Friday 25 December 2015

Kaitaia, New Zealand - Christmas and My first Yankee

Over the last few days I have met several new people, but one couple in particular made Christmas a lot more enjoyable.

A few days ago I met Trevor and Kathi for just an evening.  That evening Trevor and I had a few beers and chatted, while Kathi listened into our conversation, but was rather board. lol.  The next day Kathi and I went shopping for my new hat, and for her a tent.  When we got back, the two left to headed north to Cape Reinga.  So again I said goodbye to a couple of new friends.

Trevor and Kathi met while Woofing and decided to travel together for a while.  Trevor is my first american I have met on my trip.  He actually lives 4 hours from my home town.  Kathi is a young girl from Germany, not close to my home town.  It was really nice meeting someone who spoke English, and also lived not far from me.

Anyways, later the same day when they left, they reappeared.  They had a little bad luck and never made it to Cape Reinga.  However, the bad luck also came with good luck.  They found work in a hostel 15 minutes from Kaitaia and they get to see me for another day.  I know Kathi was excited for this. :) I think I teased her enough the first night.

So again, we all spend the night chatting and enjoying some good laughs.  Trevor and I probably annoyed Kathi again.

The next day was Christmas eve for us North Americans, but this is also Christmas for Kathi.  In Germany the celebrate the 24th, not the 25th.

That morning Kathi was all smiles and happy.  She even made Trevor and I breakfast.  After, Kathi and I played ping pong, which I totally rocked at, but she rocked a little harder.  She then wanted to play pool, and she told me she can't play.  Yes! I hate loosing and this ping pong thing was fun, but I looked bad and didn't impress her!  We did have a tone of laughs and made our own rules.

Kathi's first shoot in pool was horrible, she only made the queue ball roll a few inches.  Being the super nice guy I am, I tried to impress her by showing her how to shoot and hold a queue.  This was a horrible mistake because she started sinking one ball after another, and eventually we only had the 8 ball left on the table. Dammit!  I might loose!  I am now on a mission, I can't be beat by a girl!

Good news, my pride was saved after 8 or 10 tries of hitting the 8 ball, I finally got it in.

Oh, I did impress her once with my trick shot of jumping over her ball to hit mine.  Yup! I was able to impress a 19 year old girl who has almost never played pool.  This made my day! :)  Thanks Kathi.




After ping pong and pool, Kathi and Trevor were off to their new hostel and jobs.  I walked them out to the road, gave Trevor a High Five! because we are that cool and Kathi gave me another goodbye hug.  Trevor I know I will meet again and Kathi, we hope to meet in Germany if not again in New Zealand.

Christmas Day
Earlier in the week Alex, one of the young German guys organized a Christmas dinner, where we all pitched in a few dollars and the Germans would cook an authentic German meal.

Christmas day Mario was in the kitchen with a few other people cooking up a storm since 8 am.  Two of the German hot girls pulled all of the outside tables together and setup what you see below.



At around 7:30 pm everything was ready and we all ate.  I have to say, the meal was amazing and the new friends I made during the evening was awesome.  We spent most of the evening talking about Canada, and Germany, and annoying Anna, another German girl staying at the hostel.

A few pics from dinner and one of Kai and me from earlier in the day.



At midnight, I decided to head to bed as I am leaving early the next day to travel back to Auckland. I said goodbye to everyone, and wish them all safe travels.

It has been an awesome week here in Kaitaia, and I hope to one day come back.


Sunday 20 December 2015

Kaitaia, New Zealand - Beaches and Buds

The last few days I have been relaxing in Kaitaia, Mainstreet Lodge Hostel.  I decided to stay here over Christmas because I made a few new friends.  Here is the update over the last few days.

I arrived here Saturday, at 10 am and the minute I got out of my ride's car, Cecilia saw me and came right over to give me a hug.  Pretty awesome, since I only met her for a day little over a week ago.  We are now Facebook friends, her mistake for adding me.  hahahaha!  It has been a while since I had a chance to stalk someone.

Cecilia is the Sweden girl I mention in a previous post.  Here is what I have learned about her since then.  She barley knows me, but has done my dishes without asking, cooked for me and always includes me into conversations.  She doesn't do those things just for me, so don't get the wrong impression.  She is just a good person.

Later that same day, a bus of people showed up.  Tim the driver is this outgoing rad, surfer guy.  He and I quickly become good friends and we spend the night having many drinks and annoying the Swed.

A little about Tim.  He is funny as hell, but speaks way to quickly in his Kiwi accent, so I don't always understand him.  He is also the type of guy who makes 3 times the amount of food needed, and hands it out to everyone.  He does the same with his booze and anything he has.  Pretty amazing guy.

Tim and Cecilia are two people I want to learn from!

Here are a few cool things that have happened over the last few days.

A bunch of people were going to the beach, and I was the last to know because I actually don't know these people.  However, Olga's van was full and she heard I wanted to go, if I could find a ride.  She stopped the van, got out and went around asking everyone for me, but there was no free seats.  So she told two of her people to cuddle up, I am going in her van.

And what an amazing day at the beach.

French Engineering below :)


I am too sexy for my Hat!



Most South part of 90 Mile Beach.







Enough about the beach, here are a few more things worth mentioning;

Tim BBQ'd muscles, lamb and burgers for everyone.  Another great night.

Tim offered me his flat for a weekend in Auckland while he is away.  He said just go in and enjoy, its unlocked.

I teased the hell out of two shy guys from Saudi Arabia.  That was fun for me!

Oh yeah, I redid my resume and almost started applying for jobs.






Thursday 17 December 2015

Waipapakauri, New Zealand - Cops, Cannabis, and Beer

I am sitting back, having a coffee and writing notes for my blog when I hear, “Excuse me Mate!”  At first I thought here was a contractor or plumber, by his sexy shorts and work boots.  Then I noticed the bullet proof vest and badge.

My next thought was immigration check.  So I let him know I from Canada and would he like to see my passport.   He replied, “No mate, your landlord has several cannabis plants growing and we are here to take care of it.”  I quickly replied, “Cool! I get to see New Zealand’s finest in action.” He laughs and only really asked one question, if I had any.  I said no and said, feel free to check, but he declined.



We had a nice little conversation about Canada verses New Zealand on drugs, etc while the other coppers cleaned the mess up.

So far, it’s been a great day.  Already had my morning coffee, and starting my lunch beer, with a free show.  What more could you ask for on a Friday.

Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures because I felt a little uncomfortable asking when I am a visitor in the country.

Side note: the landlord is a rather funny, but slightly different type of women.  She told me today she is a 65 year old hippy and I laughed and said, "I am a wanna be 25 year old stud!". 

Just enjoy life and be kind to others!  Rest is all but fluff.


Wednesday 16 December 2015

Cape Reinga - Giant Te Paki - 3 Amazing German's

I am off to see Cape Reinga today, and as far as I know, I should easily be able to hitchhike there and back.

With luck, the second car picks me up.  It is a grandmother and her granddaughter, who are super nice.  She lets me know she is only going about ¼ of the way.  I am OK with this.  During our 25 minute drive, we get to know each other, and she feels very comfortable with me.  Which helps, because she offers to ask her friend to drive me another 30 minutes.

We arrive at the gas station where her friend is and her friend agrees to drive me to her place.  So far, so good!

Her friend is much quit and mostly listens to music on the drive.  We do get a chance to talk about her work.  She works as a picker.  Not exactly sure what she picks, because I had a bit of a hard time understanding her. 

She drops me off after about 35 minutes of travel.  I say thank you for the ride and I say goodbye.

Now I am standing in the middle of nowhere, with only cows.  Cows seem friendly though!

15 minutes goes by and I am starting to wonder if I made the right decision as only a few cars have passed.

Nope! The next car stops with 3 young German guys.  I let them know I am on my way to the Cape and they straight out offer to give me a ride all the way and to hang out with them if I want for the day.  Hell Yes!

This is where an amazing day and 3 new friendships start.

Kye, which I am probably spelling his name wrong, is in the back seat with me.  He is a super cool guy and we talk about everything, from Canada, to travelling, to GoPro’s.

On our way to the Cape, Joseph who is driving says.  We are stopping here, want to come.  I say, for sure even though I had no idea where this was.

Another 10 minutes down the road, we pull up to these MASSIVE sand dunes. (Giant Te Paki)



Maik, Kye and Joseph rent two wave boards for sliding down the dunes.  Check out the video link below.

This is where I show my age, the 3 of them sprint up the first major dune.  I walk 1/3 of the way up and say to myself, “WTF! I am dying.” I consider calling my mom and my best friends Dave’s mom (because she is hot!), to let them know, this is my last day on earth again! But I have no cell phone reception.  So I push on!

I make it to the top of the first dune.  WTF! It is flat, not a peak and there is another even larger dune to climb.  There is no sight of the young, energetic Germans.  So, I slowly push on up the next dune.

OMG, I see Joseph.  I am almost at the top.  Another quick push and I am there.  I want to jump and down for joy, but I know if I do.  I will probably hurt my back, or have a heart attack.  So I calmly try to act like I am not out of breath.

Good news is, they are done playing and are ready to head to our next destination.

I do have to say, the dunes are worth every once of effort to climb them.  Do it, if you get the chance.



When we get back to the car, all 3 of the guys offer me water and food.  I first say no, because I feel guilty for all they have already given me, but they insist, so I take a few apples.

At this point, I no longer feel that I am a passenger, but a real friend and part of the group.

Our next destination is Cape Reinga and what amazing views.  We spend about 45 minutes checking everything out, taking selfies and group pictures.


When we done and ready to leave two people mention to us, the car lights are on.  Should be no big deal, it has only been 45 minutes.

Nope, the battery is dead.  We spend the next 15 minutes asking everyone if they have booster cables.  Then a truly good samaritan says he will take his battery out of his car, start ours and then replace the batteries back.

This works! And we are up and running.  Off to our next destination.

We than stop at this amazing beach on the South Pacific side and take our time enjoying the view.



We are all now done with sightseeing and we are on our way back.  What an amazing day!  I couldn’t have planned it, if I tried and meeting Kye, Maik and Joseph truly was the highlight of it all.

They drop me off right at my front door and we exchange contact information.  I hope I get to see them once again.

I say thank you for the amazing day, and we all shake hands and say goodbye.

There is one more thing I have to mention.  I offered gas money to Joseph and he quickly denied it.  This shows the true character of a good person.

Saturday 12 December 2015

Kaitaia, New Zealand - Some damn nice views

I arrived at the bus to only find out I am not showing up on the passenger list and when the driver and I take a closer look, we see I booked the wrong Saturday.  My first thought is, this is going to cost me money.

Nope! The bus driver says, "Toss your bag in, you already paid, and there is extra seats."  This is awesome!  She lets me on the bus and also drops me off right at the hostel, so I didn't have to walk back 2 km. 

The hostel is pretty nice, lots of people here and they are having a BBQ tonight.  Damn! Free food.

Before the BBQ I decide to sit in the common room in hopes of striking up a conversation with someone. The only person in here is a 19/20 year old, extremely cute, blonde girl making her dinner. I think.  What the heck, I say hi.  

Her name is Cecilia, and she is from Sweden.  She is super cool and we have a really good conversation.  

I later find out, she is almost 31, not 19.  Even better, I no longer feel bad for checking her out. lol.  Life is good!

The rest of the evening goes great.  I meet several new people. 1 from Holland, 1 German, and my first Canadian girl. 


Friday 11 December 2015

Paihia, New Zealand - Bikes, Girls, and Goodbyes

My plan today was to hitchhike from Ferry Landing, into Russell, then take the ferry over to Paihia, where I will be spending one night.

So I get up shortly after 7 and I hear and see no one else.  I eat, make coffee, and do two of the three S.  Shit, Shave and Shower.  Can you guess which one I didn't do?

However, I was wrong about no one being awake.  The crazy Charlie woke up minutes before me and went jogging?!
"this new fad called jogging. I believe its 'jogging' or 'yogging', it might be a soft 'J', I'm not sure. But apparently you just run for an extended period of time."

Now that I understand what jogging is, she tells me they are going into town and I can tag along.  Sweet! I don't have to put any effort into getting a ride.  I like this.  And don't forget I barley know these young girls and they are giving me a ride.

Just before we are about to leave, Andrea's x husband pulls up in a vintage, perfectly restored Honda CB 400, GP bike.  I tell him its cool and she says.  Come to my house, I can show you a few more I have in my living room.

Obviously I am not going to say no.  A man with a bike in his living room.  I see BFFs in our near future.

He shows me 3 more bikes, all as cool as his CB, but 1 is a true GP bike.  He also tells me he went to Isle of Man and has a video.  We watch the video and lose track of time.  I am sure the girls are wondering if I got lost.

He and I head back to the hostel, where the girls are ready to jet.  I say goodbye to Andrea and her X.  I will miss Andrea.  She is such a sweet lady and we had some fun times.

Her hostel is here.
http://www.ferrylandingrussell.co.nz/

Charlie, Emma and I head into town where we exchange contact information and I say goodbye to another couple of great friends.

Essex girls are cool, no matter what we hear :)

A short ferry ride and I am in Paihia.



Check in to the hostel and am now just finishing my day.

Thank you world, for once again showing how amazing people are!

Thursday 10 December 2015

Short hike and meeting old friends again!

In the early afternoon I head across the ferry to go for a short walk along the beach.  Only went for 30 minutes, but some great views.


When I was waiting for the ferry to come back to the hostel, I felt a hand on my shoulder and someone saying, “Hey Man!”   It was Butch, the guy who gave me a ride yesterday.   Butch says, “I told you we would see each other again!”  He introduces me to his friend and we chat about his friend once lived in Vancouver for 2 years.

The ferry is close to docking, and his friend asks if I want a ride into Russell, but I let him know the hostel is right here and say thanks. 

I say goodbye a new friend and once again to a new old friend, Butch!

What great guys!

Around dinner time, 2 new English girls from Essex arrive at the hostel.  Charlie and Emma.  Both pretty cool girls and easy on the eyes.  Awww, I am a lucky guy!

That night we spent the evening talking about our travels, what it is like in each other’s countries and  some funny stories were shared.

Another great night meeting new friends!

Wednesday 9 December 2015

Russell Dolphin excitement

Woke up at 7 am and went into the common room, where Andrea already had coffee made.  A great start to my day.  A short visit and I then quickly grabbed a shower and got ready for my day of Dolphin watching. 

I saw the ferry was letting cars off, and I am not down there.  I was right, I missed the last car.  No big deal.  30 minutes later there is another ferry.

I walk back up to the hostel and say good bye to Kerry and Alex, they are both leaving today.

The next ferry has arrived and the 4th car picks me up.  For whatever reason, I forgot to ask him name.  He is a kiwi, but is new to the area.  He just got a new job working for a construction company here in Russell.

The ride is only 10 minutes long, and we are in Russell.  He lets me know if I am back from my day by 4:30 pm, to just meet him at his truck and he will give me a ride back.  I say thank you for the ride, and goodbye as I will probably be back after 4:30.  Once again, I meet an amazing person.

I have little over an hour before the boat leaves, so I walk around, grab some food for the day.

Skipping ahead a few hours!

We had been on the cruise now for almost 4 hours and there is no sign of Dolphins.  L I am starting to think this was a waste of money.  This negative thinking is exactly what I want to change in myself. I should be happy that I am getting to see NZ islands from the South Pacific. How many of my friends can say they have been on a boat in the South Pacific?

I decide to get up and walk around, and to stop being so negative.  This really helps, and 5 minutes later we arrive at the Motukokako Island; this is pretty cool as we are going to drive through it.




After boating through the island, the cute Kiwi mate grabs a fishing rod and says, let’s fish.  She catches a kahwai fish in just a minute.  Dad, this is how it is done!  She then hands the rod to me and says, catch one.  Okay, sure!  15 minutes later, still no fish.  She looks at me yells/sings, “Here fishy, fishy, fishy”.  Like that is going to work. “What the!” I catch hook one.  2 minutes of fighting it, and it is only feet away from being in the boat.  It out smarts me and jumps off.   I don’t care; this was so cool, anyways.  I am smiles from ear to ear.




The next guy tries and he has the same luck. 

A 10 year old kid tries, and what, he gets it in the boat.  Show off! Lol.

What an amazing experience!  Loving it and my day has completely changed.  See, there was no reason for being depressed, negative over not seeing a Dolphin. I must change.

We are now on our way to where we are going to have lunch, and the Captain says, he has heard two Dolphins are playing not far from us.  He powers up and gets us there.

OMG, Dolphins!  2, 3, 4 of them!  One swims only 3 or 4 feet from me.  So cool!

The captain says get ready to swim.  So a bunch of people get ready.  The first one jumps in and says, “IT IS FREEZING COLD!”  This takes me from wanting to swim, to only wanting to take pictures and enjoy the amazing views.

Check out the video on my YouTube channel.

After all of the excitement, I don’t regret not swimming with them.  I will do this again when it is warmer and I loved the views.

It is now 2:30 pm and we are taking a break for lunch at Otehei Bay. What a beautiful place.




I head back to the boat a few minutes early and the captain has one of the fish smoked and is eating it. He offers me some.  “Wow, this is so good”, I say to him.  He then grabs a bowl and fills it with fish.  He tells me to go sit and eat it quickly. 

Once again, I meet the friendliest Kiwi.  I thank him a few times for the amazing fish.



We are now headed back to Russell.

If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend doing one of the day trips.  Do a full day, not the half day, because you never know when they will find a heard of Dolphins.  When they do, your life will change.

I am now in Russell, grab a Wild Side Cider, and then toss my thumb up for a ride back to my hostel.  Right away a lady asks me if she can give me a ride half way.  I decide to wait for the next offer.  Only 10 minutes later, Butch and his scruffy dog pick me up.  He is going about 2/3rds of the way.  I take is offer and we have a really good chat about computers.  When we arrive at his house, he says, “Wait here for a minute.”  He drops off his dog and gives me a ride all the way.   I am starting to repeat myself, but once again, I meet an amazing person.  Butch tells me, if I am town tomorrow, hopefully we will spot each other and we can go for a beer.  I definitely will try to see him again!

Walking into the hostel, Kerry and Alex are both still here.  This is great, as I never got a chance to properly say good bye and to exchange contact information.

We all chat for a bit and Alex is finally off to his next woofing location.  Good Bye Alex, I hope we meet again.




One more amazing day traveling!

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Kiwi bird on the Tapeka Trek

In the morning, I am having a coffee with Jodi.  She wants to interview me for her Humans of Whangarei facebook page.  Of course this is a yes and we do the short interview.  After she offers me a ride to the bus station, where she is going to take a photo of me for the article.

Ferry Landing Hostel
http://www.ferrylandingrussell.co.nz/

I never knew I was so interesting.  I always knew I was pretty and people always make excuses to take pictures with or of me. J But an article about me, Pretty cool!

Please check out the post here.

Getting out of Jodi’s car, I see her clock isn’t correct and must point this out. Lol.  Jodi responds, “When I bought the car, it was set to that time, and I don’t know how to change it!”  This gives me great ammo to tease her and let her know that is a normal girl response.  I knew I should have changed all of the clocks in her house before leaving. J Just teasing!

Jodi is an amazing human being and I will miss our conversations, and her funny little kids.  I saw good bye to another new friend!

 

I take the bus up to Opua Hill, and walk down to the ferry.  It is only $1, and ends right where my hostel is.


This is the friendliest hostel I have been in so far.  The owner Andrea is such an outgoing sweet lady and right away offers me a ride into town, so I can get supplies.

We arrive 15 minutes later in the small town of Russell.  It is only 1 street long, and is really nice.  I walk around and book a Dolphin site seeing cruise for tomorrow, while she is getting some grocers.

 

After she gives me a tour of the area and suggest I do the Tapeka Trek.  She said she will visit her parents and wait for me.


I don’t know why, but I am still surprised how nice people are.

The trek is hard, but worth it.  I even see a Kiwi bird.  No one believes me and says it was a Weka.  After we review the video and they are all right. It is a Weka.


Check out the video on my YouTube channel.
When we get back Andrea introduces me to all of the current travellers.  There is Alex from France, who is woofing his way across NZ, and Sebastian the German, who is here focused on hiking, camping, etc.  Both guys are really nice and we spend dinner talking about our travels.

After dinner, we hear an 18 year old girl hiker is arriving soon.  I quickly offer half my bed; however, this doesn’t work out.  When she arrives she wished to have her own bed.

Kerry tells us, she is from Holland and she is walking across NZ.  It is a 5 month trek.  I tell her she is young and NUTS!  I guess her family and friends agree. Lol.  She is a super sweet girl.

That night the four of us continue our conversations, and I tease all of them about where they are from.  French are only known for smoking and being in love, Germans are always serious, never smile, and the Dutch are to high on weed, and cheese to be mean.

Kerry tells a pretty good joke about Americans.  I am going to share this joke for my close USA friends J

“What do Canada, USA, and Mexico not have in common?”, “The USA has nice neighbors!”


Another great day meeting new people!