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New Zealand

April - October 2016
A 174-day adventure by Steve Read more
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  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 2

    First breakfast in new zeland

    April 23, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Just got up and registered my new cell phone, which doesn't have international calling or texts so I won't put the number here.... But it does have data so I will be easier to reach by Messenger, Skype and what's app.

    Wanted to try surfing today but missed the tour, I might book it for tomorrow if the weather keeps up like it has been since I have arrived. I still have a few more days and I hope to get to mount eden for the sunset tonight, not sure what else I will do on my free days.

    On the lighter side I scared the crap out of myself when I woke up expecting to be in Canada and was in some appartment. The guy that I am staying with is actually Canadian who grew up in Winnipeg. He is pretty nice but pretty flamboyant. Took me a few minutes to remember that I am in new zealand. FOR REAL! Driving on the wrong side of the road is also still bothering me.

    I always mean to take a nice picture of my food but I always eat it before I remember, so here is a picture of me in a coffee shop. They don't have regular coffee here, I have been to several coffee shops and they all want me to order weird drinks that cost a lot. I've been sticking to Americano which is normal coffee right?

    Anyways that is enough for now, I hope you enjoy my first update. We will see how long I keep this up before you/I get fed up.    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 2

    Long hike.

    April 23, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Today I got up early and booked surf lessons for tomorrow (Sunday morning). I wanted to go this morning but I got up too late. Oh well, ill do it tomorrow. It is supposed to rain and when I mentioned that to the organizer he told me that I will get wet either way. Well played sir... Well played....

    I also noticed that the back pack that I brought is already broken and ripped. It really sucks and i have no clue what I can do to fix it. Does anyone have any ideas.

    I went back to where I am staying and looked in my new zealand books for something to do that doesn't cost anything. I found a walk called the coast to coast walk, which starts like 4 blocks from where I am staying and it is a 16k walk(they estimate it's 4 hours long because of the hills we climb and stuff).

    On my way, we pass by the university and i saw a guy in a full said of armor with an axe. He was heading in th opposite direction that I had to go but I followed him out of curiosity. He went to a park with a bunch of people in costume and weird coloured hair. I kind of regret not taking any pictures but I had it on my mind that I had to complete my trip under the 4 hours and this was killing my time so I left him there.

    I walked up mount eden( which is an inactive Volcano ) , and saw amazing view of the city and took a ton of pictures before heading off to the next part which is another Hill called one tree Hill (there was no actual tree because they cut it down years ago.). There I saw my first sheep!!!!!! 🐑🐑🐑🐑
    Once I got to the top of the hill I notice that I had dropped my sunglasses after swearing a but under my breath I cut my losses and finished the walk without taking too many more pictures.

    On my way back (yes I walked back too). I found a sunglasses hut so I stopped to get a new pair. I ended talking to the guy behind the counter for about an hour and he gave me his number to go out and get drinks with him tonight.... Actually now that I am writing this I can see how things could be taken differently.... Not sure if i will text him or not. We will see tomorrow night how I feel after the Surf attempt.... Maybe I'll finally take out my go pro tomorrow.    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    1
    Day 3

    Surf and so much more.

    April 24, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    So this morning I ended up getting up at 4 because I was scared to miss my Surf lessons today. It actually started at 8... Couldn't fall asleep which really sucked so I ended up going right beside to where I had to meet and had coffee and food before heading off. It was pretty good. When we arrived I actually put my wet suit on backwards like a moron but I laughed it off pretty well. I went for the lesson and it was the instructor, an Asian guy from Hong Kong who has been surfing for about two years, a French guy who was on his second consecutive day of Surf and a German dude who has been going out surfing everyday for the past three weeks. So i was the only real new person which was really nice since the instructor pretty much gave me one on one lessons. I ended up standing at my second wave which blew my freaking mind. We ended up staying out there for about 4 hours and afterwards I wad freaking
    sore!

    On our car ride back he told me I had the ride of the trip and he was really impressed in front of the others( because I was able to get all the way back to the beach) . I would not have been able to however if he had not helped me and kind of pushed me off (it was kind of cheating but ill take it since I'm a really new person at this and am terrified of water). I chose to not use my go pro quite yet since I spent most time falling then actually surfing. Ill probably bring it next time for sure.

    I tried another thing that is supposed to be New Zealand based called Cookie Time. It was pretty good but not really a smart lunch.

    I then went to where I am staying and the people I am staying with actually made me supper which was really nice. It was a really spicy pasta with shrimp. It was amazing. I guess that I eat some seafood now.

    Anyways, enough for today. Ill include a little sneak peak for tomorrows post. I met a redhead (surprising because of how elusive they are!) today and am supposed to go out for a bite to eat with her tomorrow. We will see if she actually decides to show up or not. Just throwing it out there, I texted her a few times and she keeps saying yip. I thought she wanted to say yup until I said it out loud and realised that is just how they spell it.... It's yes with an accent.    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 6

    Boring but productive days

    April 27, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I AM STILL ALIVE!

    Sorry that it has been a while since I have posted but these past few days have not been the most interesting. I have not really done anything of note other than meeting new people, trying new and interesting foods as well as trying to open a bank account (which is still not done yet. Yesterday I spend three hours at the bank and on the phone with them, im actually there again now waiting for an appointment).

    Below are the candy bars that I have tried. Really not so great, they are too sweet. Oh well.

    Anyways I think that I'll start a list of things that are different than back home.

    1. Coffee is amazing here but they don't have as they call it "drip coffee" and nothing under 4$ a cup. On top of that, if you order coffee in the afternoon they kind of look at you funny.

    2. Pretty much everything is closed by 8 except for fast food restaurants and really expensive restaurants. This includes all the coffee shops. It makes me wonder where the university students hang out and study.

    3. When I'm walking I am new quite sure if in supposed to walk on the right or left side since people drive on the wrong side.

    4. When crossing the street the poles play music when you are allowed to cross and the sign shows an actual green person walking when to walk and a red person standing when you are not supposed to walk (not a hand).

    5. Paying by credit card is much cheaper than paying with cash. They use the bank exchange rate and don't charge me fees so I will usually save about 0.10 on the dollar which is nice since most things here are significantly more expensive.

    6. Bacon is included in pretty much every breakfast meal but they are not strips they are round-ish. It's weird but it tastes the same.

    Last night I went to a meet up and met a bunch of people. It was an hour walk away but was worth it. It was a mix of locals and travellers but they have all been here longer than me and they gave me a list of things to see and do (And eat) while I am here. They also invited me to a couple parties. One I will miss because of my trip but I would make the second it I chose to come back to Auckland after my tour which is a possibility that I had never seriously consider.

    I can't wait for my trip to start tonight so that I can finally travel a little bit more than I have been these past few days. I wonder what will happen and what I will get to see. Ill try to post every few days if I can.

    Anyways right now I need to go to the bank to try yet again to open a bank account. I kind of wish there was an easier way to get this done.    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 7

    And we are off!

    April 28, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    So last night i met my tour group and they all seem pretty nice. I have been working my Dale Carnegie skills and learned everyone's name that night. We had our introduction meeting then went to a bar to drink, get to know each other and just generally mess around. We ended up in a pool tournament where I did the best of our group and finished 4th out of 20. That was the first time I did well in pool in my life.

    We left early the next morning and have been on the bus pretty much ever since stopping every hour ot so to move a bit and see some sights. At our last stop we saw this amazing waterfall. I can't wait to see what comes next.

    On the bus he passed around the clipboard to sign up for the activities for the next couple of days. I ended up being pressures to do the cultural walk (where they perform the Haka and just teach us of Maori culture in genrral) and skydiving. So if you don't hear from me in a couple days that means I am dead. That's all for now, I am pretty sure we are arriving at the house boat that we are staying at tonight.

    Cheers,

    Steve or as I told them to call me steeeeeeeeve    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 9

    Little update back home.

    April 30, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    So we ended up spending nearly a full day on the house boat (on our way out the captain said we were with him for 22 hours) and i actually did quite a few thing. We went kayaking at night and every time we would row the water would light up because of this luminescent algea or something of that nature. I was not able to get a picture unfortunately but I wont forget it. Afterwards people went swimming around the boat and i went in. As most of my family is aware, I am not the biggest fan of open water but I said when in Rome and jumped in. It was the first step because after that I realised that it wasn't top bad and the next day I went swimming in the Bay and even snorkeling.

    On our way back we tried sea urchin. It was salty and i wouldnt want to have it again but once again im glad that I tried it. We were then supposed to Sky dive but the weather wasn't good enough so it got pushed back to this morning as I am writing this. The people I spent time on the boat with told me that when the guy coordinating it told us I got color back in my face which is probably true because I am absolutely terrified to do this jump.

    Once we got back to dry land our guide drove us to this little Forest where there is this nice little waterfall. At the end of it one our our Swedish friends explained that it is a rare type of forest but I couldn't quite grasp what type of forest it was and why it is so special.    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 9

    The Maori people are terrifying

    April 30, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    This morning I ended up going for a run at 5 am to calm my nerves about jumping out of a plane later that day. It was amazing running on the beach as the sun rises but it wasn't quite nice enough to keep me completely distracted. I was even too distracted to take a picture. Fuck!

    Oh well, I have loads of other chances to take pictures. We then hopped in a van at about 6:30 to head to the sky diving. We waited and waited for them to give us the okay. Until they finally said the weather was too bad so there won't be a jump today. Oh well, maybe I'll die later then.

    We then went to the place where the Maori (the native people from there) signed a peace treaty with Britain and we learned about their culture. We then watched a Maori peace offering and they chose me to be the British chief. They told me not to laugh, smile or flinch as he came at me with a pointy stick (it was a lot scarier than what I am describing please believe me) and screamed at me then jumped at me before offering me a sign of peace, the weird bamboo thing. I wish I would have had a picture of it but I was kinda busy trying to not die nor shit myself. I will see if I can't talk to the people who I am with and to try and get a picture of me with the tribal leader.

    We then went inside to finish the whole thing when they told me I needed to do a speech. I dove quickly into my Dale Carnegie knowledge and then failed miserably. Oh well, maybe I'll have another chance to redeem myself next time I am attacked by a man in a skirt. The entire cultural experience was amazing and in the end I didn't need to go skydiving to have the shit scared out of me.    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 11

    Taking the scenic route

    May 2, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Well I am a few days behind so I will separate this post by days.

    May 1st:

    We woke up early-ish to head down to a town called Raglan where we boarded a boat to get to a private little cove which is connected to the ocean and we did some kayaking to a little farm.

    The kayaking was nice and super scenic.

    At the farm the lady explained the mating cycle of eels as well as a lot of information on bees. She really did try to convince us all to be scientists. She gave us some home made biscuits, honey and jams. She was very opinionated. So much that it made me feel like I was back home again. She also mentioned that she was looking for workers during the coming months and my new friends did what they are good at and threw me under the bus.... Again.... So i may very well after the tour return there and work. We will see.

    We then went to a private house where we stayed at for a couple nights in a small town called Raglan . Well we let the girls have the house and we took the trailer out front. Or kind of got stuck into taking it. Oh well it was still pretty sweet. We ended up having quite a nice party with some pina coladas (is that how you spell it?) and ate some fish and chips. SWEET AS!

    May 2nd:
    We got up relatively late after the drinking of the night before but luckily all we had was surf lessons to do. We went up a hill where they showed us some basics and safety rules before we headed down to the ocean. I later heard our tour guide say that the waves were terrible (because there were none....) but it was okay because we were learning. I got up a few times but also had my fair share of wipe outs (someone from our group didn't surf so they took picturea from the beach and she got one of me. But i cant tell which one it is so ill post one and just hope that it's me, if not ill go through the pictures on the a computer once the trip is over and post it on facebook).

    After the surf lesson in raglan we headed into the town to eat and do some shopping before having some nice time off. The afternoon was full of board games before some yoga on a mountain top as the sun would set. I am not a person that enjoys yoga but I would do it again in that setting with that view. We then had one of our surf instructors come in and he cooked us a supper of lamb chops, chicken, sausage and salads. It was really amazing. To be honest, I have really been enjoying all of my meals.

    I will cut this into two posts even though I am missing days because I have a max of 6 pictures on my posts. More pictures should be coming up on Facebook as well as another post in the next few days.    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 12

    Adrenaline route

    May 3, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    Today we woke up early-ish to go to the Waitomo caves which are the caves with glow worms lining a big part of the ceiling. I decided to do a black water tubing option which means in parts of the cave we are swimming and in tubes as we look up at the magnificent glow worms. Unfortunately there were no cameras allowed inside the caves but they said that they would send us a link in order to get the pictures that they took. I am still waiting to receive it. Our guide seemed to know a lot of caves and different things found in them.

    He would often lead us through a path and after we would squeeze our way through he would say, yup that was the tight path, we could have also taken the easy path here.... Great thanks man. As we were getting on the tubes he gave us an adrenaline option where we climb up the side of the cave and jump ass first into the tube. But watch out because there is a rock that you can hit if you jump too high and another if you don't jump far enough.... I just had the phrase, what's the worse that can happen ( something that one of the other people on the tour keeps repeating to me) and decided to take the leap. Fun shit. Also when getting off he gave us the same adrenaline optoon but would not tell us what it was.... So i did it and next thing I know i was flipped in the freezing cold water laughingy ass off. The rest of the group opted not to do it after they saw what it was. All in all it was a great day and I am glad that I decided to do it. No regrets.

    We then went to a modern Maori town and spoke to a man there and learned more about the Maori people in the past and today. I also had to give another speech since I was elected chief of our group, sang a song to the man that let us into his home and he taught us a haka. We also played a classic Maori game that was used to practice their crazy eyes and screams which just reminded me of a drinking game.

    We only have two more days on the north Island then we are off to the south.    Read more

  • Steve WyngaertNew Zealand
    Day 14

    Climbing the tongariro alpine crossing

    May 5, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    So yesteday we woke up extra early (5am) to get to the Tongariro alpine crossing (for you Lord of the rings fans, it's mount doom in the films... Or so I've been told). It is a 19.4km hike up and down a mountain. The peak that we hit was 1886m and it was calculated at about 40, 000 steps.

    I made sure to bring enough food and water for the trek and actually packed way too much. I kept offering it to the people I was climbing with because I was hoping to lighten my bag. This was actually really good because they didn't bring enough food. They repeated that chief steeeeeeeeeeve takes care of his women and that made me laugh on several occasions. I kept with a pretty big group of people because they had a really good pace and they pointed out several amazing picture spots. The trek ended up being about 7 hours and was beautiful. It has been the highlight of my trip so far but that doesn't mean much since I have been thinking that every day.

    Today was a relaxing day so ill include it here too. We got up and then drove down to Wellington. We stopped a couple of times, once to do a rubber boot throwing contest at a small town that is known for it called Taihape. We split the group into the girls and boys and our group leader said he would buy a drink for the winners, and I won! Yay!!!!! I tried throwing the boot like a baseball and it worked pretty well. Just checked into the hostel for the night, tomorrow we will lose about 6 people as we head off to the south Island but we gain 5. So it will be a bitter sweet night. Anyways, I'm glad that I caught up to real time. Hopefully i will be able to keep up from now on.    Read more

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