New Zealand
 New Zealand web log [ HideShow]
My New Zealand trip has now come to an end. There are a few loose ends to tie, such as getting my bagage back from Milan and sorting out the last financial things.
It is with some sadness that I think back on the trip and all the people that I will probably not see again. Ever. I will try to just remember the good things and the good time that I had and bring that with me in life. I think perhaps half a year was good length of a stay because the excitement of living in a foreign country was starting to wear off. Living down there was getting kind of everyday life, if you know what I mean. Of course, if I had the opportunity to stay a year, I would probably have done that. It might also just be because my mind was set on half a year stay right from the beginning, that I think it was a good time to come home?
Anyway... as I said: Many fond memories, experiences, and good times to look back on. When the weather get cold and rough again in Denmark, and I am sitting in my room procrastinating some assignment, I will probably skim through the many photos and get a bit mellow by the thought of this trip. C'ya all around.
In the mean time, I have trimmed down my New Zealand gallery and put up my New Zealand report (in Danish, sorry) for you to read. It is aimed for those scholarships that helped me out financially, but you might find it interesting. Hm... perhaps not.
This page (web log) will not get updated anymore... bye.
 02-07-2007 [ HideShow] Yep... Now I'm home again. Good to be home. I've missed it. Well... Some joy went missing when I discovered in Copenhagen Airport that my baggage was (and is) still in Heathrow airport! That means that I have no clothes or toiletries here in Copenhagen. (The things I have in Denmark are at the moment at my Parents - at the other end of Denmark).
But enough of that... It has been a great trip which I will look back on with many memories and much gained experience. Both profesionally and personally. I and think that I have not quite yet realized how slim the chances are that I will any of my friends down there again. Getting on the airplane home did not seems as big a momentum as getting on the plane down to New Zealand. But I guess that will hit me later...
Right now, I am just tired. So I'll go to sleep and tomorrow I will figure out what to do about lost baggage and going to Roskilde Festival. Just wanted to update my log a bit and upload the latest batch of images...
11-04-2007 – Easter trip [ HideShow] Just sent my parents back to Denmark. We had a week together travelling around on the North Island. We were quite lucky with the weather (sunshine all the way through) and was all in all a successfull trip.
We started out with a visit to Raglan where I finally got to surf :-) It was great and definitely something to try again sometime. Then we visited Rotorua to relax in a hot pool, breathe in some sulphur! and be caught in the fog.
From Rotorua we went to Whangarei (Coromandel) to revisit the hostel I stayed at last time I was there. We went to hot water beach, and this time we got time to dig a hole. It was amazing! The trick is to pick the right spot! The temeperature goes from (a guess) 60° (way to hot to sit in) to cold within a meter. We also went sea kayaking where we tried to surf the waves with the kayaks. Also great fun.
We ended the trip in Auckland visiting the Maori show at Auckland Museum. So all in all a good and busy trip (have not mentioned variuos walks on e.g. Mt. Maunganui). Now it is back to school work... although I dont seem to have much energy for it at the moment... :-(
Later...
25-03-2007 – Rangitoto [ HideShow] My parents have arrived to New Zealand. Picked them up from the airport Saturday morning, showed them a bit around Auckland before they went to bed early. They were a bit tired after the flight.
On Sunday we took out to Rangitoto - the 600 year volcanic island - on a little walk to the summit. It was great weather and a great view from the top, but I kind of expected the crater to be more visible. I.e. not overgrown with trees and bushes.
18-03-2007 – AURAC Climbing trip [ HideShow] Went on a climbing trip together with AURAC this weekend. Apart from the weather, it was great. We went down to Froggat climbing site between Hamilton and Rotorua. Went down there Friday night, camped, and got up early Saturday morning to climb. It was really good with problems in both the easy and a bit more challenging categories.
After a nice evening Saturday night by the fire, another go was made to the Froggat climbing site. Unfortunately the weather was not good (more wind and rain) and most peoples arms (read: All non-experts) were just too weak to really take on any challange. So most people went home quite early, leaving the experienced climbers behind for a last challenge.
Anyway... I enjoyed the weekend and really got my limits tested. There was several times, when I was just barely hanging on the wall, that the thought "What the f(_)[k am I doing here...????!!!!" went through my mind. It takes some courage to take the next step on the wall, eventhough you now your partner down on the ground has your back.
Well... back to school (and home assignments) tomorrow. See you all around....
11-03-2007 – Weekend trip [ HideShow] Have just come home from a nice weekend trip with Saskia, Jutta, Ian and Valerie. What a great trip :-) We started from Auckland Friday afternoon by driving up to Whananaki (north of Whangerei) where we camped for the night. I was on my bike while the other had a car. We camped there for the night at a truly beautiful beach. There were a few others camping in the area, but none on the beach, so we practically had it all for ourselves :-D
Saturday we just chilled out with a little walk and some swimming. We drove down to Uretiti (south of Whangerei) where we met Daniel and his father. Same story; got some beers and went to bed late...
So at the moment of writing, I am trying to get myself to do some studying (got stuff to do...) although I don't seem to have that much energy... Images in my gallery...
08-03-2007 [ HideShow] Quick update: Been to a couple of parties :-), went to the Summer Shakespeare play performed by the theater group at University of Auckland (was ok, but still room for improvements), the Lantern Festival in Auckland (very crowded) and went on my first outdoor climbing trip (really great!). So check out todays images :-)
In the weekend we are going on a weekend trip up north to... well... perhaps Whangerei. The weekend after is dedicated to a climbing trip. I am really looking forward to both things :-)
26-02-2007 – First day of school [ HideShow] Hey,
Just a short note: I finally got my courses settled (I think). So I will be taking the following 3 papers
* COMPSCI 720: Advanced Design and Analysis of Algorithms
* COMPSYS 403: Embedded Systems Design
* MECHENG 729: Machine Learning and Fuzzy Systems
Additionally I and doing a special project in computer science. The subject of the project is of the well known A* algorithm. The thing is, that if you have a graph and a given heuristic function for the A* algorithm and improves the heuristic function for a few nodes only, the A* algorithm may actually degrade in performance.
Did you get that? Thought not, but I just thought I would tell you what I would be working with the next 3 till 4 months :-)
25-02-2007 [ HideShow] The intro week is over - tomorrow the real uni life starts... yeah right!
I have still not got all my courses sorted and if you by reading this log sense that it bugs me, you're right.
Anyway, just thought I would 'say hi'. The intro week was ended yesterday with a great day at the beach (only got a little bit sunburnt on my back) followed by a really cool evening at the Auckland Domain. Startlight concert with music from the classical genre to Beach Boys and Queen. In Danish one would use the word 'hyggelig'. It doesn't really translate into English. Sorry guys.
23-02-2007 – Intro week [ HideShow] It is friday and I am taking an evening off (as almost everybody else!). I just got internet (Wheeee :-)) but as usual: it is slow (Wheeeouuhhh.... what?). Anyway it does provide me with an opportunity to upload some images and log.
It has been a fast paced week, well more or less. We (the international students) have been well accepted by UoA, although some things could have been arranged better. Some information seemed irrelevant, such as when a speaker questioned the audience how many had already found a place to live (90%) and started to tell all about the residences UoA had to offer. The speech was ended with the info that all rooms had been taken. Great!
But there have been lots of social activities all week. Been visiting pubs and having BBQ every night and tomorrow a trip to the beach has been arranged. Looking forward to do nothing the whole day. It will be a nice change from the other main activity during this week: Sorting out my courses.
My choice of courses have not been settled yet. Actually, the people (professors and other staff) have been very helpfull to help me in any way they could. The problem has more been to get hold of people. The courses start off at Monday, which is why many professors (well at least those I have to talk to) have only been on UoA reguraly since Wednesday or Thursday. It is a bit late to discover that the courses I had choosen is either not taught this term or not at a appropriate level for me. But I have a couple of appointments on Monday, so I still have hope :-)
I think that was it for tonight. Images are on their way...
18-02-2007 – Paeroa street racing [ HideShow] Nothing much is happening in Auckland (for my part anyway) yet, so I went to Paeroa street racing. For non New Zealanders, Paeroa street racing is a street race (several, actually) with motorbikes in the centre of Paeroa. The city centre is closed (entry 20$) and made into a racing ring. Quite fun and loud :-) There were of course prizes to win, but since there was no big screens or anything to keep you up to date (except some loadspeakers, which were not load enough) you kind of had to know the teams in order to know who won. Well... for most people I guess the thing was more to there, rather keeping track of who won anyway...
I met up with Chris, Mark and Jo, and Martin and his family and hung out a bit at their camp. They had done the smart thing by coming down here saturday and camped in the city centre, meaning good camp (shade) and free entry. The closure around the city is put up during the night to Sunday (today), so the town area is open the whole saturday evening.
Anyway... I have more or less gotten myself established in Auckland now. Bought duvet, pillow, trash can and other stuff I needed, found out where the supermarket is, and had my bike checked - I thought it could need it after my tour. So tomorrow the introduction week is starting. Looking forward to that...
See you later...
Ps.: Images... still waiting... I have not got my own internet yet, and the net at the university is slooooooow...
13-02-2007 – Summary [ HideShow] A few words looking back at my travels around New Zealand. It has been a great trip with many good moments although there has been a few things left to desire. But first some statistics:
According to the speedometer, I have travelled pretty close to 7 million meters (7.000 km). According to fuel receipts, I have burned off cirka 370 L of petrol and spent around 530 NZD on it. This results in a little less than 19 km pr L for my motor bike, which is quite good remembering that most of the time it had all my stuff packed on it.
I would like to say thanks to all the wonderful people that have helped me (and Uffe) along the way and let us stay a while at their home: Mark and Jo, Brad, Pete and Donna, Steve and Digs, and Reg. You have all been great. Also a cheers to Louise, Christine, Michael, Paul, Benjamin, Melinda, Anna, Nina, and others I shared a drink with. If you read this, drop me a line, let me know how you are :-) And of course all my best to Uffe. I hope your're alright back in Denmark.
Looking back on the tour as a whole, I think perhaps the best time was on the north island. It has defenitely something to do with the fact that Uffe was still up and running his bike with me. Even though you meet people as you go along, you will not have someone to actually travel with. When your driving, you do not just pull over to the side and share a view or another attraction. And in the evening, preparing your camp, you do not have someone to discuss the days events with.
Furthermore, the weather was a bit better on the north island compared to the south. The south had a lot more rain than the north, and as I have explained earlier it often hung in the air, more floating horizontally than actually falling down. The air was a bit cooler as well, but I did not mind that.
The scenic views were defenitely better on the south island, though. Well, the the east coast were kind of flat, but the west coast was gorgeous - and dangerous. If you are travelling by motor bike it is funny how other people have the desire to tell stories of how things ended bad for people they know, have met, or just heard a story of. Among them also stories of how people have fallen of the edge of the road and killed them selves in a gorge.
Anyway, if one wanted to travel to New Zealand and travel around, one might find trvelling by car have some advantages:
- It is cheaper. Both buying a car and fuelling it. (Remember you can be up to 5 in sharing a car).
- You can pick up other travellers as you go along. Get company and meet new friends.
- You can lock your car and leave it with all your belonings. (I did not have any bad experience, but was considerate to where I parked my bike. While it was locked, my belongings could easily be unmounted).
- You are water proof.
Having said this, it is great fun to ride by motor bike. If you think it through, it is no problem travelling by bike (get some good weather proof gear, lockable hard cases for your luggage). It is great fun :-) It gives you a freedom to go where you like, but be sure to know what you are looking for. There are lots and lots of sights, scenics views and tourist attractions to fish you money out of your pocket, so be focused and plan what you want to stop for.
Over and out for today :-)
12-02-2007 – Back in Auckland [ HideShow] I am now back in Auckland. I left Reg yesterday, camped a bit north of New Plymouth and arrived at my new flat around 3 o' clock. This is a bit earlier than first planned, but since I will be getting a hectic week next week, I would like to sort some things out with regards to my courses the next couple of days. And of course, get settled properly. It is only when one moves into a new place, one realises how many things one need with regards to dishes, pots, pans, toilet paper, trash can, laundry powder and last but certanly not least, internet :-)
With regards to my log and images, I will try to upload the rest of my images asap, but the internet is still a bit ad hoc. I will probably not be updating the log as often; only when interesting things happen :-) I will try to put a little summary/statistics together with regards to my tour. But it will take some time, and most of my day in Auckland has been used on shopping and cooking :-)
10-02-2007 – Whanganui [ HideShow] Today I just took a short tour around Whanganui. I ran into New Zealand Grand Masters - competitions for old sport profesionals. The most interesting was the BloKart: 3 wheeled carts with a surf sail.
I also took a tour up Whanganui river road. Great nature. And I only drove along the lowest (40km) part of the river.
09-02-2007 – Whanganui [ HideShow] Am now in Whanganui, chilling out at Reg Dilloway's place. Tomorrow my plans are... well... nothing at the moment :-)
08-02-2007 – Nelson to Paraparaumu [ HideShow] Biggest event today was the ferry trip from Picton to Wellington, which this time included great weather and a great view of the south island coast line. Tonight I am staying at Paraparaumu and expecting to head further north tomorrow...
07-02-2007 – Greymouth to Nelson [ HideShow] Drove up from Greymouth to Nelson, visiting the pan cake rocks (where you of course could by pan cakes) and the Buller Gorge which was absolutely beautifull. Unfortunately I did not get so many pictures... The roads were of the kind that you do not wish to make any stop on. The shoulders were practically non existing, meaning rock wall to one side and abyss on the other!
Stayed at a camp currently rented by the couchsurfing collective and they had a full size (?) billard table :-)
06-02-2007 – Greymouth [ HideShow] Did not do much - except went to the Monteiths beer tasting and BBQ, which was well...not the great experience. The tour around the brewery (which were not operating - it was after working hours) was a bit half hearted. (It's ok - that was not the reason we were here for). The same with regards to the beer tasting. I had expected a little anectdote or other info to go with each beer we were drinking. Just to give people 10 minuttes to taste the beer. Instead all seven beer was finished withing half an hour.
The BBQ afterwards wasn't much either. There was only sausages and salad. Which was enough to eleminate your hunger, but I had expected a steak or something... But it turned out to be a nice evening after all, down at the hostel where some of the other backpackers stayed :-)
So bottom line is that if you are in Greymouth and got nothing better to do (and there is not a lot to do in Greymouth), you can go taste the beers. But don't get out of your way for it...
Well, there was one another thing going on today: Whaitangi day. Public holiday to mark the signing of the treaty back in 18-something... I think. There was a public party in the park where they were serving free Hangi. A Traditional Maori cooking, consisting of chicken, fish, lam and beef, cooked in a hole in the ground.
05-02-2007 – Fox Glazier [ HideShow] It's been an almost perfect day... Got up in the morning and joined the half day tour on the Fox Glazier. It was great!!! Normally it rains at least 2/3 of the time, but today it was warm sunshine from a cloudless sky :-) I walked in shorts and t-shirt on the tour. And in the end I took a plunge in a kettle (little lake/pond formed by the melting ice).
I drove on north - the air was getting warm again - making a short stop by the Franz Joseph Glazier. Did not go on a trip there, though. Still beauiful scenery. Well the last 30 ticks to Greymouth was simply flat!
I am now camping at Greymouth Holiday Park, catching the last minuttes of the sun going down. I am planning to take on the beer tasting/BBQ tour at Monteiths tomorrow... I am looking forward to that :-D Otherwise no plans... except going to bed ;-)
04-02-2007 [ HideShow] Today I drove from Queenstown to Fox Glazier town. Beauiful tour although I have not stopped so often to take pictures because it was a long drive, and I wanted to arrive here before late.
The plan for tomorrow is half a day walk on the glazier and then drive to Greymouth.
A thing to note is the rising prices of everything a long as you get farther and farther away from the big cities. This is of course just as one would have expected, but nonetheless today I have tanked gas for more than 1.6 dollars/litre. (For non-New Zealanders, the price os gas is normally between 1.3 and 1.4 dollars/litre.)
03-02-2007 – Queenstown [ HideShow] I arrived at Queenstown this morning after a sunny, beautiful, but freezing ride. I have spent the day in Queenstown with basic on foot sightseing and am about to get me some dinner and perhaps a beer? Anyway... will be heading north for Haast or Franz Joseph tomorrow, hoping for a trip on a glacier the day after. Over and out...
02-02-2007 – Steward Island [ HideShow] I went to Stewart Island today. A bit mixed experience. The weather was partly sunshine, partly rain, and could change within 10 minuttes. Therefore I kept my raincoat on most of the time, eventhough it was too hot when cycling.
The cycling... I rented a bike that was almost big enough for me, and set out to see some of the almost 20km road on the island. It was quite hard in that there is nothing but hills. One might have expected that but never the less, after 3 hours of cycling, I was tired :-) I sat down in the bay where I had been told that the Kiwis sometimes would come by in day time, in hope of seing one - but I did not :-(
For non New Zealanders, Kiwis are non flying, nocturnal birds with long legs and beaks and a great camouflage. The Kiwis on Stewart Island are a bit different, though, in that they have a bit longer legs and beaks and do come about in the day time for search of food. So if I were to see a Kiwi in nature (and get a decent picture of it), this should have been it.
I guess if one should really enjoy Stewart Island, one would have to go for a 3 day trekking around the island.
I have now directed my Honda towards North and are camping 55km north of Invercargill. Tomorrow I will head for Queenstown. I do not yet know is I will stay there for the night or head on. On my wasy I was about to take a detour, following the Southern Scenic View Tour, but decided not to. I am a bit too tired to go sightseing on my own. I want to get back to the warm north :-)
01-02-2007 [ HideShow] From bad to worse... all day... I set out from Dunedin where the weather was - although not hot - sunny and relative calm. During my ride to Invercacrgill and later Bluff, the weather went to strong wind and rain :-( When driving the wind made it feel like I were going 150km/h, but looking on the speedometer it was only showing 80-90km/h.
I had hoped, when I got to Invercargill, that one of the couchsurfer hosts had written back, but they had not. So I drove further to Bluff (from where you sail to Stewart Island), where I will stay the night.
Ps.: It rained most of the day. And the rain does not as much fall as it floats horizontal in the air. Quite characterisic for the southern rain, I think.
Pps.: It seemed that my phone started working again... dont know what it was up to yesterday...
31-01-2007 – Dunedin [ HideShow] It should have been so beautiful. Start the day with a trip to Mouraki boulders, return for some surfing and end the day with watching penguins on Sandfly Bay.
Instead I found out this morning that I had left my shaver in Timaru - which is about 200km from here. I spent most of the getting that, although I did stop at the Mouraki Boulders. When I came back to Dunedin the weather was still not up for surfing. I spent the rest of the day with checking mail, cooking dinner and doing laundry and when I finally got the time for watching Penguins, it was too late. You have to be there approx. two hours before sunset, and I thought I was in good time, but well... time just flies when you are having fun?!?!?!!
And to make it a perfect day, my battery on my cell phone may have gone bad. When I try to recharge the phone, nothing happens :-( Right now, I hate travelling!
30-01-2007 – Dunedin [ HideShow] Nope - did not get to surf today either... I went to St Clair Beach and wathed some surfers out on the water, waiting for the surf school to pop up at their sign at the esplanada. After trying a couple of times I got hold of the on the phone, where they explained that the weather was not good for surfing! Well... you could surf, but it was to dangerous for newbies, but perhaps tomorrow...!?!?!?!!
Anyway, I took a tour around the countryside of Dunedin - which basically took up the redst of my day. In the evening I decided to cook my own dinner but found out that even though they had pots, pans and dishes in the camp kitchen, there was no forks, knives or spoons! So in need of a spoon, I got to talking with Benjamin and Melinda. Benjamin is from Denmark and he met Melinda (which is from Wellington) when they both were doing volountering work on Crete. They are living in this camp until Benjamin (hopefully) is accepted into Dunedin University. We talked a bit and went to see some glow worms just near by the camp. I tried to take some pictures of them, but it is kind of difficult because you cannot use flash. One, if you flash you wont see the light emitted by the worms, and two, bright lights make the glow worms stop glowing...
I will probably stay here one more night and get to Invercargill the day after - with or without the surfing.
29-01-2007 [ HideShow] Nope... could not learn to surf i Tiramu. There was good surfing opportunities, yes, but no schools. So after buying a new sleeping bag and searching for a new lock (but did not find), I set out for Dunedin, where I might just stay for a night or two... It seems that it got very interesting things: Glow worm caves, surfing, climbing and perhas water skiing?
28-01-2007 – A s....y day [ HideShow] It all started out with great sunshine and I was cruising around Kaikoura visiting what they call the best view in NZ. It was ok ;-)
Went down towards Christchurch. But when I had come about halfways, I found out that I had lost my sleeping bag and the chain lock for my bike. It had fallen of without me noticing it. It could be anywhere from "here" to Kaikoura :-(
This I found out when I was parked at a rest place and to top the loss, when I drove on the grass road from the rest place, my front wheel skidded in what I think was the droppings from NZ habitant no. 1: The sheep. :-( I was only driving 20 km/h so nothing happened, except I landed on my bad shoulder and had to swear a minute and a half.
I decided it was hopeless to search for my sleeping bag and lock and drove to Christchurch to buy a new, only to realise (when I arrived) that it is Sunday and everything is closed! So my only option is a backpacker lodge, and while the YHA in Christchurch had no vacancy I drove towards Timanu (raining!) where I am currently staying in a really cozy backpacker hostel (The Wanderer Backackers). Nice rooms, kitchen, and small enough so (with some luck) it will get real cozy. If my shoulder will let me surf here tomorrow, I might stay 2 nights before driving on...
A side story is that I met a Russian biker in Christchurch. He was 66, deaf and mute, and had been touring around the whole world on his BMW for the last 22 years. He was hoping to get into Guinnes Book of World Records. I was impressed by his two big suitcases mounted as saddle bags :-) See the pictures. He has a web site (have not visited it myself yet...) www.yarets.com - which was also his name....
And oh... I am a bit behind with uploading the images. Broadband in NZ is not what we think of broadband back in DK - sorry...
27-01-2007 – Welcome to the south [ HideShow] So... after a 3 hour (boring) sailing trip, I arrived to Picton and began my tour down south. Wow! First impression is really good, the roads are a bit better (although you have to watch out for new seals) and the tour round the coast line to Kaikura is really beatiful.
I stopped a couple of places to look for other bikers to travel with, but no luck. I also left a note, but do expect any calls. On the bright side, I had in mind to camp in nature tonight, but then I can pass this hostel with another motorcycle in front of it. So I lodged myself into a room and am hoping to bump into him in the evening. The receptionist gave me his name and room number. Perhaps we could work somthing out...
26-01-2007 – On the road again [ HideShow] Yesterday (25th) did basically nothing. Got hold on Uffes bike (which had been repaired) and drove around to a couple of dealers. The only offer I got was 4.200$ - which Uffe did not accept. So now it is parked at Pete and Donna so Uffe can sell it on trademe.
Today I felt like it was time for me to go. If I am going reach Steward Island, I had to get on the road. Thanks to Pete and Donna for hosting me theese couple of days - you have been a great help!
I said goodbye to Uffe. A Danish friend living in NZ would come by later this day and just before I left, I got hold of a PSP for him.... So he wont b bored... that much. Anyway, they think they can operate him on Monday.
Went south to Dannevirke, which were kind of a disappointment. I had expected a little Danish community with houses with little gardens and a flag pole with the Danish flag. Instead I met a regular New Zealand town which could not even provide a Danish flag sticker for my motorbike. Not a single Danish flag to be found in all of that town! (Apperently the place to go was Northwood - but I had passed that some kilometres back north - and I did not feel like going back.)
The trip to Wellington led me through a beatiful landscape through the mountains. One might be tempted to get of the bike and take photos of the almost vertical desccent just next to the ceiling of the road. But of course this would not be a good idea when the next car comes around the corner... Instead I took some photos from a rest area... hope they are ok.
Wellington... not much to say... just arrived, staying at the YHA and am on my way out for a beer. If I am _really_ lucky I might find some travel buddies on bikes as well... but perhaps the chance is bigger on the ferry tomorrow - although still very little.
24-01-2007 – Napier [ HideShow] No news of Uffe's ankel. They would have operated him today, but the swelling had not gone away, and when the ankel is still swelled they cannot close the wound if htey operate. So no go!
The bike wasn't finished at the mechanics yet (missing a spare part), so I took a relaxing day with visiting Bluff Hill, Point Perfume, the National Aquarium and eating a danish Delight Icecrem - which is far from a Danish icecream In the evening we (me and the whole family) went up to Temata Peak (which is the 3rd highest point in Hawke's Bay), and afterwards we went for a tae. For non New Zealanders this is actually supper - so you don't have to go to bed on a empty stomach.
23-01-2007 [ HideShow] Not much tio tell. Uffe might be operated tomorrow. His bike will probably be fixed tomorrow whereafter I will go try to sell it for him. And if everything goes well, I will be on my way again the 25th. But it is all very much uncertain yet.
22-01-2007 – Touching ground - twice [ HideShow] The day started off with a blast. We (Uffe, Anna and Ninna) started the day of with a sky dive. Uffe from 15.000 feet and the rest of us from 12.000 feet - that approximately 3.5km. When the plane takes of and especially the second you are about to jump out of the plane, you mind is going like "What the f*** am I doing". But when you hang in the sky, you just go Whoooohey :-) It was great!!!
Uffe and I took off heading for Napier. A beautiful and scenic ride (images). Unfortunately there was a lot of road work, fixing the ceiling of the road. At one place, just behind a big hill, one lane was blocked and vehicles were queued in order to pass. I arrived and got to a halt, but when Uffe arrived two cars later, the queue was to close to the hill and he saw it too late. He skided out sliding off the road on his right. The good news is that he was lucky that apart from a couple of bruises, only his right foot was hurt. The bad news turned out to be that his angle on that foot is badly hurt. Both bones are fractured; he will have to be nitted and fitted with a plaster cast for at least 6 till 8 weeks.
While Uffe is currently submitted to Hawke's Bay Hospital in Hastings, I am staying at Pete and Donna in Napier. A helpfull couple which drove the car in front of Uffe. What I will do - continue mya travel further south alone, find another travel budy, or... - I do not yet know. One thing at time.
21-01-2007 – The Shire [ HideShow] We drove down south of Rotorua (to Reporoa) where Brad welcomed us. We dropped our luggage and while Uffe went around to explore Taupo, I went noth to Matamata to see The Shire. It was beautifull, but you have to some kind of find to find it truly fascinating.
After that , I drove dow to Wai-o-tapu to explore an unspolied hot water pool. Really nice :-) A cold and a hot stream met in the pool, so by placing yourself in the right spot of the pool, you could get the right temperature.
Went back to Brads place, where Nina and Anna had arrived. They are also couchsurfers, from germany.
20-01-2007 – My sholder hurts! [ HideShow] Yesterday we took it slow - well... I had to with my shoulder
hurting
and all that. A bit frustrating because I really wanted to go surfing :-(
Anyway, the biggest event that day was our dinner with Christine, Paul,
Michael and Louise. Thanks guys 'n' girls - it was great.
Today we headed for Rotorua; been driving all day - except for a short
stop at Hot Water Beach. But that was a bit of a disappointment: It
seemed like a regular beach. But perhaps this was mostly due to us being
there at the wrong time (have to be there at low tide) and really not
feeling for digging a sandhole and waiting for the water to show
up...
We drove on and hoped to stay the night at Clare and Brads (from
www.couchsuring.com) but we got hold of
them to late, so tonight we are sleeping on two matresses on a floor in
a full backpacker hostel.
So two easy going days... :-)
18-01-2007 – Pacific coast line [ HideShow] We got up and started driving by the coast line of the Hauraki Gulf
which is a part of the Pacific. We made a stop at the hot springs in
Miranda which were quite a dissappointment. We had expected some kind of
volcanic holes in the earth filled with hot water. Instead we were met
by a large (low water) swimming pool with foul smelling water. We did
not dare to stay long - just a quick stop to say that we had been
there...
We took a slow and beautiful tour along the coast of Hauraki Gulf up to
Coromandel Town where we headed over to the east coast - the Pacific
Ocean coast line. It was a very beautiful tour.
We have now lodged ourselves into a backpager place in Whitianga where I
would like to take some surfing lessons. Unfortunately we ran into a
party in the evening and at some point I made a stunt and fell on the
pavement. I got some bruises and hurt my shoulder. So no surfing (or
driving motorcycle) for me tomorrow :-(
Guess I'll just have to stop by another bar tomorrow - thats all I can
do ;-)
17-01-2007 [ HideShow] We broke up from Wharangarei heading for Auckkland, where I had to talk with a couple of professors in order to arrange things for a project when I am to study at the University of Auckland. Unfortunately they were not available so I have to arrange matters via mail :-(
We headed further south, aiming for the Pacific coast line. We are now
camping in the whereabouts of Kawakawa - we think. We cannot exactly
remember the name of the last city we went through.
16-01-2007 – Leaving Kerikeri [ HideShow] Missing in action... sorry. Nothing interesting anyway... except for
Whangarei Falls (Images) and the parasailing - which was great.
Unfortunately I had forgot my camera while packing my backpack, so I had
to ask a couple of french guys to take some photos of me - hopefully they
will send them to me soon.
15-01-2007 – Kerikeri [ HideShow] Nothing much has happened. We have camped in Keriekeri and have arranged diving and parasailing for tomorrow. Afterwards we will be heading south...
14-01-2007 – Leaving Kaitaia [ HideShow] We left Jo and Mark today. Thank you so much for your great hospitality. You have been great!
We are now camping a few kilometers outside Kerikeri and tomorrow we will take it slow, see the city and arrange a diving trip for Uffe to the Rainbow warrior.
13-01-2007 – Kaitaia [ HideShow] Det her var en rigtig fed dag... Det regnede det meste af dagen, men Mark tog os med op til spidsen af New Zealand i en landrover og paa vej tilbage koerte vi paa 90-mile stranden. Jeg maa indroemme den ikke var saa spaendende som jeg havde forestillet mig... Det var blot en lang flad strand - lidt ligesom vesterhavet. Ingen sandbakker eller noget at raese rundt i... Men nu har vi da vaeret der :-)
Derefter koerte vi ud til eet gammelt vandreservoir sammen med 3 amerkanere som en veninde til Mark havde samlet op i byen (de er meget gaestfrie her...). Vandreservoiret ligger lige uden for byen og man skal gaa et kvarters tid igennem bushen for at komme der. Et rigtig smukt sted. Det blev ikke laengere brugt, hvorfor vi kunne bade i det... skoen tur.
12-01-2007 – Kaitaia [ HideShow] Det hele startede som en lortedag med regn lige fra morgenstunden. Vi
koerte ind til Kaitaia for at se os om efter et sted at toerre vores
toej, faa nogle plastikposer til vores ting og noget morgenmad. En fyr
ved navn Mark stopper op og spoerger om vi er faret vild og hvor vi skal
hen. Det ender med at han inviterer os hjem til ham og bo et par dage,
saa nu overnatter vi hos Mark og Jo Thompson i Kaitaia. I morgen er
planen at koere op til 90 mile beach, helt op til toppen af New Zealand
og tilbage igen. Soendag koerer vi saa nok videre syd paa igen.
Alt for i aften... Billeder kommer en anden dag...
11-01-2007 – Touring mod nord [ HideShow] English version below.
Vi er nu kommet godt afsted mod nord, vejret er det meste af tiden godt og udsigten er fantastisk.
Det hele startede dog en anelsen skidt, idet Uffes cykel ikke var faerdig onsdag morgen som aftalt. Skivebremsen var for sidt og den de havde fundet frem i gaar aftes var ogsaa for slidt. Lettere stressede og irriterede maatte vi saa se os om efter en anden loesning. Den blev at vi gik op til en anden forhandler og koebte et saet cykler der. Uffe har saa en Kawasaki KLR 650 (offroad) mens jeg har en Honda CB400 (59748ng). Det er ikke helt optimalt at vi ikke har samme typer cykler (og det kan vaere nyttigt med en off road i New Zealand), men jeg foeler mig bedre tilpas paa en touring-maskine - og da jeg skal vaere her i 6 maaneder, valgte jeg dette. Saa alt i alt har Uffe og jeg faaet motorcykel + forsikring + udstyr for henholdsvis 30.00 og 28.200kr.
Vi forlod derefter Auckland saa hurtigt som muligt. Vi var lidt traette af at have boevlet med koebet af de cykler. Vi fik koert en 160km op til et en flaekke der heder Matakohe hvor vi overnattede paa en campingplads. Stedet havde vi faaet anbefalet af en lokal gut, som ogsaa pointerede at man bare skulle ind og se Matakohe museum. Dette gjorde vi saa naeste morgen (dvs. i dag - e billeder), hvorefter vi saadan set havde besoegt 2/3-dele af byen - den sidste 3.-del var en kirke!
Museet var faktisk rigtig flot (kan varmt anbefales til vante museumsgaengere) og omhandlede dels omraadets udvikling i landbrug og skovdrift, dels Kanui-traeer. Kanui-traeet er et gammelt New Zealandsk trae, som er exeptionelt godt til toemmer, da det har store tykke stammer og lige aarer.
I dag er vi saa (efter besoeget paa museet) koert videre nord paa. Vi har unddervejs gjort stop ved diverse skoenne udsigter, samt ved Tane Muhata ("The God of Trees"), som er det stoerste nulevende Kanui-trae. Det er ikke en canadisk kaempe-fyr, men alligevel imponerende for en lille bleg dansker :-) Vi har ogsaa undervejs vaeret ude og bade i havet (med gode boelger :-)) - en af vores smaa sideture :-)
Vaeret generelt har vaeret rigtig godt i dag. Meget sol omend nogkle byger regn. Vejret skifter utroligt hurtigt fra solskin til regn paa under en halv time. Meget uforudsigeligt. Landskabet aendrer sig ogsaa hurtigt. Man kan faktisk staa og have baade sand og strand, samt taet bevokset skov i een udsigt. Til gengaeld har det vaeret meget sikkert at follk er utroligt venlige og snaksagelige overalt hvor du kommer hen.- Og de har altid et godt tip eller opfordring til noget du absolut boer se... Meget mere end hvad vi overhovedet kan naa paa vores lille rundtur...!
I aften camperer vi i det fri. Vi har slaeet et telt op lidt vaek fra vejen. Saa nu gaar vi snart til ro... hyg jer.
English version:
After some troubles with the bikes that were suppoesed to be reade wednesday morning, we ended up with two bikes: A Kawasaki KLR off road and a Honda CB400 touring. We have travelled up north, visited the Matakohe museum, visited teh largest living Kanui tree in New Zealand, been out swimming and now we are camping a little of the road near Manukai.
The New Zealanders are very friendly and the weather has pretty much been good. It has rained from time to time, but it has only been temporary. The landscape here is magnificient and should be seen first hand. Images does not give credit to the views.
Off for tonight.
09-01-2007 – Auckland [ HideShow] English version below.
Saa har jeg vaeret et par dage i Auckland og maa sige at forstehaandsindtrykket har vaeret rigtig godt. Yderst venlige og hjaelpsomme mennesker, billig transport (gratis i centrum) og sidst, men ikke mindst, en meget groen og velholdt by. Der er planter og busker overalt og der er mange nye bygninger. Man ser ikke forfaldne eller misligholdte bygninger, men ofte huse i viktoriansk stil (tror jeg nok det er) meget idylliske og velholdte. Kommer man ud i de smaa kvarterer er de dog knap saa velholdte mere - men stadig meget groenne.
Mens jeg har ventet paa Uffe har jeg gaaet lidt rundt i city, vaeret ude og hilse paa Claire paa Auckland uni og sidst: Taget et sky jump, som er et spring fra sky tower, der har en hoejde paa 192 meter. Det var lidt skraemmende, meget fedt men en anelse kort. Springet tager ca. 11 sekunder.
Uffe ankom i gaar hvorefter vi straks gik paa jagt efter et par cykler. Jagten endte til middag i dag, hvor vi havde fundet et par semi-offroads, som saa ogsaa kan bruges, ja, off road. Til middag havde vi fundt udstyr og mere eller mindre givet haandslag paa aftalen. Cyklerne skulle blot registreres og synes og saa kunne vi hente dem her til afen. Vi faar saa en opringning fra forhandleren der siger at den ene cykel ikke gik igennem syn og at det vil tage et par dage at faa stumper hjem. Det er klokken 5 (forretninger lukker kl halv 6), saa vi fik travlt med at koere ud til en anden forhandler (klassisk nok i regnvejr!) for at lave en plan B. Mens vi staar der ringer den 1. saa igen og siger at de alligevel har fundet en reservestump og at de er klar i morgen. Det haaber vi paa - saa hvis alt gaar vel tager vi nord paa i morgen.
Billeder kan selvf. ses i arkivet.
PS: En mindre overraskelse i Auckland var hvor mange asiater der bor i byen. Naar man gaar paa gaden faar man indtrykket af at det er op mod 50%. Og det er ikke kun turister - det er mange som enten staar i en butik eller har deres egen lille (fast food) butik. Saaledes er det faktisk helt umuligt at spise noget traditionelt New Zealandsk mad i down town Auckland. Det er naesten alt sammen Thai, nogle faa Amerikanske (McD, Burger King og Dominos) samt en enkelt mexikansk. Det er meget skraemmende. Vi snakkede med en lokal, der sagde at det var noget der var sket inden for de sidste 5 aar.
English version:
Been here i Auckland a couple of days now. Frist hand impression is a very clean and beautiful city with buildings that are very well looked after.
While I have been waiting for Uffe to arrive, I have taken a sky jump, which is a jump from the sky tower, which has a height of 192 metres. Very fun but a bit to short. The fall last about 11 seconds.
Uffe arrived yesterday and we started right away with the hunting of two good motor bikes. After checking various offers out and some hassle with the warranty of fittness of the bikes we wanted, the status here in the afternoon is that two bikes are (hopefully) awaiting osus tomorrow morning. After picking them up, we will probably be heading north.
Images in the gallery.
04-01-2007 – Arriving to Auckland [ HideShow] So... 36 hours of travelling is quite a mouth full. Especially if you have not tried flying before... But I have now arrived at Auckland and... well
there is not much to tell. I am waiting to check in, get myself a deo, some food and a phone card. If you cannot wait to see some pictures, you can
check out the (boring) travel images. Over and out...
02-12-2006 – About rainbows and treasures [ HideShow] Why does rainbows move away when you try to go nearer? Because some trasures look their best from a
distance.
01-12-2006 – Om eventyr [ HideShow] Styrken ved eventyr er, at de lærer os at vi alle kan være en helt - blot vi tror af hele vores
hjerte.
Problemet ved eventyr er, at skatten for enden af regnbuen kun ligger indtil den første helt har være
forbi. Derefter er den væk. Taget. Indtil han måske en dag lægger den tilbage...
Men da er man jo gået igen!
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