It has been way to long since I have blogged. I guess I fell off of the blaggon (blog +waggon).. bad joke eh! I kind of felt I really didnt have much to write about, which is a lie i guess. The biggest thing that i has happened in the past couple months is that I have been issued New Zealand residency. It took some time and a lot of patience, but I finally got it. Over the past year I’ve had mutiple medical checks, visa applications, police background checks (all of the came out clean) and lots of money lost or invested depending on how you see it, but in the end I am working towards becoming a New Zealand resident. I have to spend six months of each year for the next two years residing in New Zealand and then I can come and go from this beautiful country as I please. So if I want to return back to Canada to work and live I can without worrying about how to get another work visa for New Zealand. I feel lucky to have the ability to live and work in either Canada or New Zealand… two amazing countries.
So what is in the cards for the next couple of months… trips to rotorua, savings for a flight back to Canada for my bro’s wedding, a few work side projects and some beers eheh of course!
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.
With all of the windows in the batch it was up early with the birds! It was howling outside with wind and the rain as it still hadn’t relented. Since we are on a vacation it was a big breakfast and chill morning of reading and coffee. It was New Years Eve day and we did have a few things that we needed to do. Most important; restock the beer we drank the night prior. Something about being at a batch in the bush that just makes me thirsty. We pretty much polished off a 2-4 the night. Cant have a beer shortage on New Years Eve.
Some of the fallen soldiers from the night before... better restock!
We headed into town to get some beers and other small items to snack on. We stopped at 3 different liquor stores, as the first two were pretty overpriced and in the end we came away with two packs of 15 Macs Golden and a 12 of Steinlager Pure. Now we also brought from home a bottle of 42 Below, plus some Rum. We were ready to celebrate – no chance of running out of booze!
There was a Saturday fair on so we stopped to wander through and see what treasures we could find. There really wasn’t much, some used clothing, hippies selling art work/handmade bracelets, taro card readers and a couple food stalls – we came away with some fresh bread!
Michelle showcasing her fine bevy!
The rain had finally slowed and the sky was a lighter shade of grey.. yahoo it may just turn into a nice day! It was nice having the car with us as it allowed us to tour a bit of the island checking out the batches nestled in the hills and a long the beaches. My mate was taking the ferry over early avro to spend the night at the batch for New Years, so we picked him up and headed back to the batch fully stocked and ready to bring in 2012. As soon as we got back to the batch it was into the beers on the deck. The sun decided to make an apperance so it was time for chilling, talking shit and just enjoying being out of the city!
Enjoying the deck and sunshine when it came out to play.
We made a snakced throughout the avro and evening with chicken wings, burgers, chips, roasted veggies and the fresh bead we purchased dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar… pretty posh eh! My mate brought some Franks Hot Sauce for the wings he got in the States… so damn good! You cant get Franks in NZ, so if you are heading this way please bring me some.
Enjoying some amazing wings!
Of course we had lots to drink – beers, shots, whiskey, vodka and lime, daquiris and some rum. Bit boozed fueled. At midnight it was the usual celebrations, some drunk calls to my brother ahah… answer the phone dick. It was a great way to ring in the New Year. Happy 2012!!!!
We rented a batch (a kiwi cottage) in Waiheke over the christmas holidays for a bit of rest and relaxation. I don’t think there is a better place so close to Auckland to unwind. Ive first went to Waiheke for a day my first year in NZ and then for our staff Christmas party. Both times after returning back to the ‘main-land’ I thought ot myself that I needed to rent a batch out there! This past holidays we just did that.
In the car on the ferry, ready for Waiheke!
If you are not familiar with Waiheke, it is an island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, located about 15km from Auckland. It is the second-largest in the Hauraki Gulf after Great Barrier Island and has nearly 8,000 permanent residents plus another estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes on the island. The island has a very strong arts community, which you can tell by all of the artsy/craft shops. We decided to take the car with us as it allowed us to take food/booze/bags/bike/paddle boards, which meant we had to take the Sealink. So like last Christmas we were once again on a boat with our car on our way to our holiday destination.
Upon arrival to Waiheke we headed straight to the batch we rented. It was a bush batch located a long the side of a hill in native forest. It was surrounded by trees, fauna, bush and birds! Even though there were neighbors on either side, all of the trees and bush provided a lot of privacy giving you the great secluded feeling one wants when heading to a batch. The batch was all windows, which seemed trick a lot of the kings fishers and Tui’s! They kept flying into the windows – no birds were hurt. It was your typical old kiwi batch though! It had a nice big deck from where you could see the ocean, a fire place and a tonne of books from the 50’s, old uncomfortable furniture and more than enough room for the two of us…perfect.
By the fire, relaxing in Waiheke!
After unloading we cracked into the beers, made dinner, had a fire and just relaxed. The cyclone was in full force by now, so it was all rain and wind. No better place to be then in a batch, by a fire, with good company, listening to some Neil Young. Life is good.
I took some pics, but they turned out to be shit so... i 'borrowed' this photo by: Ben Watson
Last night the Foo Fighters ROCKED New Zealand!! I’ve never seen them live, but have always heard amazing things. I’ve listened to them for ages, just never bothered forking out money for a show. I guess I was lazy getting on their live show bandwagon, but after last nights show I will be trying to get tickets to any Foo Fighters show that I can. The show was at Western Springs which is an outdoor race track in Auckland and held a rocking 50,000 ppl. It was arena rock at its best! The weather was rainy but it didn’t dampen the experience, if anything it made it better. 50,0000 wet fans dancing, screaming and rocking out to 17 years of Foo Fighter hits. I managed to get 2 rows from the stage – closest I have ever been and it was fuck’n amazing! The energy and atmosphere was great. There were no fights, just a ton of happy Foo fans partying the night away. They played all of their hits and did a 4 song encore which made a total of 2 hours and 45 mins of rock heaven! Not many bands put a show on like that. Tenacious D opened for them and did a hell of a job warming up the crowd and getting everyone amped for the Foo’s. Before Tenacous D, Canadian punk band Fucked Up played as well as Cairo Knife Fight = bad ass rock’n roll from a NZ band. I didn’t see either, but only heard they were amazing from other fans at the show. I didn’t even know Cairo Knife Fight were scheduled as I would have def gone early to see them – ah well next time! Dave Grohl has committed to come back to Auckland to play the Town Hall, which is a small venue for 2,500 ppl. He played it earlier in the year for a fundraiser for Christchurch. He did it completely free of charge, flew his band and roadies/gear over and raised $354,903 . Amazing. I will be getting tickets to that next show, regardless of the cost because they are that good!
Foo Fighters Concert Setlist
All My Life
Rope
The Pretender
My Hero
Learn to Fly
White Limo
Arlandria
Breakout
Cold Day in the Sun
Long Road to Ruin
Stacked Actors
Walk
Monkey Wrench
Let It Die
These Days
This is a Call
In the Flesh (Pink Floyd cover)
Best of You
Encore:
Wheels
Times Like These (Started acoustic, then full band)
Generator Tie Your Mother (Queen cover) – Tenacious D came out in short-shorts with suspenders and rocked out with the Foos!
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.
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.
So this week I was too head down to Wellington to attend a conference put on by Tourism New Zealand. I heard about this conference last minute so I registered pretty late in the game. By doing so I unfortunately I booked a flight on Jet Star, going against a promis I made to myself to never book on that airline, as Ive always had shit experinces. Looking at flight costs Jet Star was a couple hundred dollars cheaper compared to Air New Zealand, so ill save the company some money and take the cheap flight. Turns out that cheap flight would cost me more in time and money!
The conference started on Thursday at 9am, meaning it was going to be an early morning. I was up at 5am to catch the bus at 5:30am, which would have gotten me to the airport at 6:10am. All airlines will ask you to arrive at least a ½ hour early before your domestic flight. This is what I had planned on, but the the airbus running 5 mins late I arrived at the airport at 6:15am. I really didnt think much of it as it was 5 mins and there was still plenty of time to board. WRONG! I guess Jet Star closes the gates exactly 30 mins priror too departure. Being that I was only 25 minutes early to my flight I was denied to boarding. BRUTAL! I didnt have any luggage to check – I told them that, but they said they had already printed the passanger list. I guess they limited ink and paper, so reprinting was out of the question. WTF! Customer serivice doesnt live at Jet Star. I had to pay $90 and catch a flight at 10:30am making me late for the start of the conference.
I finally get into Wellington and hit up the conference, which is great by the way. Day one went off without a hitch, well other than not catching my flight. Day two was just as good. Learnt lots of useful and interesting things and the day flew by. I catch my shuttle to the airport for my 7:25pm flight. This time I am a good hour early – not missing this flight. Little did I know…
Things are ticking a long like they should. I grab a bite to eat, have a beer, read some of my book and then proceed through security. No problems.. so far. Get on plane, buckle up and we start to make the move to take off and then all of a sudden the pilot comes on and tells us there is a problem and that he will have to park the plane and have one of the engineers come on and take a look at the problem. Ok, a little hickup and we will be off soon. WRONG!
After sitting on the plane for an hour we were asked to get off the plane and sit in the departure lounge. 5 hours later we are still sitting in the lounge waiting for some information – any infomration, but no we are being kept in the dark. We ask the flight attendants what is going on and they give the same old line, ‘we dont know anytthing, but as soon as we do we will let you know.’ There is another Jet Star plane sitting at the next gate and someone ask, ‘cant we just use that one?’ to which they reply ‘sorry, that plane is not working as well.’ My confidence in the Jet Star fleet of planes is at an all time low. Do I even want to get on one of these fucking planes?
All this time Im just rolling with it, what else can you do eh! So im reading, listening to music and just waiting for info. Then I see all of the staff come off the plane, bags in hand and head the opposite way of the passangers. They didnt even bother coming to tell us that the flight had been cancelled. WTF!
As soon as I saw them come off the plane I new it was time to book it to the Jet Star checkin desk to rebook and see where they were going to put me up for the night. The line was long – I pretty much said fuck it and walked to the front of the line and asked what the deal was. I was then rebooked for another Jet Star flight to Auckland the next day at 3:35pm ahha. So there goes my weekend. They were putting us up at a hotel and would shuttle us back and forth. I arrived at the hotel at about midnight and checked into my room. I then called Michelle asked her too book me a flight home with Air New Zealand called Jet Star and refunded my return flight.
Jet Star is just a comedy of errors. In the end it would have been cheaper just too book that flight with Air New Zealand even though the initial cost was a couple hundred more. My only advice is dont book with Jet Star if you want to arrive at your desintation on time. Jet Star definitely lives up to their nickname.. Shit Star. If for some reason Jet Star ever reads this post because you care about your PR and oline profile I just want them to know – YOU SUCK MONKEY BALLS!
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!
Saturday was my last day in Queenstown for riding on this trip and I wanted to make the most of it. We planned Friday night to get up early and try and get in as many runs before I had to head to the airport at mid afternoon.
I awoke to bird chirping, sunshine and blue skies at 8:30am it was straight to breaking down camp. No time to laze around. I packed up all my gear; tear down tent, prep bike for day of riding, find some clean clothes for flight and pack it into the car. Then it was into Bob’s Weigh for breakfast to charge the fuel tanks for a fun fuelled day of downhilling. After some eggs benny and a couple coffee’s it was off to the skyline for some riding.
We were first riders up on the day! Just like the other days it was non-stop action. We managed to squeak in 12 runs in just 4 hours. I wanted to hit each track at least once more and we easily did so. No crashes on the day either, which is always good for the last day of a bike trip. The bike gods were taking care of me!
At 2pm I had to get ready for my flight, so we went downtown to grab some lunch and then I went to the park to break down my bike and get myself ready for my flight. My mate left me at the park and he returned back up the hill to ride – lucky bastard. I broke down my bike for the airplane, changed out of dirty/stinky riding gear and into jeans and a t-shirt for my flight home and then caught a bus to the airport.
Once at the airport I checked my bags, had a celebratory beer, read my book and then it was time to board the plane. On board I easily fell asleep dreaming of returning back to Queenstown to ride once again. I should be back in Jan or Feb to ride again… it cant come soon enough.
With this trip now done it is time to start planning the next. So what is next on the ride radar? Of course there will be a tonne of rides around Auckland; Woodhill, Riverhead, Maraetai and hopefully Dome Valley. But I really want to make a long weekend trip to Rotorua and Taupo in the near future. Ive ridden Rotorua heaps, but Taupo is completely new to me so it’s on my ride radar!
