Tag: New Zealand

日を歓迎

Florian1 Comment

Two weeks earlier than originally planed I arrived last weekend in Tokyo, after spending the final three weeks of my stay in New Zealand on the north island. There I had some very spoiled days with Laila and Sean in Wellington, I enjoyed the beautiful Art Deco city of Napier, I almost froze to death in the hostel in Taupo, warmed up again in the thermal region of Rotorua and finally ended my visit with two nights in Auckland.

Although I very much enjoyed my time in the country, in the end I had the feeling I stayed a bit too long. I guess I changed hostels too often, saw too many nice mountains and in the end it was definitely too cold for relaxed traveling for such a long time. Therefore I very much looked forward to get to Japan.

The first week in Japan I spent in the mega-metropolis of Tokyo. Although over 35 million people live in the greater area it is a perfectly organized city and actually rather quiet. It doesn’t take long to get used to find your way around – it for sure helps that the street names and subway stations are labeled in English, but also Japanese are very helpful (although there limited skills in English). When I left for Suzaka, a small community next to Nagano, for my next Workaway stay there was still so much to see 😉

A chopper please!

Florian

To make a nice, smooth Chopper start with two fingers of gin, add flavor with natural cranberry juice, sweeten it with a spoon of brown sugar and finalize it by filling up the glass with sparkling water. Try it and you’ll know why this new drink will conquer the world in a storm … that’s at least what Marty and I thought after our days of chopping down Manuka trees to fill up the firewood supplies 😉 Continue reading “A chopper please!” →

Whales … finally ;-)

Florian

I was patient and now I’m happy. When I was in Taiwan in 2006 I went on a whale watch tour for the first time. However, as it was not the right time of the year, we only saw some dolphins back then. So I was quite happy to learn about Kaikoura, a small town on the east coast of New Zealand, where due to the geographic features of the sea bottom male giant sperm whales stay all year round. Coming there a few weeks ago I already tried my luck on a tour, but instead of whales we only saw lots of Albatrosses. With their wingspan up to three meters, they are quite impressive, but not what I came for.

So at the end of my trip around the south island of New Zealand I decided to go back to Kaikoura and try my luck again. Due to the weather the boats where bound to the harbor the first two days, but when it finally got out on a perfect warm and sunny day, I was lucky. On the tour we managed to see five dives of giant sperm whales, a humpback whale, a group of the rather small Hector dolphins and a lonely New Zealand fur seal taking a sun bath on the ocean.

Offtopic: For those of you not so interested in whales, I also learned how to bake bread 😉

The routine of travelling

Florian

My parents always nurtured my interest in travelling and during school summer holidays I had the luck to see almost all countries in Europe, going back and forth with the campervan. Later on I did my first oversee journeys on my own and also different work experiences gave me opportunities to spent time abroad. So I thought I know a bit about travelling.

Well, this time is quite different! Some people asked me how it is to travel for a year. To avoid any illusion from the beginning: it is definitely not like being on holidays! Quite the contrary, it can be rather exhausting. Sometimes you even get the feeling you need time off from travelling, but maybe I should start with first things first. Continue reading “The routine of travelling” →

Hitchhiking Country

Florian

Inspired by Mojca from Slovenia I decided for hitchhiking as my main means of transport here in New Zealand. I haven’t really considered this option before, but after the first day on the road I knew that it’s the way to travel 😉

I don’t have a lot of experience on travelling with the thumb up (the last time I was hiking with Robert and we lost our way a bit, so we needed a lift to get back to the car) so I cannot compare it to other countries, but Kiwiland seems like a very good country to get your first experiences. I really like it. It is cheap, it’s flexible, it’s definitely faster than the buses and you meet a lot of people.

Farmers, doctors, other world travelers, young and old people, locals, … before entering the car you never know whom you’ll meet this time, but you can be sure you’ll get to hear some interesting stories. 72 year old Robinette from Te Anau told us about her life travelling the world, Robin who forgot his age long ago was going to live in the woods for the next 10 days, Lynda and her daughter Sophie from Christchurch who were on vacation around Queenstown and not only gave us a ride to and from Milford Sound, but also showed us around in their home town a few days later.

All in all a good way to meet people from and travelling in a country and learn new things you never expected 😉

For some further information about hitchhiking have a look at the comprehensive Hitchwiki or the respective section on Wikitravel.

Red Zone

Florian1 Comment

“You know you are in Christchurch, if you dress up with a hard hat and a safety vest to go to town”. In September 2010 the city was hit by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. About six month later in February 2011 the already weakened city was struck again by an earthquake of magnitude 6.3. Several “smaller” once followed since then. Having survived the first shockwave with only property damage and minor injuries, the second quake caused 185 direct deaths and major damage all around the city. Still today the city center, the red zone, is closed for the public and all the buildings are scheduled for deconstruction.

I was never in a city before that heavily marked by a natural disaster, so I didn’t really know what will await us. Walking through the city provides you with the expected signs, such as damaged houses, wavy streets and lots of potholes as well as spaces left empty after the former buildings were demolished. However, what left the strongest impression on me were the vast areas which appear normal at the first sight. However, strolling through those neighborhoods you notice that plants are not cut back anymore, the angles of the houses are slightly odd and most important there are just not enough people around. Having a closer look the vast number of abandoned properties get apparent and you get a feeling how strongly influenced the social life in the city are.

Although quite some people decided to leave the town, after the second earthquake, it is great to see how the communities strive to get back to a normal life and start to rebuild the city. Initiatives like Gapfiller were started, eight month after the destruction happened the re:start shopping area was opened in the centre and although the discussions are still ongoing, plans for recreating the downtown are developing. It will be interesting to see in a few years how a city can regrow after such an devastating event.

Winter is coming

Florian5 Comments

Surfing in Byron Bay, enjoying Thai hospitality in Brisbane, sailing around the Whitsundays and finally learning to dive in Cairns – my last weeks in Australia have been quite intensive and left many impressions. I learned that it is still possible to enjoy a chicken wrap although being in a tiny sailing boat, making its way with 30 knots of wind on 3 meter waves, I was diving with reef sharks, sting rays and turtles during day and nighttime, at a birthday party I played the harmonica with the band and I learned about my future by a palm reading.

On Easter Sunday I then left for Queenstown, a tiny tourist town on the southern island of New Zealand. Stepping out of the plane, after an impressive approach through a valley, made me quickly realize that the next three month will be slightly colder than the comfortable 25-30 degree I experienced the last weeks on the cost of Australia. It felt a bit like coming home to Austria in autumn, with the leaves already changing color, the smell of wet grass and the sun on your face, which is already losing its strengths.