Posts tagged www.swap.ca
January 5, 2012 · Filed under AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged 2012, auckland blog, happy new years, iep new zealand, mike just giver, new years 2012, swap.ca, travel blog, travel new zealand, waiheke, waiheke new years 2012, waiheke new zealand, www.swap.ca
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!!!!
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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 26, 2011 · Filed under AUCKLAND, MTB BIKE, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged adventure, AUCKLAND, auckland blog, backpack new zealand, backpacking new zealand, blog new zealand, canadians in auckland, canadians working abroad, mike blog, mike in new zealand, mike just giver, NEW ZEALAND, new zealand mike, nz blog, travel blog, travel new zealand, travelling, travelling new zealand, work abroad, work new zealand, working abroad, working overseas, www.swap.ca
Work has been great! I just got back from a trip down to Wellington and Christchurch. Any time you get out of the office is nice.Wellingtonwas pretty average, grey, windy and cold – the usual for Welly.Christchurchthough was bluebird skies, sunny and fairly warm. The flight down was impressive and looking back I wish I had my camera. The mountains were stunning. After the dumping of snow we had earlier in the month they are all covered and looking amazing. The best I’ve ever seen them. Super scenic.
September is looking good for work travel too! I’ve got heaps on the go and spring starts, so no complaints here. I’m off , to Wellington and Christchurch again. I’m loving it! Just found out that I will be heading to Queenstown mid September, so I have tacked a couple days on that trip to do some riding!
I maybe getting to GoldenBayfor some back country riding near the end of the month.. fingers crossed! It all depends on timing and funds!
The Rugby World Cup is only a week or so away and I’ve just scored some tickets too the Canada Vs Tonga game.Ill be going with another Canadian and a couple of Kiwis. STOKED!!! Life is good.
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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 29, 2011 · Filed under NEW ZEALAND · Tagged backpack new zealand, backpacking new zealand, blog new zealand, NEW ZEALAND, new zealand blog, the wellington sign debate, travel blog, travel new zealand, travelling, wellington new zealand, wellington wellywood sign, wellywood, wellywood sign, work abroad, work in new zealand, work new zealand, working abroad, working overseas, www.swap.ca
- Wellywood – WTF???
It was about this time last year that I visited Wellington for the first time. There was talk that a 30m long 8m tall ‘Wellywood’ sign would be erected on one of the hills of the city, so as you flew in you would see it. Yes, BRUTAL idea! It’s un-original, desperate, too try hard, cheapens the city’s image, and pretty lame. But the Wellington Airport has said it will be going ahead with the sign, even though it seems the majority of the city opposes it. There is a facebook page against the sign with a 140,000 members. There was a slow moving blockade at the airport last week to protest against the sign. It’s been bad press, for the airport so why continue with it??? Wellington is a original city that is creative, how can copying a US city be a good idea.
No doubt if the sign goes ahead it will be a target for vandal’s. In fact there is a Blenheim based brewery, Moa, who has offered 15 cases of beer to “anyone who knocks it down”. Ahaha How awesome it that! The CEO of the airport has said the sign will go ahead, though the Wellington city council opposes it. Hopefully they go back to the drawing table and come up with another idea or just leave the hill a hill. Yes, the film industry is huge in Wellington, but do you really need to copy the US with a huge sign. Lame as!
People have even started to come up with their own signs… see below. What would you suggest? Check out this Wellywood Sign Generator and create your own –
http://wellywood.skullandbones.co.nz/
UPDATE: The airport has now agreed to review the sign and is not planning to go ahead with it. THANK GOD!
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May 15, 2011 · Filed under NEW ZEALAND · Tagged backpack new zealand, backpacking, backpacking new zealand, blog new zealand, new zealand blog, new zealand glenorchy, paradise, paradise glenorchy, paradise new zealand, things to do in glenorchy new zealand, travel blog, travel new zealand, travel tips glenorchy, travelling, travelling new zealand, visiting glenorchy, what to do in glenorchy, work in new zealand, work new zealand, working overseas, www.swap.ca
Road to Paradise.
For the third day of the trip we planned to visit Glenorchy. Early morning we packed our bags as we stayed another night in Mossburn and headed back towards Queenstown to check into our hotel room. We were back in Queenstown by mid day so we visited the most famous burger joint in New Zealand. Ferg Burger! I know Ive written about about how awesome the burgers are, so I wont go there again. Ill just say.. visit Fergberger and don’t bother with the chips as the burger is big enough to fill your belly! After a mean feed of prime NZ beef, we headed to our hotel to drop our bags.
Once we unloaded all of our stuff it was back on the to road towards Glenorchy. The drive is stunning. There is this one corner you come around and all you see is blue skies, a lake and the all of the surrounding mountain ranges. It was pretty amazing.
Glenorchy is a small town on the northern end of Lake Wakatipu and is a pretty popular tourist stop. A lot of tramping tracks start here as it lies on the boarder of Mount Aspiring National Park and Fiorland National Park. You will find cafes, pub, fur trading post, hotel/motel, petrol station, jet boat and kayaking companies, and horse trekking too. There isnt a lot happening in Glenorchy, it is a very small quiet community, but it is still worth the trip out. If you visit Glenorchy make sure to take a drive out to Paradise. Many people will recongize the scenery from the Lord of the Rings.. so if you are a Lord of the Rings geek… this is a place you would want to go. We chilled out here for a while just taking in being surrounded by the mountains!
After a while it was time to head back to Queenstown where we would spend the night drinking beers and watching the finals of the ABL (australian Basketball League) where New Zealand’s only team would loose a hard fought game 2 in a double overtime thriller. Then it was off to bed, as we would be up early to get out and see Wanaka and Cromwell.
The stunning surrounds you in Glenorchy, New Zealand.
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April 11, 2011 · Filed under AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged adventure, AUCKLAND, auckland blog, auckland events, backpack new zealand, backpacking, backpacking new zealand, blog new zealand, canadians working overseas, live and work in new zealand, NEW ZEALAND, new zealand blog, new zealand events, red bull auckland, red bull energy drink new zealand, red bull events, red bull grand prix, red bull new zealand trolley race, red bull trolley race, travel blog, travelling, weekend in auckland, work abroad, www.swap.ca
On Sunday Michelle and I went to the Auckland Domain for the Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix. It was the third trolley race held in NZ and the winner gets $10,000! Teams come from all over New Zealand to compete in hope that they will be crowned the champion. They are judged on the following criteria 1) Creativity (originality, innovation and design) 2) performance (showmanship of the team before and during the race – including introduction skits, spins, crashes and costumes) and 3) finish time (race time)
It was a blast of a event! There were over 100,000 people there! Finding a good place to stand was a bit tough. They did have a huge screen so you could watch the trolley’s make there way down the windy course. I would recommend getting there an hour or two early and trying to get a spot at the jump, which is where everyone crashed! We managed to stand a long the side of the course for a while, which was a great place to see the fly by (well some flew by, some didn’t make it 100 meters).
The trolley’s were amazing. They had a Buzz Bee toy, roast chicken, mr potatoe head, run-a-way portaloo, giant golf ball, transformer, lego, office desk, mt taranaki and heaps more! There were over 80 enteries for this event. When I first heard about the event I tried to enter a team, but unforunately it was too late.
The atmosphere was electric and everyone was there for a goodtime! I don’t even know who won, but it was heaps of fun and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
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April 2, 2011 · Filed under AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged adventure, AUCKLAND, auckland blog, backpack new zealand, backpacking, backpacking new zealand, backpakcing, bike new zealand, blog new zealand, canadian working in new zealand, canadians in auckland, canadians working abroad, canadians working overseas, NEW ZEALAND, new zealand blog, nz blog, travel blog, travel new zealand, travelling, travelling new zealand, work abroad, work in new zealand, work new zealand, working overseas, www.swap.ca
I can’t believe I have been in New Zealand for one year now! The time has gone by so quickly. Looking back it is just one big fun ride! Ive enjoyed myself so much that I am looking to extend my stay in NZ for another year! Ill keep everyone posted on how that goes… at the moment it’s trying & stressful, but I am just trying to keep in positive spirits.
So I figure it is a goodtime to look at my to-do list and see what exactly I have or have not accomplished from it.
1. Heli-Bike – I cant say I have done this. I did push my bike up a mountain that is commonly heli-biked and hussed down, but no heli ride as of yet.
2. Bungee Jump – Done. Though I would still like to do the Nevis in Queenstown as it is much bigger than the Auckland Harbour Bridge Bungee.
3. Sky Dive – Nope.. still keen, just haven’t gotten around to it.
Learn to surf – Done… well I did a lesson and did ride a couple waves, but I am no surfer.
5. Abseil Waitomo – Done. I actually did this twice, so double check mark!
6. Hike Tangario – Half-done.. so I guess not done. Last year we hiked to summit but had to turn back because of a snow storm and 60km gust.. that was awesome!
7. Work in Bakery – hasn’t happened. I was luckily enough to secure a job a couple weeks before I arrived in NZ and it has been great. Working within the travel industry means discounts and freebies!
8. Learn Yoga – Nope.. didn’t realize how bloody expensive a class is.. yikes!
9. Go Whale Watching – haven’t made it out yet. I could go out in Auckland, but want to save it for Kaikoura as it is the best spot to see whales.
10. Scuba Dive – snorkel – nope.
11. Ride in Moa Beer race – nope. I totally forgot about this race and missed it. Ah well.. im not super keen. But I have drank my share of Moa.. half done ahah
12. WOOF – nope. Been working and had no time to woof.. maybe some other time.
13. Couch surf – haven’t done this, but have managed to meet locals and crash out at their place. So I consider it accomplished.
14. See All Blacks play. Done.. I watched them demolish Wales.
15. Kite-board – this came in as a suggestion and I am still keen. Just been lazy I guess. Being so mountain bike obsessed means that I pretty much ride in my spare time rather than trying some new things… must work on that!
Wow.. still have quite a few things to do! If I wasn’t so addicted to riding tracks over here Im sure I would have more checked off!
A lot of my motivation in NZ has been to ride mountain bike tracks all over this country and I would have to say ive been pretty successful at this. Ive rode tracks all over both the north and south islands and had a couple weeklong bike trips to some wild places. Ive met some amazing locals that have shown me tracks that I would have never had a chance to ride without their knowledge. Do I more tracks to ride and see… HELL YES! I have a few things in the works for riding this year and you will have to stay tuned to learn more.. but if it works out should be big epic rides!
Now what have I missed about home.. family. This was my first Christmas away from everyone and it was toughest time I had in NZ. My family is always in my thoughts and Im always thinking about what I am missing: my nephew and niece getting older, family get togethers, partying and getting way to carried away with my brother, the cottage, my mates and I could carry on with this list for ages, but who really wants to hear about.
So what is to come? First thing first I need to sort this visa out or I will be deported. At Easter I will be heading back down to Queenstown with Michelle and my mate Time (who is a Queenstown local) to see the sites. This is a none bike riding trip – so we plan to do Milford Sounds, Wanaka, Te Anau, Cromwell, Alexander, Glenorchy and whatever else comes a long. Ive got a couple work trips, where I will be taking my bike a long (of course) to ride. And like I wrote earlier, hopefully some big epic rides to come.
My advice to anyone who is thinking of heading to NZ or anywhere else in the world to work and travel… do it! It will most likely be the best experience of your life! Don’t just think about it, make a plan, pick a departure date and go!
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March 13, 2011 · Filed under MTB BIKE, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged auckland blog, backpack new zealand, backpacking, backpacking new zealand, backpakcing, blog new zealand, bobs peak queenstown, canadian working in new zealand, canadians in auckland, canadians working abroad, canadians working overseas, gondola queestown, i heart mountain biking, mountain biking in queenstown, NEW ZEALAND, new zealand blog, nz mountain biking, outdoor adventure, queenstown blog, queenstown new zealand, queenstown nz, things to do in new zealand, things to do in queenstown, travel blog, travelling, www.swap.ca
This week I am off to Queenstown to ride the gondola and shred some downhill! Pretty stoked to get down south and on the bike. I was in Queenstown last year for work, but it was only a day and I didn’t have anytime to ride or play! I haven’t ridden in Queenstown yet, but from what Ive heard from my mates, it is the place to be! This is the first year in while they’ve had the gondola running taking riders to the top of Bob’s Peak! STOKED! Ive got the bike in check – new break pads, fresh bleeds, new tires – should be good to go! I have no idea where I will be staying. I do know Ill be camping, which could be a bit cool as they had some snow on the ground in Wanaka last week. Brr. I know it didn’t stick around, but it could be chilly in a tent.
My mates from down south spent a week riding in Queenstown about a month ago and have raved about it. They managed to get 27 runs down in a day and want to break the record on this trip. 27 runs is CRAZY! I have no idea how I will hold up, but Ill give it a go! I believe we will be hitting a couple other spots while in Queenstown. Im hoping to get up Cornet Peak and maybe over to the Sticky Forest for some single track riding as well. Im sure whatever is in the cards will be gnarly, sketchy and heaps of fun as that is how these trips usually go.
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December 15, 2010 · Filed under AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND · Tagged AUCKLAND, auckland blog, backpack new zealand, backpacking, canadian working in new zealand, canadians in auckland, canadians working abroad, canadians working overseas, iep new zealand, jack johnson at vector arena, jack johnson concert review, jack johnson in new zealand, music blog, new zealand music, nz music, tegan and sara concert review, tegan and sarah in new zealand, travel blog, travel new zealand, travelling, work in new zealand, work new zealand, working overseas, www.swap.ca
Jack Johnson at the Vector Arena, Auckland New Zealand.
On Dec 2nd a day after returning from the west coast I hit up the Jack Johnson show with Michelle and her aunt. I’ve seen Jack Johnson before back in Canada (he opened for Ben Harper – amazing show by the way) and was pretty stoked to be able to see him in New Zealand. I guess he loves NZ, as he and Ben Harper both have a place in Raglan – the famous surfing spot in NZ. Jack Johnson tunes definitely fit the New Zealand lifestyle – chill and beachy!
The open act was Tegan and Sara, a Canadian band that did a great job of warming up the Vector arena. They played a great mix of their older hits and some stuff off of their new album. I was surprised to hear they were opening for JJ, but in a good way. I’ve been a fan of T & S for quite sometime, so it was nice to be able to take in a live show! Overall they sounded great and are worth the price of admission.
When Jack Johnson came out and after the crowd settled down he jumped right into his set, no saying a word to the crowd. This continued for the first hour and then he finally broke the silence explaining how he gets nervous and just prefers to play music. He switched between acoustic and electric, though his voice remained crystal clear. He played all of his signature tracks and also covered Steve Miller Band’s The Joker, which was really good too! One of his band mates, Zach Gill was quite impressive in his own right. He was switching between tickling the ivories, rocking the accordion and busting out some sweet dancing as well – def a show stealer. Jack Johnson tried to leave the stage once but was cajoled back for more songs and a very entertaining version of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer before it was over. All of the profits from his NZ shows went to the Christchurch earthquake relief fund. It was a very entertaining show and I would def recommend that you take in a Jack Johnson concert if you have the chance, as you will not be disappointed.
Set List:
Taylor
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
You and Your Heart
If I Had Eyes
Fortunate Fool
Flake
The Joker (Steve Miller cover)
To The Sea
Go On
Upside Down
The Horizon Has Been Defeated
Badfish / Boss DJ
Inaudible Melodies
Pictures Of People Taking Pictures of People
Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology
Bubble Toes
Wasting Time
No Other Way
Banana Pancakes Breakdown
Mudfootball (For Moe Lerner)
Good People
At or With Me
Encore:
Do You Remember
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Johnny Marks cover)
Angel
Better Together
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