I returned from my trip back to Auckland on Saturday for one reason: to be in Auckland when the All Blacks play France in the finals of the Rugby World Cup! The game was to take place on Sunday night, so I flew home on Sat night from Queenstown to ensure the I would have a good nights sleep and that I would be ready to party when the All Blacks WIN!
Sunday there was a nervous buzz in the air! Today the All Blacks would once again be play for the rugby world cup. Up early to prepare – grocery store to get food for next day (i.e. hang over food) and stalk up on beers, plus get some all blacks gear and tattoos to look the part! By noon we were ready to go. I had an All Blacks flag, which I used as a cape, Michelle was rocking her jersey and our faces had tattoos! Go the ALL BLACKS!
We had a couple drinks at our place and at 3pm it was off to the Bluestone Room to meet up with some mates watch the game. We had watched a lot of the RWC games here and figured it was only right to finish off the drive for the championship at the pub! The game didn’t start until 9pm, but everywhere was getting packed out early! The place was packed full of fans – both NZ and France. We had a bite to eat and many a beer to warm up for the big match.
At 9pm it was standing room only. The pub was at capacity – ive never seen it so busy! The All Blacks drew first blood with a try and the French were being held at bay by their amazing defence. It was a tense game to say the least, in which the All Blacks pulled out the narrow victory. The bar erupted in joy! Everyone was high-fiving, hugging, kissing, up on tables, chugging beers… it was pandemonium! More beer and then to the streets to celebrate!
Downtown was packed full of fans. No cars, just a see of All Blacks fans! Joyous is the only way it can be described. The All Blacks had finally brought the cup home! We ended up at another bar for a couple more beers and then Michelle and I called it a night. What an amazing experience to be in NZ when the ALL BLACKS win the Rugby World Cup. This was definitely one of the most exciting times Ive had in NZ! Congrats to New Zealand and the All Blacks!
ps.. this video is fuck’n halarious! This boy has written a song to inspire the All Blacks to WIN… well it must have worked. I can only hope he writes a song about the WIN! Good on ya kid!
This weekend I went riding Saturday and Sunday. I managed to hurl myself through the bush like a cannon ball after my tires lost traction on a wall ride. It had rained earlier and I didn’t really think about how slippery the wall would have been until it was too late. I came off two jumps and just hit the wall and then it went to hell. I felt the tires slipping when I was at the top of the wall and then I was air born! I tucked into a ball and just rolled through the bush. Would have loved to seen it ahaha
After riding Sunday morning I ended up getting ready for my 7-day ride down in the Southern Alps. I picked up heaps of the bars called One Square Meals. Ive never seen them back home, but essentially it is a granola bar that has all the protein and nutrients that a one square meal would have. It was created by some superstar tri-athlete here in NZ. They actually taste pretty good and I eat them quite a bit when I go on long rides. So I got heaps of those, lots of mixed nuts and dried fruit and chocolate too! I picked up a new hydration pack since I burst mine in Rotorua. I am changing my back rotor to a 185 mm instead of 160mm. I found on big a decent the rotor gets too hot and the breaking power goes out the window.. not what you want when you are ripping down some steep ass mountains. So Ive picked up a new rotor and adapter for my break. I also did a bike check to make sure everything was in good condition so I hopefully wont have any issues while riding. Of course I picked up a couple spare tubes. I think I am ready to go!
Ive also done a pre-pack to see how I was going to manage my bike gear, clothing, tent and sleeping bag into my backpack. It works, I just have to strap a few things on! May get dinged with being over weight.. we will see.
My flight into Christchurch is early. I fly at 6:10am.. yikes! I would have preferred to fly late afternoon since that is when Mark is going to arrive, but that ticket was a couple $100 more, so I opted for the early moring. I didn’t know what I was going to do to kill the time, but ive managed to get a hold of Hubby who lives in Christchurch. He is riding the Alps as well, but has to work all day so he is going to leave me a key and I can just chill at his place. I think I may drop my bag and then head to the port hills to ride for the day. Im racking my brain trying to figure out what else I need.. think I got it all. This trip is going to be epic!
If you got any suggestions for what to take.. drop me a comment!
In the morning Michelle and I got a shuttle to the airport so we could pick up our rental car from Jucy. Michelle had it all arranged and we were in and out within 15mins. Hanmer Springs is about 2 hours from Christchurch, so we had a bit a drive ahead of us.
It just keeps going up!
Once in Hanmer Springs we checked into our hotel, the Hot Springs Motor Lodge. We scored a huge room, kitchenette and sweet bathroom for the night, plus we had a private hot spring, a massage and steam booked at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools! After dropping off our bags we wanted to do the Mount Isobel tramp. It is a 2.5 hour hike that takes through native bush and then to a snow capped peak – cool as!
Great views everywhere you look!
The tramp wasn’t too difficult and offered some pretty amazing views. It had been about 2 hours and I thought we were about to hit the top, but to my surprise it just kept going up. Another ½ hour walk and I was at the top of the snow-covered mountain. It was amazing. Michelle had enough at the ¾ quarter mark and opted to chill and take in the view while I finished the tramp.
Adventurer pose ahaha
Pano view from the top of Mt Isobel.
Then it was back down the mountain and off to the hotel where we had a couple drinks in the sun. We had our massage appointment for 6:30, so we headed to the hot springs at 4:30 to sit in the pools and relax after our hike. The pools were great! There were sulphur pools, hot pools, cooler pools and water slides. We hit up a hot pool and then I wanted to hit up the waterslides. We rode them twice and then a lifeguard called us over and informed us that you need to pay extra for the slides. He was super chill, as he then said we should give it another go and not to worry about. He was really friendly, asked us where we were from and what we were doing in NZ.
In our private hot pool! Very tranquil.. with waterfall.
After lazing around in the pools Michelle and I then had our soak in the private hot pools. The private pools were secluded from the public and had chill music playing. Very nice! From there we had our massage and it was so damn good! Ive never had a professional massage, but I am a fan now! After about 20min of massaging I passed out cold.. it was so damn relaxing ahahah. The massage was a half hour, so I was awake for the majority of it ahaha. I think the combination of all the mountain biking, hiking and then all the pools just caught up with me. After the massage it was time for the steam room. That was great as well! We had a half hour steam – amazing!
With all of the pampering done we had worked up an appetite, so we headed out for dinner. After a good feed we were back to the hotel to have a couple drinks and then doze off for a much-needed sleep.
This is not me waving hello.. it's 5 strokes on a par 2.. Michelle kicked my ass!
In the morning we headed downtown for breakfast and then walked around the town. Hanmer Springs is a pretty small community. Pretty much one street with gift shops, bars, restaurants, clothing shops and that is about it. We played a round of mini golf – which I lost and then did a maze game – which was ok.. really nothing special. After that it was time to head back to Christchurch to return the car and catch our flight.
I would totally recommend hitting up Hanmer Springs thermal pools. Very relaxing and a great way to rejuvenate the body! If you can hit it up in the winter, it would be even better! There are heaps of ski fields that surround the town too. The town is really cool, but I couldn’t imagine spending more than 2 days there. Ive heard they got some great bike tracks and may come back for that at sometime.
No better way to kill time at the airport than in the bar.
Once back in Christchurch we dropped our car and headed to the airport. We had time to kill so we hit up the bar to have a couple drinks and watch the planes take off and land. It was a great weekend gateway. I can’t wait for our next trip over the holidays. We are doing a 2-week road trip to Nelson!
By day 5 I was tired and didnt mind that the weather went to shit. It was windy, cold and rainy.
Last day of the trip and the weather went crook! It was all grey skies, wind and rain. To be honest I really didn’t mind too much as I was pretty tired and my knee was stiff from my crash. Mark and I had a good break fast of salmon, bacon and eggs. Cant say I didn’t eat well on this trip! Mark is an advocate for big feeds and big rides.
After breakie I cleaned my bike pretty thoroughly and packed up my gear in the camper. My flight was at 6 and I was ready to go by 1. I decided to head back to the airport and chill there as I figured Mark had shit to do. I was at the airport by 2pm, broke down my bike for transport and then it was time to wait. I had pretty much 4 hours to kill at the Dunedin Airport. If you have ever been to the Dunedin Airport you would know there really isn’t much to do. I ended up laying on a bench watching television. First Ellen and then some Moari show.. ya I was pretty bored. I have to say I was living up to the dirty backpacker sterotype as my clothers were muddy, I hadn’t shaved all week and looked like a dirtbag.
As soon as I boarded my flight I fell asleep and awoke to a flight attendant asking me to turn off my airport as we were about to land. Once on the ground I got my bike and bag and jumped on the airport bus. 40 minutes later I was home. I then unpacked my bike gear, repacked my bag for my work trip/Hanmer Springs trip and went to bed. The next morning I had to be back at the airport at 7am to catch a flight to Wellington for work.
Another weekend down! Like back home, weekends here go way too fast! I took Friday off to ride in Rotorua. I was up at 5:30am and on the road by 6am. It rained pretty much the whole way down. I was thinking it would be a wet day riding, but it stopped as I was outside of Rotorua. I rode all day and drove back in the evening. It was a lot of driving in one day but the trails are worth it. I love riding in Rotorua. The trails are so sick! I am really looking forward to spending sometime their in the summer.
Saturday was a chill day in Auckland. Michelle and I did the usual grocery shop, laundry and clean. In the afternoon we went to the hospital to see Michelle’s new nieces.. yup her brother and partner had twin girls. They are so tiny and super cute! Welcome to the world Evelyn and Jasmine!
Sunday I was riding at woodhill. Another great day on the bike! In the afternoon Michelle and I hit up Degree which is a restaurant at the via duct. We had a coupon from Grab-one. Grab-One is a site that offers daily deals for businesses. It is a simple way to get huge discounts while exploring fun activities in the city. Each day there is a new deal so you just join the mailing list and purchase what you want. We bought two $25 vouchers for $10/voucher for Degree. It is a great way to try new restaurants that would normally be too expensive. We got a lunch platter for two, which is basically some salmon, scallops, steak, chicken, mussels and prawns that you cook on a hot stone at your table. Of course we each had a couple pints of Cider to keep us cool in the afternoon sun. The bill was$40 and with out the vouchers it would have been about $90. It was a great way to spend the afternoon in the sun, eating and cooking!
Today I did my first bungy jump! I was offered an Auckland Bridge Climb and AJ Hackett Bridge Bungy at work. I know I have a tough job! It was awesome! I really couldn’t have asked for a better day as the sun was shinning and it wasn’t windy. The bridge walk was great and it was interesting to learn how the bridge was put together. It started out as a 2-lane bridge, but as the city grew so did the congestion. They added 2-sides to the bridge to make it 4 lanes…pretty cool engineering! The view from on top of the bridge was great and I would recommend hitting it up if you are spending sometime in Auckland. Even if you are not up for the bungy the bridge walk is a must do in Auckland.
Off I go!
Obviously the best part of my day was the bungy. To be honest I was not nervous at all… which kind of surprises me. It’s not a huge bungy (40 meters) so it didn’t seem to bother me. I was just stoked to pop my bungy virginity. I actually get more nervous hitting a big gap on my bike than I was standing on the platform looking into the water. I requested to be dunked in the ocean and they happily obliged. It is an exhilarating feeling flying towards the water, head first, superman styles and then dipping into the ocean up to my waste! All of the guys that were working were super cool and calming to those who needed the extra attention. We had 10 people do the bungy and only oneof them had done it before. It was hilarious to watch peoples faces as they were standing on the edge.. pure fear in some ahah. Loved it! I cant wait to head down to Queenstown to do the Nevis, which is more than twice the height of the Auckland Bridge Jump.. SWEET! Not a bad day at the office!
Having a credit card while travelling is always good. You may need it for booking flights, renting vehicles or sometimes even ID. The only problem is when you have to make a payment on your card. You could leave some money in one of your bank accounts back home to pay off the credit card or maybe you will transfer money from your Kiwi bank account, which is a pain and comes at an added fee. Nothing will ever replace a credit card, but I would recommend getting a Visa Debit card once in New Zealand.
A Visa Debit card works just like an ATM/EFTPOS card, but with even more benefits. You can get cash from ATMs and use it for EFTPOS nationwide, make purchases online, overseas, over the phone, via mail order and pay bills – all using your own money.
When you’re overseas, you can get cash from more than a million ATMs in different countries, and use your card for EFTPOS purchases wherever Visa is accepted.
Features:
Buy things online, overseas, over the phone or by mail order and pay with your own money
Link up to two accounts to your card
Make EFTPOS purchases and get cash at Visa ATMs worldwide
This card is super handy for buying stuff online ie plane tickets, concert tickets, accommodation bookings, trademe.co.nz purchases ect. Best thing is you are using the money you are making so no interest fees like on credit cards! Definitely a great card to have while travelling!
Ive noticed that some travellers coming to New Zealand are focused on getting career related work. That is great, but one must remember that the visa we are all on is a working holiday visa… meaning you are in New Zealand to work and travel. Don’t forget that second part – travel! Yes you can wait around for a career related job to come available, but to me that is a waste of time! Most work visas are only good for one year – use your time wisely. It really doesn’t do anyone any good to sit around day after day waiting for an employer to call you. That can be really frustrating, stressful and depressing! Use that waiting period of time to travel; get on a stray bus, woof, grab a cheap flight online or venture to the south island. When that career job does come available you will be working 9am-5pm, so use that time in between to see and enjoy New Zealand. You may want to prepare yourself to work non-career related work to cover expenses until that `right` job becomes available. Bring extra savings to cover costs as well. Remember that no matter what job you do, future employers will still be interested and impressed that you went overseas to live and work. Make the most of your time, be flexible with employment and travel as much as possible.
So Ive been thinking that I better get my Christmas shopping done soon…why? Because Canada Post and the New Zealand Post are slow as! A post card will arrive in Canada in about 2-3 weeks.. not too bad being that NZ is on the other side of the world. Though I would say it was closer to 3 weeks. If you plan on sending some gifts home for birthdays or the holidays I would recommend sending it at least 2 months prior to make sure it arrives on time. I sent a pack to my sister for her birthday and it took a minimum of a month and a half to get their… yah I missed her birthday. I actually thought it was lost in the mail, but no, it finally arrives a couple weeks after her birthday. The next time I sent a package home it paid for i to be to be a fast-mail (not sure of the correct term – it is not express – that is a little much for my budget!) which meant is was supposed to arrive in 7-10 working days… it arrived in 20 working days. Working for the post office would be great – no accountability.
If you are sending gifts home or getting something sent to you, get it registered and insure it. It usually only costs about $5 more, but it is worth it. If your package is lost, the Post Office will pay you the value of it and if it is registered they should be able to track it. Should being the key word..
Check out this great website for working in New Zealand – Backpacker Board - it has heaps of useful information. You can find work, plan acitivities, find a hostel, read through the forums, buy and sell stuff, sort your transportation and get lots of useful information in the directory. They have a site for Australia as well, so you will have the southern hemisphere covered!
Have you ever thought about woofing? Basically it is just volunteer help in exchange for accommodation and food! It is a very ecoomical way to travel. Usually you get to live with the family, so you are truly experiencing kiwi lifestyle. As well it’s always an organic farm, so lots of healthy food! I think it costs around $45 for a membership which includes a booklet of all the places you can woof.
If you want to save some money grab yourself a on the go membership card. Look into ISIC, Hostelling International (HI) and BBH. You will score discounts on accommodation and some activities!
Stay on someones couch! Check out couchsurfing if you want to save some money and crash on a locals couch. Great way to travel as you will get the insiders view of the city! It is totally free of charge, but a bottle of wine or case of beer goes a long way to say thank you!
Join the Grab-a-Seat is a great site to watch once you get to NZ. You can pick up a flight fairly cheap if you act quickly and book! Join the mailing list to be kept up to date.
There are few travel sites for New Zealand. Any questions just drop me a comment. Got a tip – please share!
