hostel – Joe Bloggs

An Unexpected Journey

March 27, 2024March 27, 2024Tagged adventure, beach, Blue mountains, Canberra, Greatoceanroad, hostel, solotravel, sunset, Tasmania, travel, traveller, travelling, WollongonLeave a comment

After finishing working on the cotton farm I started to travel, I left Gin Gin and travelled down to the Blue Mountains. This is the second time Ive ventured this way and just like last time the weather wasnt really up to scratch. I went on a few short walks and saw some beautiful valleys and views, the landscape in this area is just spectacular.

Whilst I was in the Blue Mountains I met two scottish backpackers, one of whom was a mechanic back home, I had been having a few issues with my car shall we say not pulling its weight. So they had a look at my car to see how it was running and they found a small crack in the air intake pipe and fixed it up with duct tape for me.

I went through Wollongong, Jervis Bay, Canberra, Thredbo, Melbourne and then spent a few days seeing the sights on the Great Ocean Road. The car was still acting a little unusual. I tried at a few garages in Geelong to see if I could get it fixed, none of the places had availability for at least a week and I had already booked the ferry to Tasmania leaving in the next few days so decided I could get it checked when I arrived.

This is the first time Ive driven onto a ferry myself so it was pretty exciting, I got myself checked in and sorted, I had booked the night ferry, so once I had driven on and parked up I found my seat and settled in for the night. The ferry departed at 23:30, travel time was 11 gruelling hours, although I managed to get a few hours of sleep before I drove off in the morning. I arrived in Devonport and checked into my hostel, I then began searching for work.

I met some cool people in the hostel and the decided I wanted to stay longer than my previous 2 days that I had booked, unfortunately when I tried to extend my stay they were fully booked for the ongoing months.

I decided to get my car looked at whilst I was waiting on responses from jobs. They had a look and advised me that I would need a new fuel pump, and they could fit me in the following week. I left and travelled over to Launceston at the weekend. Whilst I was driving around I saw a cherry orchard and just emailed them regarding work, they got back to me with good news a few days later after my fuel pump had been fitted. So all was a go and I started work with some cherry picking and apple thinning.

After working for about 4 days of working, Christmas eve was here, I was having more issues with my car, it was jolting and Jerking and losing power constantly, to the point that I knew my car was no longer safe to drive on the road. I basically broke down on the side of the road and called my brother in law as I had no idea what was going on. I tried cleaning the MAF sensor for a few hours on the side of the road before managing to drive for half an hour back to the campsite I was staying at.

I managed to get a mechanic to the campsite on Christmas eve to have a brief look but he said he would have to hook it up to a computer to findout what was wrong. After the Christmas period I tried to get in contact with him but couldn’t.

I booked it in with another garage and they had it for a week until just a few days before new years, they said they hadn’t fixed the issue and could order a part that would arrive in just over a week. I decided to pick it up as when I dropped it off it was still slightly drivable, unfortunately after theyd had their hands on it, it seemed to be 10 times worse and couldnt get enough power to get out of first gear. In fact I broke down 500m from the garage, I walked back to see what they could do and said they were going home and if I could bring it back in the next 10 minutes they could lock it up for the night. I explained that it wouldn’t start and he didn’t really give me any assistance so I returned to my car.

I called my brother in law as I seem to do all the time now when a problem pops up, he gave me some suggestions so I could at least start the car, I managed to borrow a spanner from someone who lived in the area and was able to remove the negative wire from the battery and leave it off for a while to hopefully sort it out, after a few times doing this It seemed to work so I drove slowly in first gear to the campsite and waited till the new year for solutions.

My brother in law was able to bring in the big guns as he had found that a friend of his aunties lived in the about an hour away and had a bit of influence in the area, he was very kind and said he could help in both finding work, getting my car fixed and even offered for me to stay at his if I needed. I expressed that the car was my main objective at the current time and he spoke to a contact he had who assisted me in getting in touch with the fellow who first looked at my car way back on Christmas eve. I dropped it off with him hoping that some good news would soon arrive.

After just over 2 weeks of let’s say a lack of contact he said there was nothing he could do and his friend could check one more thing at the scrapyard he owned before maybe it was time to call it a day and leave the car for good.

My brother in law again kindly sorted this out and the next day called me to say that the scrap man had fixed it. I went to pick it up and the old mate said he wasn’t told anything about the vehicle by the mechanic and just had a look himself and fixed it an hour. I was over the fucking moon!

I booked my ferry back to the mainland and left Tasmania the following evening, I returned to my sisters in NSW, she put me up for 2 weeks whilst I searched for a new job. So after being stranded and stuck in Tasmania I was finally back on the road and heading for South Australia.

“C’est la vie”

Steampunk and Penguins!

June 1, 2020June 1, 2020Tagged adventure, bluepenguin, carriage, chasingsunsets, explore, harbour, hostel, madmax, newzealand, nz, oamaru, peach, penguin, penguincolony, steampunk, sunset, train, travel, victorian-esque, wanderlust, wharf, wildpenguin, worldssmallestpenguinLeave a comment

Oamaru isn’t much to look at when you first step off the bus, it looks like another basic NZ town until you reach the other side with its amazing Victorian-esque buildings, the cool and exciting steampunk artwork, the beautiful bay and the most adorable and smallest penguins in the world.

I arrived and walked to the I-site to see if they could hold my bag until it was time to check in at the hostel, unfortunately they were closed but luckily I was able to leave my bag at the hostel until I checked in. I grabbed what I needed and headed back out to explore the little town.

I headed first towards Steampunk HQ, which is a little museum with various steampunk creations: including cool space and sci-fi installments, several steampunk statues/animals, plenty of interactive parts to which you are encouraged to play with and enjoy, a dress up are to take your photo in Victorian/steampunk outfits and 2 cool trains that look like there straight out of ‘Mad Max’. For only $10 it is definitely worth the money.

I didn’t spend so long here before setting off to look around the Victorian edge of town, very different and unique Victorian buildings to the average New Zealand town. It includes some bars, cafes and there are also a few shops that sell various steampunk/Victorian items. I also saw a man riding a penny-farthing down the street, which was pretty cool.

I went back to the hostel, checked in and got settled before heading out again to catch the sunset. I walked along the bay towards the Penguin sanctuary.

The Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony is mainly for tourism but also used for research and conservation. There’s two viewing periods, one during the day that costs $25 and another in the evening that costs $40. I was there in the evening but from what it sounds like its definitely the better option. The option in the day is just to view penguins in their habitat whilst the evening option lets you view the penguins coming in from their day out fishing, the penguins are ever so small and come in together in groups called rafts. Unfortunately cameras and video cameras are not allowed in the viewing area due to disturbing the penguins.

When I was wandering back around the bay in the dark there was a few people huddled in a certain area, I went to see what the fuss was all about and there were more penguins whom obviously don’t appear to head back to the centre. I watched from a distance as these cool little birds made their way up the rocky bank and into the bushes, when I reached town there were more that headed across the street and into the back of some of the Victorian buildings.

“Noot noooooot”
Pingu

The Carrot Capital

October 12, 2019October 12, 2019Tagged backpacker, burger, carrotpark, carrots, chocolateeclair, horopito, hostel, lonetraveller, mountain, mountainbiking, museum, newzealand, ohakune, oldcoachroad, ski, skigear, skiing, train, trainstation, travel, travelling, turoa, turoaplazaLeave a comment

I woke early Thursday morning excited to get ready, catch the shuttle and hit the slopes, much to my disappointment due to high winds and rain, the mountain was closed. I left the hostel and went to the ski rental shop I had rented my gear from, I explained the situation and they said that there is no charge for the rentals if the mountain isn’t accessible, so that was brilliant. I then decided to hire a bike and cycle the Old Coach Road, this is something I had planned to do whilst I was here. My original plan was to ski on Thursday and Friday and cycle the Old Coach Road on Saturday before my time here was up and I move on, on Sunday.

I rented my ski gear from TBC, its in the Centre of the town and was recommended by the hostel I’m staying at. I’m staying at LKNZ Lodge and it gives you a 10% discount on rentals if you show your hostel key. So that was a bonus. It was also pretty cheap already compared to other places I had looked at, $80 per day for the whole package: skis, boots, poles, jacket, trousers, helmet, goggles and gloves. And then it obviously gets cheaper to each day you add on to it. Its a lot more expensive on the mountain, costing $148 per day fro the whole package.

On the Thursday I also rented my bike from TBC, I paid $50 for a full suspension bike and then a further $15 for a shuttle transport from Ohakune to Horopito. The Old Coach Road starts at Horopito but you can start in Ohakune and cycle there and back. It took me around 2.5 hours to cycle, this included stopping to take photos and sightsee and having some lunch. It’s a pretty easy ride, lots of downhill and only a little uphill, that being if you start in Horopito anyway.

The story of the Old Coach Road began in the early 1900’s with the arrival of the railway in Ohakune. The North Island Main Trunk Line had made its way north from Wellington and south from Auckland until just 35km separated the two railheads. Until the tracks were completed a small bridleway through the dense Tongariro Forest became a vitally important connection between the two major cities on the North Island, hence the Old Coach Road.

Carrot Park is located at the entrance to the town and features carrots and a collection of vegetables brought to life with arms, legs and faces. They have a potato, a brussel sprout, a parsnip, a swede and a carrot. You can visit yourself to find out their names. There’s also a carrot themed playground, a small outdoor gym, a picnic/ BBQ area and a bush walk along a little stream. Towards the end of the park there is a BMX track to show of your skills.

The weather wasn’t to good on Friday and the mountain was closed again so I had a lie in and relaxed in the hostel for most of the morning, it gave me the chance to book the next place I plan to visit. I went out for something to eat and then took a walk along the river. A route which leads down towards the train station and lower part of town, it seems almost a ghost town down there, a few hostels and motels, a nice looking restaurant and then a few of empty shops and bars. There’s also a museum but it was closed when I got there.

Saturday, I awoke at around 5am and eagerly checked the mountain report, obviously I was up to early and there wasn’t an update yet, at around 6:30 it said that half the lifts were open and when I arrived at the mountain around 9:00 they put out on the speaker that all the lifts were open to which there was a huge cheer from everyone queuing for the first lift. I took the mountain shuttle from the far end of the carrot park, you can purchase a ticket from the parking meter before you board and they leave every hour. There’s also another stop further down the other end of town close to the train station.

It takes around 20-30 minutes to get to the Turoa Plaza from Ohakune. When I arrived at the mountain I bought my day pass and started to queue for the first lift. It was such nice weather and very sunny so I made sure I applied plenty of sunscreen, I was way to warm in my jacket so after the first 2 runs I took it off. I started to get warm in just my fleece so In the end I was skiing in my t-shirt, a little chilly whilst going up in the lift but not really that cold. Everyone else was still wrapped up in their jackets and warm clothing.

I haven’t skied in around 6 ½ years and I was curious to whether I would be a duck to water or Bambi to ice. Luckily for me I smashed it with only one fall due to going to fast down an icy run at the start of the day, it wasn’t until lunchtime that I realized I was bleeding due to a scrape on my arm from the ice. I bought myself lunch at the ‘Giant Café’ and treated myself to a gin and tonic. I skied for the rest of the day until my shuttle ride back down the mountain at 16:15, by that time the clouds had covered the mountain and I could barely see more then 2 feet in front of me so I wasn’t too fussed of having to leave. It was an amazing day and I was so glad that I got the chance to get up the mountain. It really rounded of my trip to Ohakune.

Where to eat in Ohakune?

The Chocolate Éclair Shop, the shuttle driver that took me to the start of the Old Coach Road told me to go to the dairy (local store) closest to the BP garage, he told me to go and get myself a chocolate éclair as in Ohakune everything is big. When I got my éclair I’m sad to say it wasn’t much bigger than the average éclair you would get, but it was the nicest I’ve ever had, if your in Ohakune then this is a must!

I’ve sort of treated myself since I stopped working and eaten out rather than cooking for myself, I always seem to struggle what to choose in a restaurant and always seem to go for a burger, I’ve had 3 since I got here! The best and obviously most expensive was at ‘The Blind Finch’ it was super good and they have a large range of choices named after different countries. I had the USA because I’m pretty boring when it comes to food, although I could really do with changing that up. The chips (fries) however weren’t that tasty and there were so many of them, possibly too many as I only ate half the bowl. The other places weren’t that bad in all honesty but in one ‘The Mountain Rocks’ I went to add salt and the top came off, pouring salt and rice all over my plate. I’ve always thought of playing this prank on someone but now I will never do that, I ate some pretty salty chips that day.

Mountain kebab shop, the kebab was ok but I found a hair in my kebab, luckily it was towards the end so I enjoyed my kebab before realizing I may have eaten a bunch of hairs.

After spending the day skiing I decided to go to ‘Cyprus Tree’ for my dinner, a rather posh looking place, I had a lamb rump with roasted vegetables and a caramelized onion and blue Stilton sauce. It wasn’t too expensive for the quality of the food. It cost me $45 for the meal and a drink.

I leave Ohakune late afternoon tomorrow and continue with the rest of my adventure!

“A pair of skis are the ultimate transportation to freedom”
Warren Miller

Farming and Fishing

September 17, 2019September 22, 2019Tagged adventure, bluecod, cycling, dagging, drenching, drinks, explore, farm, farmwork, fishing, food, hostel, lambs, manawatu, manawatugorge, newzealand, PalmerstonNorth, palmy, river, shark, snapper, travel, whanganui, workLeave a comment

Where to begin…

I’ve been in Palmy for around 8 weeks now, unfortunately due to my schedule at work, I tend to not have many days off which is a huge difference from when I was kiwi fruit pruning as I couldn’t get enough days of work. Anyhow, I’ve just completed my 28^th day in a row, around 2 days a week I only do around 4 hours work and don’t start till 11:30am so have started counting those as days off, but for but the rest of them I’m working full days. Anyway, the whole time (8 weeks) I’ve worked here at the pack house I’ve only had 5 days off.

However, I’ve handed my notice in and will move on with my adventure on the 6^th October. Moving on always seems so difficult but its always exciting. Although I am struggling on where to explore next.

I’m staying at Pepper Tree Hostel, its only around 2 minutes walk from the square (town centre), it’s a sort of quaint little hostel set in a 100 year old villa, one floor, several rooms and pretty cheap considering some of the other places I’ve stayed in at New Zealand. Unfortunately there’s not many people staying here, perhaps because its winter or because there’s nothing much to do here, although I wouldn’t know as I spend all my time working.

Whilst I’ve been in Palmy I haven’t really done much, I’ve been for a few bike rides whilst I’ve been here, if your in need of a bike in Palmy you can rent one pretty cheap from Green Bikes, I planned to be here for 3 months and it only cost me $75 for the whole 3 months.

I cycled along a new cycle way, which is along the Manawatu river and through some woods and to Linton army base, it was a pleasant ride and only around 5km each way, unfortunately when I was returning the chain on the bike I rented snapped and I had to walk back, luckily I had enough time to take it to the shop and get it fixed, I then cycled up to an observatory and sat down to take in the views of the river meandering around the corner. I then crossed the river and cycled the opposite way where I found a bike park in the woods.

I cycled to Manawatu Gorge which is just next to a small village called Ashhurst, it took around 50 minutes to get there by bike and then I did a short 3km walk around the woodland and gorge, there’s a larger trail you can do but it was 20km round trip and I arrived there just after lunch so I didn’t fancy walking in the dark. There were some beautiful views from the lookout points and a large Maori statue on the trail. The walk wasn’t very strenuous, some steep bits but altogether it was a lovely walk and something nice to do on my day off.

I have had some really cool experiences. Jill and Tony the owners of the company I work for are extremely lovely and friendly people. They have been supportive with my issues with my teeth and the problems I’ve had with the manager.

Anyway, I’ve visited their lovely farm and home three times now and had some rather unique and enjoyable experiences with them, they call themselves hobby farmers as they downsized their farm around 3 ½ years ago. They must have 200 or more lambs though. When I first visited I was going mainly to cycle around as the roads are peaceful and the fields go on for miles. Unfortunately by the time I arrived after work that evening, it was dark. Tony cooked me an amazing meal and we had some beers and chatted. The next morning when I’d had a lie in I awake to the most amazing view, hardly anything around apart from fields and lambs. I helped Tony feed the sheep and then picked up around 50-60 fence posts and loaded them into the trailer as Tony drove slowly along the edge of the field.

My second experience felt more unique, I was invited along side another backpacker to stay at their farm and help with some sheep work. When we arrived we went out onto the fields and helped round up the sheep, we then led them to the pens ready for weighing, some of the lambs went straight into the pen whilst some of the others made their way across the cattle grid and towards the house, we just waved our arms and shouted to move them to where we needed them to be. After this we sent them down the race to get weighed one by one, then, we checked to see which lambs were clean and which ones were dirty, we gathered a few in a separate pen and then sent two down the race together so they wouldn’t be able to move, we then used a set of shears and sheared the shit of there bottoms to prevent them from attracting maggots and to make them more presentable for selling at market. This action is called “dagging”. It was incredibly fun to do and the experience was just amazing. After we finished we showered and relaxed and then were cooked an amazing steak for dinner and I had a few gin and tonics because, why not?

Recently had another amazing experience, so I was invited to stay again, I went on the Friday night after work and helped with drenching (giving medicine) the lambs on the Saturday. The view from the farm was even better this morning as the sky was clear and I could see both Mt Taranaki and Mt Ruapehu in the distance. Tony got his boat ready and then we then headed to Palmerston for a short 4 hours work making noodles and then at 14:30 we left and made our way to Whanganui where we launched the boat and drove about an hour up the coast before stopping for an hour to fish. Ive never fished before so this was an incredible experience for me. Beer in hand and relaxing with the amazing views and sunset. I managed to catch 2 Snappers and 4 Blue Cod, I also caught two small sharks. From the area we were in you could see amazing views of both Mt Taranaki and Mt Ruapehu.

Unfortunately when we were just bobbing around on the boat and fishing, I got a little sea sick which is just a curse that seems to run through my family. We then returned to the Wharf and then back to Tony’s. Tony showed me how to fillet the fish and then he fried it in breadcrumbs. It was really nice and tasted perfect.

“Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced”
John Keats

Hostel 101

June 19, 2019June 19, 2019Tagged auckland, backpacker, british, daytrips, different, diverse, hostel, ird, life, living, moving, multicultural, new zealand, skytower, travel, views, visit, waiheke, wanderlustLeave a comment

It definitely feels that I’ve been here more than a week, I feel like living in Auckland isn’t much different to my norm, now don’t get me wrong, I’m on the other side of the world but it’s a large city and apart from the few daytrips out to different islands on the ferry its no more different to a city in the UK. I guess the only thing that really makes the city stand out from any other is the notorious Sky tower.

I guess when I came here I was expecting something else, perhaps something totally different but I think there is a lot of British influence here in Auckland so perhaps thats why its not the place for me. I read loads before I came and there were definitely mixed opinions on Auckland but I didn’t want to come in with a negative attitude, I came in positive and now I have my own opinion. I do hope that during my travels I get the chance to visit a real Maori village and experience their culture.

I’m in Auckland for another week yet but I’m looking forward to the arrival of my IRD number, I will then begin to move further south, out into smaller towns and away from the cities, somewhere less busy but still full of interesting people and places to visit.

So far into my stay here in Auckland I have ventured out to Waiheke Island and zip lined over vineyards and forests, I have visited the area of Devonport and viewed the defences from WW2 on North Head, I’ve walked along Cheltenham Beach and around Takapuna Head. I have walked to the top of Mt Eden, I have visited the War Memorial Museum, Walked along Mission Bay, visited the Harbour Bridge, spent a good amount of time whizzing around on the electric scooters and photographed the city skyline from several different angles. Along with all of this I have also managed to set up my NZ bank account, sent off for my IRD number and Kiwi Access card. I am now awaiting these items to further my adventure into New Zealand.

Apart from the non-stop squeaky beds and people entering the dorm and banging about at ungodly hours, Hostel life is pretty good, well when I say pretty good I mean its okay, well when I say its okay I mean its cheap and that’s always a positive which you cant complain about, not that I’m complaining about anything. Below are some of my experiences so far…

So on one of the first evenings I had here, it was early evening, I was still overcoming the jet lag and it was only around 6-8pm, I had already got ready to go to bed. I was in bed, eyes slowly drifting to sleep when all of a sudden the fire alarm begins blaring, I roll over and ignore it until others in the dorm begin to leave and I hear hundreds of footsteps clambering down the stairs. I consider to myself whether this is a real alarm or a fake one, I decided to leave the building as I assumed no sane person would want to evacuate over 100 people for a simple test. It was real, someone on floor 6 set it off, the fire Department was extremely efficient and here within minutes, they checked inside but within around 10 minutes everyone was allowed back inside. It was an experience though.

Cleanliness is pretty key anywhere you go, not in this hostel kitchen it seems, I mean when I first cooked in the hostel I made a chicken curry, I spilt some curry on the hob so obviously I cleaned it up, when i wiped it i must have cleaned up days worth of muck. People just don’t seem to do this. Most of the hobs are encrusted with fat and food, the sides are greasy and unclean, Plates and pans are left in the sinks, nothing that is washed is put back in its original place so it’s a real hunt to find the utensils that you need.

Lads, what the f**k, lift the seat before you take a slash, its not hard, every time I have gone to the toilet I’ve had to clean it before using it, its so grim, who knows what the girls think? Absolutely no need for it. I think I need to invest in some toilet covers!

Several times this has happened which makes me believe that this is just a regular occurrence in a hostel which when you think of it, it does seem pretty correct. Anyway, these people have like the least respect for anyone or anything, bashing and banging around the dorm room, coming in to the dorm and turning the lights on like its 6pm rather than the 3am it actually is. Not the nicest experience when you’re trying to sleep, but just another night in a hostel.

So it was about 8am in the morning, around the time I’ve been getting up and having a shower. Today I finished my shower and switched it off. Whilst I dried myself and got dressed I heard an uncontrolled fapping and panting sound coming from the next cubicle, obviously some guy was tugging him self off. I mean good for him, but quieten down with it, you don’t need to let the whole hostel know mate.

Privacy, there is absolutely no privacy unless your taking a hefty dump. But this is what I’m paying for, I’m paying roughly £9 a night so I can’t moan too much, I knew what I was getting myself into. Security, everyone needs it, I have a locker under my bed to store my valuables but I have everything in it because “I don’t trust no bitch”. But its true, who can you really trust these days. It’s an 8-person dorm and people go in and out throughout the day. The WIFI is free, although if you want to use it and get a good connection anytime between 11am and 6pm is best.

This being said, with all these experiences Iv’e had so far there are so many positive points I’ve left out about living in a hostel. The main one really is whom you meet, whether it be passing in the hallway, whilst cooking in the kitchen or just people you share a dorm with. It’s such I diverse place and such a feeling of togetherness here, living with strangers in a multicultural environment, literally amazing experience and I would definitely recommend it.

Whilst editing this post before making it public I received an email with my IRD number on it, the excitement really brewed up inside, so I now need to make my decision on where to go next. I can finally get a job! Watch this space!

“If its endurable then endure it. Stop complaining.”
Marcus Aurelius