Category Archives: new zealand

January 15, 2013 · 6:34 AM

And then it was over

As I sat on the flat, spongy mattress of a cobbled together dorm room near the airport on the island of Tahiti listening to the woes of an eighteen year old French lad who’d had his money and laptop stolen whilst on a cruise out to the Tuamotus and now didn’t have any other option but to wait for a flight home, I realised that this too was the end of my journey.

Well, not really. If Stage 1 had been my initial South American adventures within Ecuador and Peru, and Stage 2 my previous time in Australia and New Zealand, then this travel through Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador followed by a delivery sail from the Galapagos Islands to Tahiti could be deemed Stage 3.

So Stage 3 was drawing to a close. There would still be more adventures up ahead, surely?

One of my favourite modern-day philosophers, Alain de Botton, says: ‘We’re getting better at learning how to structure journeys so that they can assuage what we’re lacking within us.’ And when I looked inside myself and questioned what was lacking (and causing a bit of concern), it was simple: health, familiarity, money. And a big, fat cuddle.

The biggest issue was my health, and my body was begging me to settle for a while. In the last few months, Bolivia had physically punished me and although I’d felt fairly healthy – inactive but healthy – during the Pacific crossing, now Tahiti had delivered up a fever thanks to some tropical sores, sores that stretched the skin on my left leg so tight that touch shot sharp tingles right down to my foot and up to my thigh. My immune system was shot. (I think if you’d told me then that I’d still have another two loads of antibiotics coming up once I was back in Australia, I would have cried. Seven lots of antibiotics within six months? Sorry body. Some people deal better with South America.)

I booked the cheapest flight back to Australia that I could find. But where to? Melbourne had been my original choice destination, a cultural city with opportunities for work and an agreeable cost of living, but Sydney was starting to appeal to me with its sailing scene. So why was I descending into a peachy, sunset Brisbane in mid-June?

I thought back to my French friend and hoped that his misfortunes hadn’t overly soured his impressions of paradise or deterred him from the wonders of travel. Life without travel, without adventure? Unimaginable.

I got off the plane, cursed the fact I’d worn flip-flops and a vest top as I shivered into an Aussie winter, and paused for a moment before I stepped through the Arrivals doors. My heart beating faster and a smile twitching on my lips, I pushed my airport trolley into a politely crowded Arrivals lounge. Still far from my UK home, Australia would be home for now.

Stage 4 starts. An empty page. Some good ideas, hopes and needs, but no plans or expectations. But definitely adventures. Always.

6 Comments

Filed under australia, bolivia, brazil, ecuador, moorea, new zealand, oceania, pacific, peru, solo travel, south america, tahiti, travel

Tagged as Alain de Botton, Australia, French Polynesia, philosophy, South America, travel

June 30, 2012 · 12:29 PM

What’s in my backpack?

PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME ABOUT a post that I wrote a little while back where I downsized my backpack from an 80 litre to a 45 litre bundle of joy.

How did I do it? What am I carrying?

I wasn’t totally sure so one day in Sucre I laid it all out and took stock. I had bought a couple of extra things, but it still surprised me: it looked like a lot.

Wash bag. This tough bag by North Face is waterproof but although it holds things in snugly, I find it a bit awkward to use on a daily basis.
First aid kit. Everything from antibiotics to anti-malarials and antiseptics. Anti-everything, then. Oh, and some vitamins, plasters/band-aids and a thermometer.
Second wash bag. Yes. Two washbags. Excessive. This one contains items that I don’t use often, such as anti-mosquito spray, make-up for nights out, spare razor blades, that kind of stuff.
Electronics pouch containing chargers and cables. And a converter that works EVERYWHERE.
Sun hat. My third one in the last year. The Inca Jungle Trail claimed one, a bus in Ecuador another. I get sunstroke and sunburnt fairly easily so head protection is a must.
Merino buff®. This works out to be a scarf, hat, muff or whatever you want it to be. I barely used this but it is small, light and has been a blessing during some chilly moments, like in Cuenca.
Zip up tops x3. One hooded fleece, one lightweight base layer and one heavier, lined hoodie.
A RAB down jacket that folds down into its own pocket, and a raincoat. The raincoat was used fairly regularly, and although it took a month and half before I needed some extra warmth, the down jacket was a beautiful cuddle when I visited the glacier in Peru.
Travel towel. A little bigger than I needed; smaller would have been fine.
Pants/undies/bra x10. There is no point skimping on underwear, I realised, so I stocked up in New Zealand.
Legwarmers x2. Some Bolivian additions that are well loved in the chilly climate.
Socks x4. One thicker pair for walking, the rest cotton. Other than when I went on hikes or travelled in Bolivia, for most of my travels my socks stay have stayed buried at the bottom of my bag.
Eye-mask. Nothing exotic, just a freebie from the airplane but I wouldn’t travel without. Totally useful in hostels or when on overnight public transport.
Shorts x 3. One longer pair, one roll-up, and one short. Two pairs would suffice.
Jeans, combats and zip-off synthetic walking trousers. People say not to travel with jeans. Well I like them, so tough (and I have to carry my bag so I only have to face myself on that one really). I did downsize from proper jeans to skinny legs to save on a bit of space, but actually these are less versatile and only worn in cities or on nights out.
Silk sleeping bag liner. I’ve used this less than I expected but the moments when I need some extra warmth or an extra layer between me and the bed bugs, it is great.
Skirts x 2 and one dress. My skirts are all casual but absolutely adaptable for when I need to glam up a little.
Black leggings and PJs. When I got to Oz I downsized my PJs to a shorty set to save on space. The leggings are great worn under trousers or with a skirt when it is cold.
T-shirts x4: black, blue, yellow and white patterned. Versatile. Nothing fancy.
Belt. Not always needed but was still worth having, either to hold my trousers up when I lost weight after my parasite incident back in Ecuador, or to open bottles with the built in opener (something I only discovered en route).
Bikini. I did start my trip with two bikinis but my favourite set got left behind on a washing line in Raglan, New Zealand. One bikini, realistically, was enough.
Long sleeved t-shirts x5. Mostly in plain, light cotton ideal for layering, these are adaptable to smart or casual situations. One of my favourites for that extra snug hug is my Howies’ merino top (although it has been so well worn that it is now pretty holey. Want to send me a new one, guys?!).
Vest tops x 7. It may sound like too many, but I do use them all. Pretty much. And they don’t take up much space at all. Two of the seven were more going out style tops.
Teva hiking sandals. Brown leather, these can come across fairly smart when I need them to whilst still being totally practical and cushioned comfortable.
Salomon hiking shoes. Dark brown colour is perfect for making these not stand out too much or show the dirt too obviously. These are my go-everywhere shoes that are comfy, have good grip and are Goretex® waterproofed. The only downside is that in some countries I’ve found them to be a little too hot.
Converse casual shoes. I didn’t have a pair of ‘hang-out’ shoes and didn’t intend to get any either as my trainers had doubled up fine for this purpose… but then in Bolivia I decided to buy myself a cheap pair of Converses. Probably fake but they fit and do the job.
Flat, strappy sandals. Super light, these barely take up any space at all. After a backpacker in New Zealand lent me some sandals for a night out, I decided to go girly and get in on the action. And these sandals have actually been well used.
Flip flops. I travelled for six months with just one pair but when I got to Brazil, home of the Havaianas, I couldn’t leave without another! Totally useful, including when using communal showers.
Head torch. Most used item in my backpack, maybe? I keep this close at night and pack it at the top of my bag so that when arriving, for example, into a power cut Villa Serrano late at night, I can still find my way.

It is a lot, yet somehow it all fits into my 45 litre Berghaus backpack. Sure, it’s a bit of a squash but it weighs in at 15kg and is a doddle to carry around. I guess I should mention that I use some roll down vacuum bags. They’re great for packing things down small and keeping similar things together.

And! – I carry a little day pack with my sunglasses, wallet, water, pen, paper, and other valuables that I want close by, including a fake wallet with some old cards and a bit of cash so that if I get mugged, I can hand over something without losing everything. I always carry a photocopy of my passport (in each wallet) and I’ve found laminating them to be really helpful (compared to other travellers’ tatty bits of paper that means they often have to still produce real identification, my copied ID often gets me past official check points without any bother).

Looking at the above picture, I realise that I could quite easily prune my luggage a lot further but there does come a point where it’s quite nice having SOME choice.

So, if YOU’RE heading off soon and thinking of throwing in hair straighteners and high heels, just stop for a moment and think about the kind of travelling that you’ll be doing. A weekend in Paris? Maybe. A month trekking and roughing it? Nah. The tousled, flip flopped look will work just fine. Trust me.

3 Comments

Filed under australia, bolivia, brazil, new zealand, oceania, peru, random, solo travel, south america, travel

Tagged as backpack, bolivia, fashion, holiday, luggage, outdoors, South America, travel, writing

May 2, 2012 · 10:00 AM

Travel tired after eight months? Happy to keep going?

Waiting for the bus back home? I don’t think so. Not just yet.

‘There’ll come a point where you’ll just want to stop’, said my friend Jim. I was chatting to him about another friend who had hit the travel tired moment that most backpackers experience at some point, if not at many points.

I had taken time out of whizzing around South America and New Zealand to be based up in Byron Bay, Australia for just over a month. This in itself was a bit of a challenge after an otherwise very nomadic lifestyle with different places and beds every few nights.

Whilst it was wonderful to unpack my bag, hang out with people that knew me and meet a new group of fun, active and interesting people, I knew I hadn’t yet hit that point of wanting to stop. I was thirsty to return to South America and continue my journey there.

The language, the culture and the simpler approach to life over in South America all somehow felt more comfortable and welcoming to me than the gloss and riches of developed nations. Luckily for me, my ticket was easily reversed so rather than continue on to Asia or stay in Australia, I headed back across the Pacific and landed in Brazil to continue my South American adventuring.

But I’d be lying if I said I haven’t hit travel tired moments. During one of the lows I decided to bring together experiences – mine and others – and put together an article of sorts. You can read it here.

2 Comments

Filed under australia, brazil, new zealand, random, south america, travel

Tagged as adventure, Australia, friendship, lifestyle, musings, philosophy, South America, thoughts, travel

April 10, 2012 · 8:10 AM

21 things travelling has taught me

I’ve been on the road now for just about eight months. I’ve visited two continents, taken 12 flights, reversed my round-the-world ticket back to South America, lost track of the number of bus journeys I’ve taken, crossed borders on foot in the middle of the night, got told off for trying to climb a glacier at 5,200m and met too many people to keep count.

And, despite this not being a ‘find-myself’ trip, I’ve realised a few things along the way.

A light backpack has everything to do with happiness. It took me six months to figure out what I did and didn’t need but I think I’m now on the right track.
Leaving stuff in hostels is great when going off on tours or treks; giving stuff away is even better because it makes someone else happy too.
Quinoa is magical food. I am in love with quinoa and vegetable soup.
Whilst we’re on food, I don’t crave chocolate in hot climates as much as I do in the UK.
The quickest way to cool down is to take off your hiking shoes or trainers. Others might not thank you for it but it works.
Saying yes to new experiences can make you happy and proud or in some cases, sick and ill
I can do all sorts of stuff by myself and I like my own company.
But! I need social contact and travelling solo does get lonely at times. There’s so much joy in sharing travelling moments when you’re with the right person or people. I’m now ready to travel with some other people.
I’ve become less tolerant of people who annoy me, particularly rude travellers.
Age is just a number; attitude and experience are so much more important. I’ve met some annoying older and younger travellers, and some awesome ones too. Age irrelevant.
Hitchhiking is a great way to get around but don’t do it alone, especially not as a female. But I did do it, and I got lucky, and I actually met some good, good people as a result.
Solo travel opens up many more random opportunities and experiences.
I love to dance and laugh, and I don’t do it nearly enough. I think I’m still a bit inhibited. Trying to belly dance in New Zealand was fun and started to loosen me up a little.
A spare camera battery is a must. In Bolivia I was on a bus ride with the most amazing scenery and my camera died. Where I stayed that night had no electricity to recharge. Be prepared!
The main awkwardness of dining alone is other people’s awkwardness.
If I wasn’t writing about my travels, I would probably get pretty lost, like many other travellers I’ve met. I think that there needs to be a point, a purpose to one’s travels beyond the three month mark.
Wear sunscreen! Needs no further explanation!
I haven’t really missed my job or professional identity. This is different to not wanting to work. I have worked and volunteered and it felt good on so many levels.
Since my Peru accident, I’ll always wear a bike helmet. In Byron Bay in Australia, people cruise around topless and sans-helmet. I looked less cool, but I didn’t care.
Facebook and Skype have stopped being my enemies. On the road, I understand their value. I talk to my family, send photos through to my friends, keep up to date with what’s going on outside of my little world.
Travelling indefinitely is maybe not the ideal after all. I realise I need to settle in places for a little while every now and then.

17 Comments

Filed under australia, bolivia, brazil, culture, dancing, ecuador, health, new zealand, peru, random, solo travel, south america, travel

Tagged as Australia, backpacking, hostels, New Zealand, South America, travel

March 6, 2012 · 8:22 AM

Budgeting New Zealand and Australia

Australia and New Zealand are not what I would call travellers’ places. They are, quite simply, expensive.

If you come directly from Europe or the US then maybe it won’t feel quite so harsh. I arrived from South America where US$5 got you a full meal and public transport was cheap. I really felt the difference and struggled to understand how many of the backpackers I met in Auckland and Sydney were out drinking and partying every night, eating expensive takeaways, buying pricey clothing. What was going on?

When I work out what I spent in New Zealand each day, it comes in at NZ$43.69 (£21.84).

During my month and a bit stint in New Zealand, I spent one week in a hostel, used a lot of buses, and stayed with friends and acquaintances along the way. I also CouchSurfed and slept in Auckland Airport. If I had needed to pay for accommodation the whole way, my budget could have increased by an additional NZ$30 (£15.71) per day. I did often pay for beers and food when staying with others, which cost more than if I was just fending for myself, so in some respects things levelled out a bit.

Whilst in New Zealand I also had to replace my camera, annoying, but I wouldn’t want to travel without a camera.

In Australia my daily expenditure was AU$34.21 (£23.41). And that was me being pretty damn careful. I’d found New Zealand expensive. Australia shifted things up a gear. Oh dear.

Initially I was pretty stressed about how costly everything was. ‘Don’t compare back to the UK’, said a Londoner I met at a party. It made sense. Once I started earning a bit in the local currency, it was all relative. Salaries are good, costs are high. Minimum wage is $15.51 per hour; many jobs pay more. A basic chocolate bar, like a Mars bar, costs $1.80 (£1.22), a loaf of bread anything upwards of $3.00 (£2.04). I personally also had to factor in internet costs, replacing a bike lock and helmet, and contributing towards surfboard repair.

My Australia daily average includes one night in a hostel in Sydney and return flights from Sydney up to Ballina-Byron as well as other public transport around and about Sydney.

To save money I slept a night in Sydney Airport and I was really fortunate to be able to spend over a month staying with good friends. I didn’t pay rent but bought in groceries and helped around the place to pay my way. If I had wanted to rent a place for the duration of my stay, rooms in share houses were advertised at around $200 (£136) per week, houses double that.

I hitched or cycled into work rather than take the bus. I didn’t go out and party excessively, but there were also moments when I gave in and paid above my usual cut-off for food or a drink when I just didn’t fancy drinking yet more water or making a sandwich. In short, I could have been more frugal, but I wanted to do things with people and that often upped the costs.

Some ideas of costs:

	*New Zealand*	*Australia*
Hostel bed	$27 (£14.03)	$30 (£20.41)
Beer (glass/schooner)	$6 (£3.11)	$6 (£4.08)
Bottle of wine	$10 (£5.20)	$10 (£6.80)
Black coffee	$4 (£2.08)	$4 (£2.72)
Pizza/curry/takeaway	$15 (£7.79)	$15 (£10.20)
Cheap meal out	$15-$20 (£8-£10)	$20-$30 (£13-£20)
Sandwich	$5 (£2.60)	$6.50 (£4.42)
Bus travel (1 hour)	$10 (£5.20)	$12 (£8.16)
Water	*Free* in both New Zealand and Australia! – water is good to drink out of the taps. All bars in Australia also need to provide free water, whilst NZ tend to do so, although not required by law.

As a local friend pointed out to me, Sydney and Byron Bay in Australia are pricey places. This experience of Australia is therefore somewhat distorted, so I guess I’ll have to come back and check out the rest at some point soon. Anyone know where the cheapest place in Oz is? And do I really want to go there?!

It may be worth looking at Nomadic Matt’s blog where he has done more comprehensive write-ups on budgeting for New Zealand and Australia.

9 Comments

Filed under australia, costs/money, new zealand

Tagged as Australia, backpacker, budget, money, New Zealand, travel

January 31, 2012 · 7:00 AM

10 things I loved and hated about New Zealand

1) Open stretches of countryside, green covered mountains and palms and plants aplenty, New Zealand is undoubtedly a place of magnificent nature. Wild, unpredictable weather adds to the drama of the place and the lack of motorways enhances the romance of this wilderness. Mokau Road (which later becomes The State Highway) leading from New Plymouth towards Hamilton is such an example, a main route but a single lane that winds up Mount Messenger through a lush bush, fern and palm landscape. When I arrived into the country, a friend told me that New Zealand tends to get all weathers and all the seasons in one day, and boy was he right! I experienced beautiful sunshine, torrential downpours, serene evenings and battering winds. I also felt the force of the strong sun rays and the lack of ozone protection.

New Plymouth getting a stormy, summer battering

2) A short and sweet entry, but as a chocoholic, I’m now so done with Cadbury’s having tasted the bliss of Whittaker’s chocolate. The Macadamia Block was particularly amazing. Less sweet and containing 33% cocoa compared to Cadbury’s Dairy Milk’s 23%, I was quickly addicted. Already I miss it.

3) Arriving into Auckland, one can’t help but notice the racial diversity of the city, particularly a mass Asian population (the Chinese represent the highest amount of immigrants after the Brits) with over 350,000 making up 12% of New Zealand’s overall population. A lot of foreign students are also choosing to study here rather than in the UK because, as one Saudi guy who I met said, New Zealand came with higher recommendations, and ‘it’s just a better place to be‘. Come on! – the UK is okay!

4) I loved the musicality of the Maori language with its repetition and rhythm. Take some of the place names, for instance, such as Paritutu and Papatoetoe. With the language having somewhat of a resurgence and the fact that so many signs and names are in Maori, it gives a sense that there is pride in the culture alongside a real acceptance and integration between Maori and the pakeha (non-Maori New Zealander) populations.

5) Hitchhiking in New Zealand is easy with friendly people always willing to stop and give you a lift. When you meet so many good people, it’s easy to forget the reality of the bad people out there and the potential danger to hitchhikers.

6) I couldn’t get over the quiet emptiness of many places thanks to the low population of four million, two million of who live in Auckland itself. People are friendly and will stop for a chat and the roads don’t feel too crowded at all. This quiet, relaxed pace comes with its downsides, like the Yot Club in Raglan shutting at 1:00am just when my dancing feet had woken up, but overall it’s a laidback country with an attitude to match, and a real want to welcome you in. In fact, along the road from Taranaki back up towards Hamilton, two consecutive signs read: WHY? followed shortly by We’d love you to stay! Not surprisingly, they are trying to encourage folk to make New Zealand their home, especially now that the latest statistics show more people emigrating than immigrating.

Another jar, please

7) I had always been under the impression that the Aussies were the big drinkers but as one guy brashly put it, ‘us Kiwis would drink them under the table’. This is supported by statistics that show 25% of the adult population are binge drinkers and where ‘harmful alcohol use’ is said to cost New Zealand somewhere in the region of $4.9 billion per year. The drinking culture in New Zealand, as in many places, ranges from tanked-up nights out in Auckland through to groups of lads refusing to hit the town until the crate is empty (‘it’s an NZ rule’, some told me) or sipping tasty home brew in a fairly mellow setting. Although young people are said to drink far more than recommended, the majority insist that they don’t go out with the intention to get drunk. Yeah right. In fact it seems like a fair few Kiwis are actually in denial about just how much they drink, so much so that FebFast has come into existence: get sponsored to go the whole of February without a drop of alcohol.

8) The romance-less nature of guys on the pull quickly became apparent. I had been told that Kiwi guys aren’t a good catch (by a Kiwi girl, before you say anything), that their style was overtly direct and that they played a game of averages. Others argue that alcohol is absolutely necessary to fuel the fire, so to speak. When I met Tim in a bar in Auckland he quickly said ‘I’m here to pick up a girl’, whilst another guy I barely knew from the hostel blurted out: ‘I’d love to see you in a really short skirt’. Eeeeuww! Well it’s never going to happen. Goodbye! But maybe this honest approach makes for less misunderstandings?! And it’s also worth remembering that on the whole, Kiwi guys are a good-looking, straightforward and athletic bunch. With a supposed drought of single Kiwi guys, if you’ve got a good ‘un, hang on to him!

9) People on P scare me. Not that I’ve met any, but I’ve been warned on many occasions to stay clear. And as one old boy told me whilst puffing on a joint: ‘I used to live in London back in the ‘60s, tried everything going, but I won’t touch P. It’s bad news.’ Clearly it brings out the worst in people and does some bad, bad stuff to the body.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthpicturegalleries/6454944/Faces-of-Meth-the-long-term-effects-of-crystal-meth-or-methamphetamine.html

What P (or methamphetine) does to you in 2.5 years. Amongst other things, no thanks. (click for more). Image from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthpicturegalleries/6454944/Faces-of-Meth-the-long-term-effects-of-crystal-meth-or-methamphetamine.html

P (standing for ‘pure’) is methamphetamine, often cooked up in ‘clan labs’ – people’s own kitchens. It is shown to be highly addictive and massively destructive to families and communities. Many Kiwis I met knew of P and talked about problems with P, and statistically, it’s clear that New Zealand is doing some serious battle with the drug.

10) I was on the lookout for a hooded black top and decided to try on one of the Icebreaker merino tops. It was amazing. The sleeves were perfect for my long, gawky arms, the material lowered beautifully at the back and the overall fit was snug. On a travelling budget, I couldn’t justify the price but wouldn’t it be sweet if the guys from Icebreaker decided to send me a free sample so that I could advertise it in action as I travelled?! Ah! A girl can but dream.

5 Comments

Filed under culture, health, language, new zealand, random, travel

Tagged as alcohol, Auckland, chocolate, drugs, hitchhiking, nature, New Zealand, travel, weather

January 29, 2012 · 7:00 AM

Bussing about New Zealand

The Stray bus stops off in the cool little town of Raglan, New Zealand

If hitchhiking isn’t your thing and you haven’t hired or bought a car for your travels through New Zealand, then bussing it is the next best option. The two most used companies are InterCity and Naked Bus, both which offer cheaper fares the earlier you book. There are also the tourist tour buses, such as the Stray Bus or Kiwi Experience or Magic Bus (see Nomadic Matt’s post for more info), often filled with backpackers looking to meet up with other. In Raglan I met a local who called the Stray Bus the Shag Bus because ‘all these eighteen year olds step off and straight away you see them eyeing each other up’. Make of that what you will.

Despite a really good sales pitch from the guy in NOMADS hostel in Auckland who insisted that I should Stray it because ‘it’s a good way to meet people if you’re travelling alone’ and ‘see places that the normal buses just don’t go to’, I wanted to keep it cheaper and more local. And I wanted to do some hitching.

In case it’s of any help to anyone, here are some of the fares and journeys that I took whilst on the North Island of New Zealand:

Auckland Airport – Auckland City Centre

The Airbus ($16 one way) leaves from outside both International and Domestic terminals every ten minutes (between 7:00pm and 7:00am less regularly). An option to keep it cheaper that may be worth exploring is taking a bus from Auckland Airport to Manukau City ($4) and then a bus from Manukau City to Britomart (approx. $4) which is pretty much where the Airbus drops you off in any case. It’s a slower journey but will cost half as much.

Auckland – Hamilton

Intercity trip lasting approximately 2 hours and costing $19. Bus leaves from SkyCity in Auckland. Can buy tickets online or at Sky City.

Hamilton – Auckland Airport

This Intercity trip was in two stages: Hamilton-Manukau City, Auckland (1 ½ hours, $16) and Manukau City – Auckland Airport (40 minutes, $4). Bus from Anglesea Street bus stop out the side of the Hamilton Transport Centre.

Whangerei – Rotorua

My first NakedBus trip booked a couple of days in advance costing $44 for the 6 ½ hour journey. Broken into two stages: Whangerei – Auckland (2 ½ hours) and Auckland – Rotorua (4 hours) with a brief stop in Hamilton. Bus from “The Hub” Transport centre at the Town Basin on Dent Street.

Rotorua – New Plymouth

Booked one day in advance, this 5 hour NakedBus journey went back via Hamilton and cost $44. Ipicked up the bus from Fenton Street, near the corner of Arawa Street in Rotorua.

New Plymouth – Auckland

This NakedBus trip took six hours and cost $34 when booked one week in advance. Bus pick up is opposite the New Plymouth Travel Centre on Ariki Street.

—————————————————————————————————————-

A few additional things: They’re quite strict about seat belt usage in New Zealand with the threat of hefty fines if you’re caught without by plain clothed policemen. With InterCity and especially NakedBus, buy tickets as far in advance as possible. With both it is possible to pick up fares from $1. Some NakedBus buses have free WiFi, although its not always very reliable.

A message to you, backpacker

The things people travel with and leave behind in hostels

You get some idea of a hostel and its clientele by the way that the place is treated and decorated, how chaotic and clothe covered the rooms are, what bits and bobs travellers leave behind, whether there are knickers hanging in the bathroom from someone’s late night drunken shenanigans. (I found a pair. They were red and lacy. Classy.)

I’ve stayed in some beautiful, clean hostels but I’ve also stayed in some dives. Whilst NOMADS in Auckland was a pretty spot-on place with friendly staff, clean sheets and comfy beds, the wooden slats for the upper bunks were more often than not grafittied and me and my dorm buddies would enjoy sharing the words of wisdom that were carefully inscribed and printed. Here are some of my favourites:

The direct fun-time message: Rock out with your c**k out!
The statement: Sophie’s a gay. So what?
The bizarre: Help! I’m lactating. Go get yourself checked, I say.
The affirmative: You are beautiful xxx. It’s true, you all are.
The downright cruel: There is no Santa. Are you sure?
The mind messer: If you’re reading this… your bed has bugs.
The love memory: SABS+MIK. Or lust. It won’t last.

And then, just in case you were missing out on something truly poetic, there was this, um, inspired little ditty designed to bring out the trust and friendliness amongst roommates:

BEWARE
The Irish Girl She
Choked a man with a clover leaf
Drowned a man in Guinness
And she sleeps in the bed
next to you

One of the guys in the dorm debated whether to add some Keats’ quotes or the definitions for some highbrow words. Call it a balancing act, if you like. But not being one of the younger crowd, he never did pick up a pen. Pity.

Hitchhiking New Zealand: a-okay?

Hitching Raglan to Hamilton (this thumb out got me a ride!)

Murders, rapes and people on P. I was warned: stop hitchhiking or there’s a good chance it will go wrong. But would I listen?

When I first got to New Zealand, I realised that public transport was going to be pretty expensive when the half an hour journey from the airport to the city centre cost me $16. In all fairness, I had just come from Ecuador where buses cost $1 per hour, and in many respects it’s unfair to compare New Zealand with South America. Nonetheless, it was a bit of a shock. So when the Sunday bus connection to Raglan didn’t work out, I thought it was time to start sticking out my thumb.

This first dalliance with hitchhiking was indeed pretty safe: I was with three other guys who I’d met in the hostel in Auckland. With so many of us we were lucky to catch a lift, but standing on Whatawhata Road in Hamilton was a winner. Within ten minutes we had a ride. All good.

In Raglan itself, I realised that if I wanted to go surfing I was going to need to hitch to the beach. And on all occasions it was fine. People picked me up, even with an 8 foot board in tow. All decent people, who on a couple of occasions even lent me a wetsuit. Can’t complain.

So when a lift to Auckland airport to meet a friend fell through at the last moment, it was a no brainer: hitchhike.

My first pickup was a warm, smiley man who dropped me at a better spot. It started to rain.

A woman stopped when she saw me standing alone, starting to get a bit soggy. ‘You really must be careful’, she said as she drove me a few miles up the road, ‘follow your gut instinct and if it feels dodgy, don’t get in. There are some bad people on P and there’s no reasoning with them’.

I later read that in the past ten years there have been two hitchhiking murders in New Zealand, that of 17-year-old Jennifer Hargreaves and 28-year-old Birgit Brauer. Both young women travelling solo. I thought about where I had packed my penknife and remembered that it was in a little section right at the bottom of my bag. Next time I hitched, I told myself, I would have it to hand.

Another time a sweet girl in her early twenties picked me up. She was really worried about me hitchhiking alone as a female. What did surprise me was that she picked me up with her young child in tow. It made me wonder: what about the opposite? – What if the hitcher was a bit of a psycho? The assumption is that a solo female traveller = safe.

A few days later I stayed with a family up north of Whangerei and I got chatting with the mother, Nellie. ‘When I see a female hitchhiking, I’ll always pick her up and then give her a telling off’ she said, ‘Women shouldn’t hitchhike alone.’ And hitchhiking full stop? In twos its fine, but alone, no.’

So what to do now?

Hitchhiking brings with it a real sense of freedom and adventure – who knows who you will meet? What conversations you will have? It is undoubtedly a great way to meet people, in many cases locals who are keen to share stories and history of their area. It In New Zealand, it has been a fairly common way of getting around. The most recent figures that I could find were from 2005 that showed nearly 16,000 visitors were hitching their way around the country, and although there was a predicted downward trend, these numbers should still be balanced against any negative statistics. Hitching is also sometimes more convenient than catching public transport and clearly there is the benefit of saving some cash, although it’s good etiquette to offer a bit of petrol money.

Doing it alone, particularly as a female, is clearly a no-no, even if it is significantly easier to catch a ride. Overall, it is not without its risks.

I was totally fine, but then I guess that I was also lucky. For now I’ll knock it on the head. If I start to travel with someone else, then fine, I’ll go for it again.

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Filed under costs/money, culture, new zealand, solo travel, travel

Tagged as travel, New Zealand, danger, solo travel, solo female, hitchhiking

January 22, 2012 · 7:00 AM

Super views from the Sky Tower

Up close: Sky Tower

Visible from afar, the Sky Tower in Auckland is said to be the tallest building on the southern hemisphere boasting views of 80 kilometres in all directions on a clear day. At 328m, it didn’t sound too high, but I knew that glass fronted lifts and see-through platforms would add to the fear factor. Not a great one for heights I thought that this could be another opportunity to challenge any vertigo issues I might be carrying around with me.

Views down from the lift (and someone elses shoes!)

The first lift up with its glass floor worked my stomach into a bit of a frenzy, and all in the space of forty seconds. The second lift spat me out at the highest observation platform – the Sky Deck. At 220m, this allowed for spectacular views out over Auckland and its surrounding areas, it was just a pity that it was all indoors, the experience somewhat affected by finger smudged window panes (I was there at the end of the day).

Viewing 'tubes', for want of a better word

I did love the viewing devices that they had installed to pinpoint specific landmarks: little hexagonal tubes that exactly framed the building or landscape feature, isolating it whilst providing some historical context in the plaque below. So simple to use (perfect for me) and so effective.

Auckland from the Sky Deck at 220m in the Sky Towers

I didn’t get involved in the adrenaline side of the Sky City activities, but there is the opportunity to scale the tower’s exterior whilst harnessed up or to do a Sky Jump: a comic hero, 11 second descent whizzing down wires whilst wearing an orange jumpsuit.

And on my way back down, the lift stopped momentarily at the Sky Lounge Café & Bar. If I hadn’t already been running late and if I had been with someone to share the moment with, I would have stopped off for a sunset cocktail. If you get the chance, do it and make me jealous.