Reset search
Christos SChristos S
SatelliteEdit route
Living in: Gothenburg, Sweden Read more Gothenburg, Sweden
  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 29

    Trip day at Christchurch

    April 26 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Woken up early and went to the car in order to orginize a bit the mess until Fred and Juls got up. We would head on our seperate ways, them towards a lovely weekend in Qeenstown and me, all the f... way back home. I wish that wasn't the case!
    I got a lemon from the garden as a souvenir from Fred, we said goodbye and i head to the car. Without thinking i went to the driver door! The driver door on the cars righthand side...without thinking like a normal thing. Up untill now i always approached the car thinking left hand driven and aimed for the actual passenger door. Not this time...just when things start to fall into place I need to leave...
    And I left, for coffe at the moment in a close by Christchurch beach I hadnt seen. They were surfing there...they were renting surfboards there...i was not sold on getting wet again though. I decided that surfing might happen during another trip, properly and so i just went for a walk to get a better view of the bay which btw looked stunning.
    Prepped my stuff, went eating to the pier and returned the car. Now it is just a full day of sitting while being transfered back to reality.
    It will take time to get used to the Gothenburg routine again.
    And by saying that i realise that it is exactly what is expected from a trip like this. To get you out of your routines, the safe zones and explore new territory both physicaly and mentaly. So it is not about adapting to the routine ìt is about finding new routines for the new 'post New Zealand trip' me!    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 28

    Greymouth to Christchurch

    April 25 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Just by looking behind the window blinds, while still in bed, it wasn't looking good. Yesterdays ugly weather over the west coast was keep going strong and from a lazy look in the forecast it would only get worse. Dang, it is my last day and i was aimimg to drive to Christchurch through Arthurs pass which is supossed to be very scenic but i guess i wont be seeimg much. Well after loads of good days and bright sun it makes sense to have some bad weather. Last rainfall was a short tropical one while biking in Rotorua and before that it was the bad days all the way down south in Milford Sounds. Really lucky I would say! If I had two-three good raimfalls during a month in Gothenburg it would be written in the history books! And keep in mind the west cost is probably the most rainy place in New Zealand. It is what it is and I will try to stick to the initial schedule which includes a visit to Kokitika gorge further south and the go inland through Arthurs pass towards Christchurch.
    It is New Zealands national today and tomorrow will be for most people a bridge day to a long weekend. Fred was aimimg to go to Queenstown for the the small break and we discuss meeting somewhere in between so we could say goodbye. Looking at the weather they de ided to leave the next day so we can meet in Christchurch and I could spend the night there before flying back.
    And so i begun driving in the pouring rain towards the gorge.
    Driving by the coast was scary due to the high winds, the low visibility and the crazy rough sea to my side. Still it felt very exotic!Took well over an hour to get there. The road later was a silly combination of dead straight tight asphalt combined with multiple 90 degree turns. All this into perfectly flat farmlands. Endless farmlands.
    While at the gorge parking, the rain and wind were still going strong. Wore my raicoat and went to see a bit the trail map. It was suposed to be a short 15min walk to a suspended bridge with nice vies of the jade colored river. After a first attempt finding the trail I got soaked so I changed clothes into my waterproof biking shorts, took it for granted that i ll have wet clothes in my travel bag and continued with a fast pace into the right trail this time. I reached the bridge which was impressive and gave great views to the...muddy due to rain river! Bummer but expected. Roamed around a bit more so every part of me would soak well in the tropixal weather and headed into the car. Changed clothes, set the heater on max and started the final stretch of the trip. It would be a challenging driving session and you know what happens during these 'last' sessions! I was extra carefull but also i was enjoying it. The scenery, barely visible, started to change from flat to super steep with tight turns and a bit of traffic. At some point i see a guy at the roadside hitchiking...there was no second thought there. Dave was headed to Christchurch and his car broke down. Good company for this type of day. He was working in the area and gave me a proper personal tour of the area while we were covering the distance to Christchurch. The mountain pass was amazing. I cannot imagine how awesome it could be on a good day. Proper alpine scenes, tunnels waterfalls endless forests the whole package. On our way down the mountain we got out of the cloud and rainbows appeared. Everything was looking and felt great again! Well i still have a wet blob of clothes and soked shoes in the back seat that i need to figure out before the trip tomorrow.
    Reached Christchurch and met directly with Fred and Juls for late lunch. Took a strol in the city while the parked car was soaking up the suprisingly warm sun that helped dry all the wet clothes. We continued abit the chit chat at home and called it for the...last day. Not bad, not bad.    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 27

    Northbound to Cape Farewell

    April 24 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Sleeping early makes one also wake up early! Sleeping in the car would be even better if I commited to it from the beginning. What aimed to be a power nap ended up being a 10 hour deep sleep in my cozy winter bag. I do now appreciate more than ever the back seats folding completely flat.
    So i set off around 05.30 first towards the beach next to the cape. I didnt have much driving left so i would prob get there just before the sunrise! Perfect.
    It was a lot of farmlands and wineries one had to drive through, a LOT but eventually I am walking on the trail towards the beach. The landscape there is a weird mix of greenfields full with the finest NZ sheep and cows and coastal tropical forests which at the morning dimed light felt a bit scary...at times i was womdering 'wtf am I doing here?'
    The answer was clear when i got out of the woods into the open. The beach the German guy showed me was in front of me untouched. No people, no turists, no nothing. Just the rocks, the sand and the sea. Hard to describe with words. Spend easily an hour there at times wondering around and quite some time watching the waves at the beachfront. The scene was changing constantly cause the sun started showing up making everything looking from a cold light blue color to a warm bright yellow. It was just another WOW moment. Those became a habit these days.
    Visited the second part of the beach through the trail since due to the high tide couldnt go along the beachfront. There were some sand dunes and an equally impressive scene as
    moments before...that and two Germans! Seems that people started to pop up. Took a stroll down the sandy beach and climbed (actually climbed the damn thing) a big rock that gave me good views over the whole bay. I was full of fresh amazing views and...also full of sand picked up by the wind. Time to move on. Saw some more beaches, including Cape farewell but they were not as impressive. While driving back the wind stopped and the sea right next to the road looked very tempting. It was certainly a different case than what i was admiring just before. I wouln'd dare bathing into those wild waves but now in a kind of protected bay I would gladly do that. It was cold and refreshing. After all i needed a wash off from todays sandblasting and erm...yesterdays biking. Yeah the plan didnt work as expected so better dirty than driving tired at night time right? Continued the drive and passed by some clear water springs and a nice beach with the 'splitted apple' rock.
    Drove up the mountain again towards the west coast. This time I enjoyed the hard corners of the driving part and soon enough I was in west coast territory. It was clear from the change in weather. Just when the sun set it started to rain like crazy and the wind increased to a (I will assume typical for the west coast..) storm level. Thankfully the hostel in Greymouth was near. The best orginized hostel so far wirh an interesting bunch of people there! Most of them were strugling to dry their clothes from a days worth of rainfall. I was thinking... I came in a few hours from roughly 21 tropical degrees to... Norway. New zealand you keep on being impressive!    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 26

    Nelson day2

    April 23 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    And so, its time again to hit the trails! Since we didnt manage to plan a ride together with Fredrik and Abby for the 'Old ghost road' my hopes for riding one more of New Zealand's 'Great Rides' focused on the Coppermine trail and it was one of the main reasons for visiting Nelson. I received quite some info regarding the trail both from the well made official application for all the 'Great rides' as well as from the bike hire shop. One was generic with all types of historical and nature focused info and the other one provided latest status and tips...good combo. The official guide made me a bit sceptical since they were characterising the downhill part as grade 4 and being on my own without added body armour except a helmet i started to feel unsecure. That's BAD! Was keep thinking that it is the last ride in NZ and as Murphy wants it, all the misshaps happen on the last ride...it is 'last' for a reason. Like finding your keys in the last spot you usually imagine...cause you stop searching after that. So even though i slept on it, i had a dream bike waiting for me at the shop and from what it looked liked in the morning a perfect riding day ahead of me weather wise. Ate some left over sandwitches i had made in Picton and headed for the bike shop. Soon enough i was in the trailhead and covering the first out of 20 or so km of uphill. The trail is around 40km and half of it being a constant uphill through pine forest leading into a mining area and then kind of an alpine flora landscape that signifies the start of the downhill part into rocky exposed hillsides. Once i was on the bike i forgot all of my fears...typical case. Up and up the trail went making the views even more impressive after every corner. Even though the trail was in the shade for the first part of the uphill I was sweating like a...nevermind. Still managed to pass a guy on an ebike! Felt good...haha.
    Time and kilometers went by fast and soon i was riding the ridgeline named 'windy point' after which the trail becomes a single downhill track. There were some tables with benches for resting and one biker was taking a breather before the downhill part. Talked a bit...interesting guy for sure but I started to get cold so politely I asked to be excused and took my first turns on the downhill. The fear turned into excitement and a big smile appeared onto my face. The trail info was a bit over protective. At least for the part of the downhill I could see. Pure joy of a ride that certainly worth the uphill part. The ride down felt long and tiring and it turns out there were some points of good exposure but who cares now? Its downhill and its good and fast and its sunny! New Zealand delivers...all these were going through my head. Pure joy.
    Finally, I was again on the flats returning to the trailhead to close the loop and while taking some pics the guy we were talking before the downhill showed up and we were able to finish our discussion on our way back. We went together all the way to the city where I took my way to a nice artsy coffee place i had seen the day before. It was nice with fancy ppl and all of the sunshine hitting it straight on. I was covered in mud, all sweaty and looking tired but...artsy coffee place i wanted and thats exactly what i got! I enjoyed the break and felt a bit revived so it was time to head back to the trails area. Fred mentioned a good trail to try out called 'Te Ara Koa' and I had nooooo idea what/where/how. I thought just go for it and go for another one later on. If only i knew...Turned out the trail was going aaaaall the way up again but in a shorter uphill. Now it was also warmer...and i was already tired...this will hurt i thought while riding up. Took a lot of time but at the end I reached the trailhead, the top of the hill (later Fred told me that they use the shuttle service to go up they dont bike the uphill...he could have been a bit more specific haha). With all the uphill effort, time to return the bike was closing in and i had no idea what to expect besides what I saw on the map, it was a black trail. Black trail riding for the...'last' ride...tired...sure mr.Murphy!
    But NO, it was just THE BEST TRAIL I HAVE EVER RIDEN !!!
    Close to 5km of pure joy! Steep, fast and well built going through tropical forest with tones of features! I was enjoying it soooo much i was screaming alone in the jungle...until i crashed. Small one in a tight corner! Out of all the difficult spots i washed out in a switchback (need to work on those btw). Continued like nothing happened...felt no fear now, just joy...didnt care...shoulderbumped a tree...still didnt care...still hurts!
    'TE ARA KOA'...wow just wow, forgot already all the 'Great rides'.
    Took some time to wipe the smile off my face and i headed to get some food in order to refill the energy bank and head north to grt closer to the beach the German guy from the hostel presented! The drive went through a mountain pass with loads of hairpin corners. I was not in a position to continue driving at night time. Stopped, ate and eventually slept in the roadside parking in the car under the fullmoon, not bad ehhhh! I was already pretty close to the north cape of the south island.    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 25

    Nelson

    April 22 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Got a rather lazy start for the day. I still had some sandwitches left that meant to be consumed during the last part of the trail. Well...now they will be breakfast, and its a looot of pickles in em!
    I searched for a nice spot close by one could go and have a breakfast with a view. Turns out there was a perfect location for that looking over the hole Picton bay area. When I reached the spot besides the beatiful view there were already two guys there having breakfast. Started chatting like normal people would do and turns out they were heading Nelson and were looking for a ride. They were quite surprized when i said before leaving...'Is it ok to pick you up with the car in 30min and head to Nelson?'
    They were interesting dudes. Marlin from California with a very distinct accent and Vincent from Germany. We talked about everything but also enjoyed some silent moments. Its nice when you are able to do that with strangers. Because of these two I forgot I had some points marked along the way to Nelson that we could have checked out. It was a nice drive regardless. Weather was awesome these past few weeks. Lst rain must have been in Rotorua while biking. Seems the sun lovws the east coast and rain loves the west one!
    The tide had pulled way back and felt extreme. For many km we were watching wetsands that we coulnd believe it was due to the tide. Later i learned it is a typical thing in these parts.
    Left the two guys to continue their journey towards Abel Tasman National park, a place i also olanned to visit but things turned out differently. Went to the hostel just to realise the check in was available after 15.30 so i roamed around a bit. Went to the 'Center of New Zealand' which was nothing morw than ametal plte on an otherwise lovely hill with great bay overview (including the tide pull back).
    Then headed to a bike shop to arrange a ride for the next day. Nelson is famous for the good weather and the amazing mountain biking.I would search for a good bike this time cause i realise during the Charlotte trail that it does make a difference...big one. Lucky me and i hit the nail on the first try. Google IS your friend my friend! Nelson Gravity was an authorised dealer for Santa Cruz, Transition, Mondraker and Evil bikes...sweeeet. They were renting the Mondraker Foxy which was the aluminium verson of my dream bike and a perfect choice turns out for the local trails including the Coppermine which i planned on riding the next day. Of course the price was three times higher comparing to the GT aggtessor i had two days ago. Sorted everything checked in the lovely hostel and went out to catch the sun set over the bay. Nelson had quite a big beach right next to city center.
    After it became dark for any additional images I headed for a decent meal since it was loads of sandwitches and pasta these past few days.
    The Thai restaurant I went to presented a medium quality pad thai for my liking and the best sping rolls i ve ever tasted. All in all I felt really good and i was on my way to get some sleep cause it will be again a long day.
    Back at the hostel another German roomate (feels it is only Germans around) said that i should visit the north tip of the south island cause the beaches there are amazing. He showed me a pic and instantly i put it on the tight schedule. Abel Tasman even tough it has to be amazing it is a hiking destination and the hiking time i dont actually have. So that is also sorted, kind of cause the driving north a a well 6 hour round trip. I ll figure it out tomorroe depending how i feel after biking.
    Sleep now!    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 24

    Queen Charlotte

    April 21 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Once again the excitement about riding the trail didnt allow for a good sleep. Got up really early and went grocery shopping...had to buy pickles! What is the point having a sandwitch if it doesnt have any pickles in it? Jokes aside, I needed them to compensate the lack of isotonic water. Even though i borrowed a tablet from a German roomate i felt that it would be good with some extra salty stuff. So, prepped quite a lot of food and took 0.75l of water hoping to get some water along the way.
    Showed up to the water taxi spot with full gear. The bike was already loaded on the boat and the captain just started checking-in the group. We were all present and so we started boarding on time. I was a bit in a hurry cause the time that was available for completing the trail was 'only' 7 hours in the best case. Boat would arrive round 9.00 at the start and pick up at 16.00 from the finish in Anakiwa. Thankfully the guy from the bike shop presented an option, as a safety feature, to call him when i would get reception somewhere in the middle of the trail to let him and the boat taxi if all goes according to plan or if we should make any changes for the pick up. The length of the full trail is 70km (Ship cove to Anakiwa..). If i could manage to consistenly ride about 12km/h then i would have some slack for misshaps/breaks/food or whatever comes along. That is pretty much my running pace, should be easy!
    Well that pace is for a flat course, with the planets aligned...etc not for biking a tropical jungle trail. I am very curious how this will end up.
    The views from inside the boat, and even better from the boat's deck, were amazing! It took around an hour to reach the trail's start 'Ship Cove' and once there everyone went straight into it!
    Bikes (me) are supposed to start before the hikers so they dont cross each other in the trail. With me setting up the bike and getting a pic or two i started last. So, I passed all the hikers in the fist uphill and I felt fresh and nice! It didnt last long! The trail showed out of the gate that it will not be easy to complete...the uphills were seriously steep and the gearing on the bike didnt allow for fast spinning. Grinding my way up and down soon i cleared the first 5th grade uphill and my legs melted...
    That was the point i decided to just enjoy the trail and exit/picked up at the 50km mark 'Torea bay' at 16.30.
    Now i had actually the time to go to the look out and enjoy the amazing view. Took my time riding further while taking a lot of images and trying to make everything stick in my head.
    The ride itself besides the uphill part was just ok. No difficulties no nothing. Beautyfull views and certainly interesting to ride through the jungle...
    It was another great New Zealand experience, thats for sure!    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 23–25

    Picton

    April 20 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    After a good night sleep i was on the road aiming for Picton, a city furrher up north which is considered a good starting point for exploring the Marlborough sounds and that is exactly the goal. Btw...'sounds' means 'a narrow stretch of water forming an inlet or connecting two wider areas of water such as two seas or a sea and a lake'. One of the great New Zealand bike rides is the 'Queen Charlotte track' which is offered for both biking and hiking. It was probanly the only thing i had found in my nonexisting prep work for the trip and wanted to try it out.
    Ofcourse along the way from Kaikoura there were points of interest worth spending some time visiting.
    Just a few minutes of driving north and one passes by another seal colony that is right next to the highway. You can stop and see the seals sleeping/sun bathing in the weirdest positions possible on the rocks. In contrast with Kaikoura this time there is no concern about waking them up or them blocking the trail since the colony is a few meters below the road and there is a cement barrier in-between. One can walk along the path between the road and the colony and watch all the funny interactions the baby seals have with the adult ones. A lot of (...I d call it screaming) was involved in these interactions, something that the kids around the spot easily picked up and reproduced themselves! It was funny, up to some point.
    After all the screaming madness i was back on the road not for long though since a black sanded beach was about half an hour drive away. I would have missed it if I didnt catch a young couple taking pictures at the side of the road. I slowed down and realised that this place was the beach I saw in gmaps and I had to make a U turn further down the road in order to be able to stop and have a look. The sight was unique. Another remote and pristine beach with black sand and golf ball sized grey pebbles. Drifwood was scattered all around, even big tree trunks decorating the part of the beach closer to the road. The water hazy and cold, I didnt dare to swim this time. It was nice as it was!
    And then, after a bit more driving, there I was...in Picton. The connecting point to Wellington and the north island since the ferry stops here. Small town with obviously a strong connection to the water element. I went directly to the information center so i could arrange the water taxi for taking me to the start of the trail as well as asking some info on where i could hire a bike. It was the fist time i was using their services and it was great. They could arrange everything for me in some sence but they also mentioned that i sould go and figure out the bike hire myself. Checked in the hostel and went looking for a bike. Found a decent place and long story short, i had a complete set-up ready to go.
    Queen Charlotte track is a physically challenging trail along the peninsula traversing along the ridgeline as well as passing by the beaches. This creates a loooot of ups and downs! Full length is 70km and my aim is to do it in one take! This is where the theory ends, soon i ll figure out if it is managable.    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 22

    Kaikura day2

    April 19 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Woke up 3.30am, idk if it was the excitement about the coming encouter with the dolphins or the person in the hostel room snoring like an ox.
    Showed up at the headquarter where we got ourselves (we were around 20 prs) equipment and after a short safety brief etc we were in the calm morning sea, in a big boat while the sun was rising behind the mountains that surround the penninslula. In short, it was freaking great already!
    After a while we encoutered a flock of dolphins and we dropped in the Pacific water ehhh!
    It was amazing, the lovely animals wanted to play with you and the more you play and swam the more they stayed around you. Played for 30 min or so with em and got exausted....Then a seal showed up, an albatros, a friendly (?) shark...wtf!
    A trully unique experience that is hard to describe...after everything finished and with a big smille on my face i had a coffee ordered back at the headquarter which happened to be in an awesome location and tried to let the experience sink in.
    Went back to the hostel and after a quick lunch i got a rental bike and did a loop around the penninsula. I was expecting some good views but the trail, despite being nice, was just too flat. It was a good ride though to close another unique day!    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 21

    Kaikoura day1

    April 18 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After a good night sleep we, me and Fred headed for breakfast in a nice coffee place close to the bike shop. A nice coffee, a tasty toast and a nice cheese scone wirh fresh butter (my understanding is that scones are a local saltly bread type of thing) kept me until the afternoon!
    After munching while Fred was fixing a front fork i hit the road againg aiming the north. The weather forecast for the west coast looked a bit moist so changed direction and aimed for the east coast instead. Going on a north loop with an anti-clockwise direction this time.
    First stop kaikoura, a spot famous for whale watching, surfing and crayfish-es! Thats all i knew at least. Driving the 2.30 hours i realised that I stop waaay less in points of interest along the roads. Prob cause i realised they are just too many. So i passed by all the wineries, some scenic road prompts and aimed for Kaikoura. The only scenic road i decided to actually take, cause i felt bad passing by so many things, turned out to be a dead end due to road works...pfff maybe this was not my day!
    But then... just before i entered Kaikoura the road was parallel to the coast and a good viewing spot just clicked. I stopped and the moment i got out i saw them...dolphins! Lots of them in the distance and they were getting closer. I was impressed by the sight (if only i knew what i would experience later on...). Continued driving and got into town heading towards the seal colony with the aim to complete the hiking path which connects the two coasts of the pennislula. It is a looped hike that goes on a high trail along a ridge by the coast and then returns either the same way or...one can choose the coastline path which actually passes through the seal colony. No need to say what i chose...
    At some point the big f...ers were sleeping in the middle of the trail and for sure they didnt want to move...quite the opposite, they were ready to stand their ground!
    MTHRFCKRS!
    I was walking silently like a cat until reallity struck and walked like a normal person, making noise, waking up a seal that looked me in the eye and instantly alerted the others! I was stuck not knowing what to do...thankfully one went to pee or sonething and now there was an opening for me to pass. Maybe it is my day after all . Took the chance only to find another bigger seal sleeping on the trail...this time had to climb a small hill and go through a cave to find eventually a clear path to the trail. It was a bit tricky...and scary...and funny but at the end it worked. At the finish/start of the loop two lamas were eating the grass...i just passed it, turns out nothing is weird these days.
    Finished off the day with some local, expensive crayfish just because i felt it was a must. It was worth it. Bit surreal but while i was eating my lovely crayfish and enjoying the seaside view the lamas were passing behind me making aaaaall the weird noises one can think of.
    I remembered all the crab eating techniques back when Oly was making us crabs for snacks/food and applied em...worked great!
    Headed to the hostel, shower, laundry, cooking and eating and some discussion on what i should be doing the next day with the hostel owner. A girl from Germany overheard and said...'i did a really cool thing today...i swam with the dolphins'
    After some minutes i set my alarm for 5am. The Dolphin encounter swim will be starting at 5.30! Simple as that.
    Excited!    Read more

  • TravelerHow’s Fredrik doin’?
    Day 20

    Back in Christchurch

    April 17 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Flew back in 'base' and was setting up for touring the north part of the south island.
    Got a lame car, which was expected since it was crazy cheap. Quite a difference with what i was driving just some hours ago. And it was not only the car...the service was following the same path, lame. Went to the parking where there were thousands of cars and the girl at the office gave me the key saying...'i dont know where exactly it is parked, you ll find it' and laughed trying to make it a joke. I didnt laugh! Needless to say it took forever to find it!
    Passed by Freds job to say hi and got a tshirt with the shop's logo. Support local busines they say after all. Before heading to Freds home i tried to catch a good sunset from the hills we biked with Fred o the first day but didnt really worked, too cloud.
    Spend the night at home where Juls made some taco filling that was sooooo needed. Some rest in the schedule and tomorrow off i go.    Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English