I rode. At the start of the day I really didn’t have too much of a plan. I went to pick up a bike from Cycle Surgery and they gave me a 90’s Scott Scalpel hardtail. It was a piece of shit. The front forks didn’t even budge – I was pretty much riding ridged up front. The tires on the bike were very Walmartish. I really couldn’t believe how shit it was, but being the only place I could get a bike I took it.
Earlier that morning I got a call from Mark, the Kiwi mtb’r that I started a conversion with the day before. He was keen to get out for a ride and asked if I wanted to tag a long. Sweet! I met him at the Bethunes Gully which was some amazing single track that they use for xc racing through a native forest. I believe they do the national championship of cross country racing here. There were a couple tails; Haggis Hunter, Nats Track, Dead Cow Gully and Bethunes Gully. Mark usually hits this place up so he was the perfect guide. He tied all of the loops in beautifully. All together it is a 5km ride. It really was a variety of terrain. There was some really sweet flowing single track, with some technical downhill sections, a few steep drop-ins and lots of flow with some peddling– who ever put in the trail new what they were doing. We did the loop three-times and then decided to hit up another trail.
I jumped in the car with Mark and we headed off to Switchback track. This was some of the best singletrack trail ive ever ridden. I was an hour of cutting up your way up the mountain on smooth and well-placed switchbacks. Some of them were dug into the hillside by about 4 feet. Others looped trees, others had stone retaining walls, absolutely gorgeous trail. That was a 15km ride and it was all bliss. At times you would be scaling along side of the hill and there was a steep open drop right beside you. Concentration and focus were very key at these moments. Other times it was all native bush on each side. Amazing! (Oh yah, in NZ they reverse the bike brakes.. so front break lever is where rear break lever is in Canada. Found that a little fucky and really had to keep that in mind. I did send myself over the bars once ahaha.) The higher we got the muddier the trail got. In some sections I was spinning, as my tires were bald. Pretty common theme you can find throughout this blog postings, the bike was shit! Even Mark was surprised that a bike shop would give that out. They told me they tuned it before the ride and I can guarantee the bike was not serviced. I miss my bike ahahha The ride down was totally worth the 60 mins of going up. It was awesome and had amazing flow. You could fly through all the switchbacks that your busted your hump to climb up. Overall: The trail was amazing, the switchbacks blew my mind; how well they were carved out and so manicured, they used the lay of the land amazingly. Ive never been big into climbs, but this was totally worth it. A lot of care and thought went into the track. I was told that they started building it in 2005 and is now almost done.
View after a 45 min climb. Worth all the work.
Yah.. i made it too the top! Now the fun part... coming down and fast!
They have mountain bike trails surrounding the city and are trying to connect all three with a new trail. It would link (I believe) Whare Flat, Switchback Track and Bethunes gully; a 5-6 hour ride. Once it is done it will really put this trails here on the map, as you wouldn’t have to drive to these spots rather do one big loop. It will be an amazing trail network once finished. Dunedin City Council is on board with mountain biking and believes it will bring it a lot of tourist $$$, so they are happy to invest in it. Nice to hear!
After 4 hours of riding we headed back into Dunedin and grab some food. We hit up a asian place where I got seafood teriyaki and some sushi. The seafood was awesome! I think he got three meals – I managed two.
Tomorrow I am taking the piece of shit bike back, its covered in mud and Im not cleaning. Then I am heading out to Marks place to build and then do some more riding. Should be sweet! He’s got a couple bikes, so I am going to borrow one. He wanted to see how I ride before he offered up one of his bikes – fair enough. These bikes are worth more then any car ive ever owned.
Don’t think I will be drinking tonight. Last night we partied in the hostel kitchen until about 230am. I was a little hungover this morning, but I knew I would sweat it all out. Great day!
Before I wasn’t too stoked about being in Dunedin for 3 days, but I wish I were here for a month. They have a sweet trail network and Mark is a great guy. I will be back with my bike to ride with Mark again this year.
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April 18, 2010 · Filed under NEW ZEALAND, AUCKLAND · Tagged backpack new zealand, NEW ZEALAND, blog new zealand, work new zealand, just giver, south pacific blog, nz blog, auckland blog, canadians in auckland, swap, work abroad, swap working holidays, work in new zealand, outdoor adventure, backpacking, travelling, hike, hiking new zealand, hike auckland, trampping
Hiking Rangitoto
This weekend Michelle and I decided we would take the ferry over to Rangitoto Island. If you catch the 7:30 am ferry it cost $15/person, but after 7:30 am the ferry ride will run you $25. We caught the early ferry to save some coin and beat the crowds. There are no shops on the island, so make sure you take plenty of water and food, wear a good set of hiking boots-shoes and take a torch as well – ill get to that later. Our ride over was pretty quick, only about 20 mins and there were only 15 ppl on the ferry. Once we docked most people took the most direct trail to the summit, but we decided to take the long way around.
Taking a breather on the beach at Rangitoto Island
The first part of the hike was pretty easy, gravel/lava rock roads and it was fairly flat. I did wonder how they cleared the road – all the lava rock everywhere – hell of a job! We checked out some beaches a long the way and had a snack at one of them. After about an hour and a half of easy walking the trails started to get a little steeper and the grind had begun. It took us about 2.5 hours to get the summit and we only ran into one other set of hikers, which was great! Made us feel like we had the island to our selves. Once we got to the top of there were loads of other tourists who had taken the ride up and skipped the hike – lazy bastards! They have a tour you can purchase where they will drive you to the summit trail, which most people opted for.
The Lava fields of Rangitoto Island
We took in the view at the Summit Lookout, checked out the crater, walked the crater rim track, snapped a few pics and decided it was time to check out the lava caves. (This is why I recommend taking a torch ie flashlight.) We pulled out our torch and jumped into the lava caves. Some of them got tighter as we progressed deeper and deeper until we reached a point where you could go no further. The lava rocks are very sharp and you really must watch where you are stepping – if you are claustrophobic I wouldn’t recommend doing this part. It would be easy to twist your ankle or loose your balance and take a nasty spill! Some caves you could walk through like a tunnel. There was some vegetation growing through the lava rock – crazy! It was pretty amazing and its something ive never seen before. Definitely recommend checking it out.
Inside the Lava Caves
After exploring for a while, it was time for a good feed. We sat down and started munching on our lunches and then we noticed the time. The ferry returns every 2 hours and we decided that we wanted to catch the next one home – which left in about 45 mins. We were about a 45 min hike to the wharf, so we had to move. We only ate half our lunch, chugged some V and then started to book it. By this point we had been hiking about 3.5 hours and we were starting to get tired. You really had to watch where you were stepping, so rushing is not a good idea. We managed to get to the wharf in time to catch the ferry back. I’m glad we did, as the weather, which was about +20 and sunny up to that point started to change. The winds picked up and the temperature dropped – typical Auckland weather. I really didn’t want to have to wait another 2 hours for a ride back to Auckland.
Once we got back to Auckland we felt we deserved some beer, so we picked up a case and chilled for the afternoon at home. It was a great day trip and I would totally recommend it.
There is a second island you can check out – Motutapu Island. They have a bridge you can take across. originally we wanted to hit both islands but after hiking for 4 hours – that was enough. We will hopefully go back to check it out another day.
Ranitoto Island Info:
Rangitoto is just off of the Auckland coast and is a unique volcanic island that has a very unusual landscape of rugged lava crops, lush green bush and sandy beach coves. About 600 years ago the island erupted form the seas in a series of explosions. Rangitoto is home to NZ largest Pohutukawa forest – there are over 200 species of native plans including 40 species of ferns. Today there is no permanent population on the island. In the early 20th century there was a small community living in holiday houses – ie cottages scattered along the shoreline. In 1937 they prohibited any more building and it now considered a public reserve.
Rangitoto litteraly means “bloody sky” in Maori and is derived from the “phrase te rangi I totongia a tamatekapua” – “the day the blood of tamatekapua was shed”, a reference to an injury to a chief during a battle fought on the island.
Size 260 metres high and 5.5 km wide
Age: Formed 600 yrs ago (ca 1400 ad)
Volume Lava : about 2,300 million cubic metres
Motutapu Island Info
This island dates back to the Jurassic period and is one of the oldest islands in the Hauraki Gulf. The island is home to farmland, walking tracks, WWII gun emplacements and amazing views. It is currently undergoing a 50 yr conservation project. Unlike Rangitoto you can camp on this island – you just have to book ahead. This island mainly consists of farm lands and of course has a variety of plant species.
Motutapu was home to the Maori for many generations, until the eruption of Rangitoto.I look foward to checking this island out.
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April 3, 2010 · Filed under AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged accommodation in auckland, accommodation in new zealand, apartment in auckland, auckland blog, backpack new zealand, backpakcing, canadian working in new zealand, canadians in auckland, canadians working abroad, change of life, just giver, NEW ZEALAND, nz blog, outdoor adventure, work in new zealand, work new zealand
So I’ve settled into my new place. It’s in a great location – right downtown on Queens street and I am about 5 minutes from work. The rent is about $1000/month, so between my girlfriend and I it’s not too expensive. The place comes fully furnished which save us from buying plates, cutlery, pots and pans ect. It’s not a big place, but good enough for the two of us. We’ve got the Internet, which is essential when travelling. I can ring up my friends and family back home on Skype – if you do not know about Skype it allows you to make calls over the Internet. Skype to Skype calls are free, so before you head out on your trip make sure all your friends and family join and so you can keep in touch. Unlike Canada everything here has a switch – so you must first turn on the outlet before you use it. Takes sometime to get used too. Another perk is that the aparment comes with laundry, so we will not have too spend our Sunday mornings at the laundry mat.
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March 23, 2010 · Filed under MTB BIKE, PRE-DEPARTURE · Tagged backpack new zealand, bike new zealand, blog new zealand, canadian working in new zealand, canadians in auckland, canadians working abroad, canadians working overseas, just giver, live and work in new zealand, mountain bike new zealand, NEW ZEALAND, nz blog, travel blog, two bags one life, work in new zealand, work new zealand
Time has been flying. I’ve finished up at work and said a lot of goodbyes to friends and family (it’s always fun until the end of the evening). I found a little digital camera – sony cybershot 14.1 mp – with a really cool panoramic picture mode where you sweep a scene and it will take a series of photos. It will then put the photos together to make a nice panoramic shot. Perfect for my trip to New Zealand. I got all my gear for riding from my local shop – the gear will hopefully let me avoid checking out the New Zealand healthcare system.
Broke down my bike. At this point I still had to fit my gear, tools and tires. Yup.. ill be overweight.
Today, I dissemble my bike to get it ready for travel. That was a good 45 min job! Ive also packed almost all of my stuff into my backpack – it fit! I was originally planning on getting a 50 Litre pack, but chose a 70 Litre in the end, and I’m glad I did!
My backpack - everything fits! Poster in background outlines work road trip. I'm travelling north to south and then back up north.
I’m getting rid of a lot of stuff; bed, lamps, tables, chairs, desk are all being left behind. Stuff I’ve collected over the past five years are being passed on to a friend. I have all of my belongings in a backpack and a bike bag and I love it.
Now to the crazy news! I got a two-month job contract in Auckland and the job involves a little bit travel. I will be going on a three-week trip to do promotions and marketing in May. I will be able to see a little bit of Palmerton North, Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch and Hamilton!! My girlfriend has found an apartment in Auckland, so accommodation is sorted. So for the first part of my adventure to New Zealand I will be based out of Auckland. I will start the job a week after I arrive
This time next week I will be in New Zealand!
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March 8, 2010 · Filed under PRE-DEPARTURE · Tagged backpack new zealand, NEW ZEALAND, live and work in new zealand, blog new zealand, new zealand blog, canadian working in new zealand, work new zealand, just giver, bike new zealand, south pacific blog, nz blog, auckland blog, swap, travel blog, work abroad, swap working holidays, preparing for working abroad, 52 weekends, 52 momentos
So this weekend I was hanging out with my brother and his girlfriend and we were talking about my trip and me being away for a year. Now I know a year seems like a long time, but really it’s not. My brother listened to this radio program where an older guy was talking about how time seems to go by faster as you grow older. (I totally agree with this statement – remember when you were a kid and summers would last forever. Now it seems the summers fly by in the blink of an eye! ) This older guy then used an example of how fast time does fly and challenged others to do it. There are 52 weekends in a year. Take 52 marbles and place them in a jar and as every weekend passes take a marble out of the 52 marble jar and put it in another. This will allow you too see how fast time passes and give you an idea of how much time you have left in that year.
My take on this is that I will try and collect something each week, so that at the end of my trip I will have 52 mementos that should represent every weekend I had in New Zealand. At the end of my trip I should be able to line up my 52 momentos and break down my year abroad.
What do you think of this idea? Do you feel like time goes faster as you grow older?
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