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 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.
Ive got a busy week ahead! On Tuesday I am off to Wellington for work and Wednesday I will be down in the south island in Christchurch. This will be my first time back in Christchurch since the earth quake. Just yesterday there was a 5.0 magnatiude aftershock 11km below the serface. There were no injuries thankfully, but from the photos it looks like there was a lot of liquifaction. Now that is nothing compared to what hit early this year, but it still makes me a bit nervous about heading there. Hopefully the earth remains motionless while I am down south.
After Christchurch I am off to Queenstown for Easter. Michelle and my mate Tim will be meeting me down there where we plan to do a bit of a tour. We’ve got a car rented and accommodation booked for a couple nights. The rest of the time we will be staying with Tim’s brother. Im looking forward to touring around down south with a local, as they always know the best spots. We will be hitting up Milford Sound, which im pretty stoked about. The place looks prestine and Ive only heard good things. We will also be visiting Wanaka, Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Cromwell and Alexandra. Unlike my last trip to Queenstown, this is a non-riding trip.
This time of year brings a lot of travel through work. Ill be heading off in May as well to Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Palmerston North. On the road again…
What is going on with the world? Japan has just been hit by an 8.9 earthquake. It was only 2 days ago that the teams from all over the world that had come to NZ to help in the Christchurch earthquake was on their way home. Now, they must be heading to Japan to assist with their search and rescue. I know that there is a team from NZ heading over now to help.
Watching the video of the tsunami is just larger than life! To see a boat caught in a whirlpool and then to disappear is something straight out of the movies. Entire towns/cities have been swept away in a wave of dark water. Overnight there has been an explosion at one of the nuclear plants, but the government is saying that no radiation has been leaked. I find that hard to believe, though I hope it is true. This is all so un-fuck’n-believable!
I believe they are saying the death toll will be in the 1000’s. Even though Japan is one of the most prepared countries for earthquakes, you cant not have casualties in a quake of this size. Luckily their buildings have strict building codes that allow them to sway and withstand earthquakes.. pretty unreal! If it wasn’t for their foresight/planning the death toll would have been much larger.
There were tsunami warnings everywhere: Canada, US, South America, Australia and here in NZ. I was planning on heading to the beach this weekend, but everyone has been told to stay off the water, don’t go sight seeing and stay away from beaches. Ive read that in the US 5 people have been swept away by large waves while trying to take photos – seriously!! Is a photo of a wave that important to you? They had to postpone the national surf championships because of the warnings. I saw a photo of a guy in the US jumping off some rocks to boogie board – WTF?
Ive never really gave much thought into having an emergency kit: water, canned food, medical supplies, matches ect. I guess I didn’t ever think I would really need one. But with the way world has been going lately it may just be time to put something together. YIKES!
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.
New Zealand is being battered by a storm the size of Australia. To quote the newspaper “New Zealand is in the path of one of the biggest storms on the planet.” I was planning on hitting up Rotorua this weekend for some mountain biking, but with the rains and high winds there is really not much chance of that.
People are being warned of high winds, snow, hail, thunder and lightning! The sound island will be pelted with snow! Great news for the skiers and snowboarders : 100-200cms of fresh powder. Winds are supposed to reach gusts of over 130km – strong enough to bring down trees, power lines and damage roofs.
Everyone is being advised to not travel. Sounds like it will be a weekend at home. Boo!
Are there any other SWAP bloggers out there? I am looking for people who are on a working holiday. You don’t necessarily have to be on SWAP, just planning on or are living and working abroad. Ive got a couple links to some other SWAP bloggers in Ireland and if there are any other people who are documenting there travels I would love to share the link on my blog. I think it would be cool to have a community of people living overseas, sharing their lives with others who are thinking about heading abroad.
So if you are heading overseas and have a blog, hit me up! I would love to read it. Just shoot me a message in my comments and we will hook something up.
Ive found that anytime I am feeling a bit homesick I just listen to some music from back home and it kind of straightens me out. Everyone has a couple songs that will take them back to chilling with their mates, hanging with family, getting complete and utterly hammered with friends and these songs conjure that image as soon as you hear it, no matter if you are at a pub, it comes on the radio or if it pops up on your iPod – it will instantly take you back to ‘that’ time … for me that musician is Neil Young. Im a huge Neil Young fan, so any time I need that touch of home I toss on some Neiler and away I go..back to Canada; field parties, road tours, camp fire jams at the cottage, getting pissed at my old apt on the deck.. ah Canada. It is something as simple as a song that can really give you that touch of home that you are seeking.
Im not sure if you have noticed but the backpacker has changed. It used to be backpackers would research there trips, have an idea where and what they wanted to do before they left, live poor and wear the same gear over and over. Maybe you’ve heard the stories from your parents about how they backpacked Europe, staying in dives, sleeping in train stations and barns, eating very little and drinking the cheapest wine possible and surviving on a diet of eggs. Well kids today, just aren’t up for that kind of travel. Now a days ive noticed that backpacking is flashpacking.
Flashpacker (def): Someone unusually in their mid 20s to early 30s, who travels like a backpacker but has more disposal income as well as electronics such as a camera, iPod, or laptop. Flashpackers also expect better accommodation and more amenities when they travel. They seek to explore the world but not give up many of its comforts.
What does a flashpacker carry?
Camera – not just a run of the mill point and shoot digital. We are talking about a SLR that will allow you zoom in on someone’s pore from 20 feet away!
Camcorder – how can you be an internet sensation with out having a camcorder? Capturing life in photos is good, but capturing the essence of the trip via a video is great!
Laptop – you can’t live without your internet connection and of course you need something to load all of your photos and videos on too. Preferably it would be a Mac.
MP3 Player – you must have music to listen to, god forbid you have to talk to anyone on a train or bus. It will also have to be able to play tv shows and movies because music will no longer ‘just’ do. Once again an apple product – iPod!
Cellphone – not only a cell, but a cool cell that will go online so you can post on your facebook and twitter. You cant miss an email!
Body products – the sterotype for backpcaker was dirty and smelly. No longer the way.
Extra Hard Drive – since you have the camera, video camera, you will need something to back it all up on and an external drive is great for that.
I would have to say that flashpacking is a good thing! It has raised the bar on tour operators and hostels. They now don’t just have to offer a service, they have to offer a service packed full of value. I guess this generation doesn’t mind parting with their money, as long as there is good value and service provided.
My rides! The car is perfect for tossing the bike in the back and escaping the city for some sweet trails in Rotorua or Woodhill. Car = freedom!
This past weekend I was able to make it up to Rotorua with Kev and Mario. I haven’t been out riding with these guys for a while. Mario has been in Canada for the last month riding at Whistler and Kev has been busy with home renos. We left Auckland around 6:15am and were in Rotorua around 9:15… not bad time. We unloaded the bikes headed for the shuttle.
We started off with Billy T which is a fast smooth downhill track. It has this one really steep roll over that if you think about it too much you wont do it. After Billy T we hit up Huckle Berry which is filled with jumps, lots of fun. We rode that track heaps, it was wet to start but by mid afternoon the track had dried up quite a bit. Which meant.. fast! We would ride the top of huckle berry and then tie into the bottom of the national downhill track, which is a pretty crazy track.
On the 7th and last run of the day my forearms were burning, and I was pretty much just hanging on for dear life ahaha. It was a great day of riding! My bike was caked in mud and needed a good clean. I decided I would try and get on the bike the next day and clean it afterwards.
Once back in Auckland I took Michelle out to La Procheta, which is a pizza and pasta joint. It is pretty good food and ok service. The prices are great, which keeps up coming back. After dinner we were both beat so it was a movie and then off to bed.
Sunday morning I woke up early and headed to Woodhill Mountain Bike Park for a couple hours of riding while Michelle was at work. This was the maiden voyage in my car. No problems, it got me there and back! Woodhill was heaps of fun, not as good as Rotorua, but still good. It doesn’t have as nice of tracks compared to Rotorua, but it has heaps of jumps and gaps you can play on. I managed to put in 3 hours out their and headed back to Auckland.
Sunday was father’s day in New Zealand, so Michelle and I went to her parents place for dinner. They made some great bbq. I miss having my own bbq! Michelle’s mom made some amazing fresh bread on the bbq and her dad bbq’d some sausage, chicken and pork. It was a hell of a feed. Damn good weekend! Managed a lot of time on the bike, so I was one happy boy! I love the freedom of my own car. Debating on hitting up Rotorua this coming weekend.
