Tag: travel

An Unexpected Journey

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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.

Wollongong
Jervis Bay
Canberra

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.

Great Ocean Road
12 Apostles
Sunrise

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.

Spirit of Tasmania
Devonport
Poseidon Statue

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!

Little Blue Lake
Trowutta Arch
Return ferry to Geelong

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”

Eager Endings

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After working on the Avocado farm for 6 months, I left with a bottle of gin, a flash looking gin glass and a cheeky $1000 bonus. I also left with a new job to go to, Penny and Ernst who I worked for on the avocado have a family relation who is employed on a cotton farm. They said that the needed someone for the season which is 6 months but I agreed to 3 months to start with. On the very basic phone interview I was told that there would be tractor driving with chaser bins, which I was looking forward to as I was excited to gain experience in this. Turns out he has people to do the Tractor work and my role was the classic ‘basic bitch’ farm laborer.

So the owner owned 3 farms within 8km of eachother, Karamea is where I stayed in a donga (shed like building) on the farm. Edithville which had a disease in the soil so you had to constantly change your boots when working on that farm and Miegunyah where the owner lived.

My first week on the cotton farm was just cleaning out various pump sites and sheds and helping move farm equipment between the different farms. I was then told that we would be working for the next 10 days straight, getting the paddocks ready for irrigation. This involved me digging out between the furrows so the water could get through. 10 days was a lie though as by the time I was given a day off I had worked just 18 days in a row and just short of 200 hours in total.

So the owner is one of those hot and cold bosses, never know which side of him your going to get. I had a really uncomfortable situation with the him, He was asking me something but I didnt understand what he was talking about (they talk in riddles here so he was talking about the pipes used for irrigation, he was asking me about the “2 inchers” and the “63’s”) so I said that I didnt know what he wanted from me. He then turned to his second hand man and said ‘Am I speaking fucking english’ I was rather shocked and just stayed quiet. Afterwards he went to his office so I went to discuss the incident with him asking what I had done wrong. He just shouted and said I had no innitiative, which made no sense to me. So for the rest of that day I just felt like shit and I didnt really want to work. At the end of the day which was around 8pm, he came to me with his half assed apology and said that it was nothing to do with me and that he was annoyed with another employees mistake. So basically I spent the whole day feeling as if I’d done something wrong when really he just cant manage his emotions.

After this I wasnt inclined to stay longer so I decided to give him his requested 4 weeks notice and leave. I didnt want there to be any bad blood so I told a little white lie and said to him that I had decided to go back to the UK in december to visit for 2 weeks, to which he seemed fine with and then I always have another contact if I’m struggling to find work. Little did i know there would be further questions…

The owner and his employees would ask me various questions about my plans, how much my flights cost and when I was flying. So after they had asked this a few times and my answer always just being I haven’t booked them yet, I thought perhaps I should just check flights and costs. So I went online and checked so I could give an average of what I would have spent on flights if I was actually leaving and give them some dates. They would still continously ask about the flights and plans I had, so I had to pause and think to remember what I’d told the first person who asked so I didnt slip up. After a while I think I’d convinced myself that I was actually going home. I would then get questions on what I would be doing when I returned as they had offered for me to come back and work with them. I had told them I was returning before Christmas on the 23rd and heading down to Tassie on the ferry. Although I then needed to check the ferry’s at that time as its so close to Christmas and it turns out there arent any. So then I had to say that I’ll be going early January.

So, long story short, I’m currently travelling slowly towards Melbourne, ready to get the ferry to Tasmania on the 9th december, where I will then look for and find another Job.

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to decieve“

Sir Walter Scott, 1808

I have other reasons for leaving early too, the tractor work I feel I was promised was non existent, It got very lonely being the only backpacker there and it was getting a bit warm for me, digging holes in the 38 degree heat all day is not fun I can assure you.

The last month was pretty shit, I got pretty lonely on the farm, for the whole 2 months there were no other backpackers or travellers around so I’d just finish work, shower, eat some food and a have a cheeky gin, watch some TV, then sleep and repeat until the last month was over.

I’ve literally spent hours trying to work out how to write how the irrigation works as it is a rather interesting (well to me anyway) so here goes on a basic approach: basically water is pumped out through the river and flows through channels all over the farm. It runs along the top of the fields and this is called a head ditch. Along the head ditch are pipes known as siphons but in all honestly look just like basic black pipes to me. The water is then drawn out of the head ditch by a use of the siphons. Below is a few brief steps to start one.

1. Submerge the siphon in the head ditch

2. Pushing the siphon into the water with your hand slightly over the open end but with a small gap for air

3. Pull the pipe out of the water leaving the end of the pipe in, with your hand covering the open end (field end) of the siphon so its fully sealed

4. Repeat this action until the siphon is filled with water (usually takes 1-3 thrusts depending on the length of the pipe)

5. Once the pipe feels full, let the pipe go as your are pulling it towards the field, removing the seal and letting the water flow, The pipe will then lay on the head ditch and run until you stop it

We would usually do around 100-250 siphons per shift on a field. Each field requires a different amount of shifts depending on size. I think the most shifts that were done on one field was 6 shifts of 12 hours, so to irrigate the full field it would take 72 hours.

So after 2 months of shovelling dirt, throwing pipes, picking up pipes, sweeping, weeding and other general jobs I decided that I’d had enough, I am however happy that I took the opportunity with this job as it was interesting to have the experience and acquire more knowledge about agriculture.

A Series of Fortunate Events

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I’ve recently begun work on an avocado farm or avo farm as they would say in Australia. I arrived in Australia just short of 2 months ago and have already seen quite a bit. I was fortunate to meet someone at my sisters wedding in early March that said his parents were looking for people to work on there farm. So obviously I said yes.

Im lucky enough to have my sister already living here in Australia and her and my brother in law were very helpful in getting me set up and sorted. I managed to buy a car quickly and set off not long after I received the call saying the job was available when I was.

My first actual car

I drove from my sisters house and arrived in Comboyne where the farm is located at the end of March along with a french backpacker who arrived via train, we were both given a warm welcome by the owners Penny and Ernst, they had cooked us a lasagna and we had a few drinks and introduced ourselves and our lives and so on. They have had an incredible life traveling, Ernst being Dutch and Penny from Australia both met whilst working in India, and have done a lot of travelling between them before they settled down back in Australia and bought this farm.

My plan is to stay here for a couple of months so I can save some money to travel elsewhere but to also complete my 88 days farmwork which will then let me apply for the second year visa.

I had arrived first so got first dibs on the accommodation, It was a choice between a caravan or a shed like building! I chose the shed as it was much roomier and looked comfier. The accommodation is only $50 per week which includes the living quarters, a fully equipped kitchen and a toilet block. My shed which is called the Olympian due to the fact it has Sydney Kings Olympic basketball court as its floor and walls. It has a small veranda as I walk out my door which has an amazing view of the hills far away and perfect for a sunrise.

The Olympian
Inside the Olympian
The kitchen
Sunrise from my shed
The view

So… to the work, there’s plenty of it, our first job is to tackle the weeds and other trees growing around the avocado trees. On our first day we were given a bucket with a pair of secateurs, loppers, a pruning saw, a recycled spray bottle filled with round up (a poison to spray on the cuts we make to prevent them from regrowing) a jar of salt, some insect spray and a pair of gloves.

Below is an example of before and after

A tree before I’ve started work on it
And after it’s finished

It’s not a skilled or difficult job it just takes patience and hard work, some of the trees are pretty easy and have little to nothing underneath them but some are heavy with undergrowth, we have done a couple of blocks of weeding now and are about 3 weeks in.

The worst part is Choko’s, a fruit that grows on climbing vines that gets tangled in the trees, they are a nightmare to untangle and trim but we also have to collect all the fruits as they are full of seeds which will just make the amount of vines next year, even worse. I’ve managed to collect around 25 sacks full just by myself so there is quite a lot of them.

In Comboyne it tends to rain quite a bit, we can work easily in light rain but once your soaked it’s pretty uncomfortable so tend to stop if we get too wet. We usually have days off when it rains all day and that’s when we go to the nearest town of Port Macquarie to see sights and do our shopping.

The other lad I’m here working with takes everything a little slow. When we work I tend to do 3 times the amount as him, his excuse is that he’s on holiday but last time I checked it is still a job and should be putting a little more effort in. But the owners leave us to it so hes free to do what he wants. When we go shopping he tends to take an hour for a 15 minute shop, I mean I drive him an hour to the shops and he still makes me wait. I mean It may just be me as when I have things to do I like to get them done so I can relax and enjoy the other parts of travelling.

He recently told me that he used to be a firefighter in Paris… so now we know why Notre Dames roof burnt through, everyone was waiting on him to get ready. Just a giggle I have to myself when he’s going super slow.

There is plenty of wildlife on the farm from leeches to the occasional wallabies. The leeches are very annoying, attach to you out of nowhere and start sucking your blood, it feels almost like an ongoing ant bite. I had one the other day inside my belly button which was pretty grim, we are provided with salt (which you are supposed to put on the leech so it drops off but I tend to just rip them off) and insect spray but they still find a way to get to you even if you cover yourself head to toe.

A leech on the French guy

Only managed to see a few wallabies as they keep pretty far away but they are here and hopping about.

We were warned at the start, of the snakes. The brown snake, black snake and python but have thus far only seen 3 pythons, the least deadliest we are told.

Me and a Python

The farm is 500 Acres, 200 of the acres are avocado trees and the rest is empty space full of trees, small weirs a river and some waterfalls that I’ve not actually yet seen. so we have a 4×4 mule to get ourselves around, somehow two have broken down on us whilst we’ve used them, so third time lucky.

Our first Mule

“To be a farmer is to be a student forever, for each day brings something new”

John Connell

Steampunk and Penguins!

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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.

Steampunk Steam Engine

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.

Victorian Oamaru

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.

Sunset on the Wharf

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.

Worlds smallest Penguins

“Noot noooooot”

Pingu

The West Coast is the Best Coast

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After my long trek and first tramping experience on the Heaphy Track I booked a room in a hostel in Westport, had a look around and then lay down and relaxed and did some research as to what would be my first stop along the West Coast. I decided that I would first go to Punakaiki for 2 nights and then decide where to go from there.

I got the bus to Punakaiki the next day. It’s a small town with only a tavern, a café and an information centre. I checked into the hostel and then headed out to explore with an American guy I had met on the bus. My first stop was the very popular tourist spot, Pancake Rocks and it was pretty busy when We arrived.

Snuck over the barrier for that perfect shot

Pancake rocks Is a heavily eroded limestone area where the sea bursts through blowholes during high tides.

Pancake Rocks

Unfortunately We went at low tide and missed the blowholes.

Staircase carved into the Rock

We wandered back towards the hostel stopping at some caves to look around before walking along the coast to the hostel. We relaxed for a little and then walked North out of town to a small walking track that lead to a beach with a huge cove and some more caves.

The next day I ventured to the river and hired a kayak, I kayaked up the river having to get out at certain points to walk it as there were rough rapids and a low water level.

Relaxing in the calmer waters

I got about an hour away before I turned back and cruised back down the river, the rapids weren’t too big but I almost crashed a few times into large rocks. I relaxed on the beach until I managed to cut open my toe and then headed back. The sunset on the beach that evening was pretty nice to watch.

The next day I walked to the end of town to start hitchhiking, my aim of the day was to get to Greymouth, which was only 40 minutes away, but there were some sights I wanted to stop at along the way. I was only waiting around 15 minutes before I first got picked up by a local who told me there was some cool beaches to look for greenstone on, having nothing planned for the day I was dropped off and spent some time looking for greenstone, I found very little but it was a cool experience. I then hitchhiked to Runanga that is home to the Coal Creek Falls, I was dropped off not far from the entrance and then I headed down the track for 30 minutes before arriving at the falls and stopping to take in the views and to rest.

Coal Creek Falls

I returned to the roadside and got picked up pretty quickly by a couple heading in my direction, they dropped me off just outside my hostel in Greymouth.

I checked in before heading into town to explore. It’s a pretty small town local shops and businesses. I looked around and then headed back to the hostel to chill out. The hostel provides free bikes and kayaks so the next morning at high tide I took a kayak onto the river, through a lake and then down to the harbour side.

Reflection in the lake
Down in the Harbour

It was peaceful and pretty and a good view of the surrounding hills. I returned hoping to grab a bike and head out for the day but unfortunately there wasn’t one available that was working, I attempted to fix one but didn’t have any luck. I then decided I would just take a walk to the beach.

I walked around 2km out of town before hitchhiking to Hokitika, I got picked up after about 20 minutes of waiting. I arrived in Hokitika and went to the I-site to see what I could do. I had planned that morning to meet my friend Jessie who I had met back in Palmerston North as I was heading South and he was heading North we thought it would be a cool spot to meet up. He picked me up and we headed 25km out of town to visit Hokitika Gorge, the walk was extremely short once we had arrived and lead over a swing bridge to the beautiful views of the gorge and the amazing milky blue color of the water, we spent some time here before returning to town and checking in at the hostel.

Hokitika Gorge and swing bridge
Jessie and me

When we arrived at the hostel we were shown to our room. I then bumped into my friend Janna whom I had met when I was working in Tauranga. I knew she was on the south island but wasn’t exactly sure where about’s she was, so that was pretty cool.

Large driftwood sign

I headed out with Jessie and we went for a swim in the sea and a walk along the beach. We then retuned to the hostel to chill out. Later that evening Jessie, Janna, 2 others and me headed out to watch the sunset at Sunset Point and see the Glow Worm Dell once it had got dark.

Sunset Point

The next morning before we all headed off in our different directions we went for an early morning swim in the sea at 7am.

I checked out of the hostel and walked over the bridge out f town and started hitchhiking to a small town called Heri Heri, practically in the middle of nowhere. The guy who picked me up offered to drop me on the roadside or in this little town, I opted for the town as it was a lot further down the road but first we had to drive to a farm as he was working as a farming consultant. Once he had finished he dropped me off. I waited maybe 40 minutes before getting picked up again by a farmer who was heading home, he took me all the way to Franz Josef which was my destination for the next 2 nights.

I dropped of my gear at the hostel and then headed out to treat myself for my tea. I had a large burger and chips and then took a walk around the small town before heading back.

The next morning I headed off to the Glacier, the start of the track is about 45 minutes walk from town, I could have booked a shuttle but chose to walk. I arrived at the head of the track and headed down towards the glacier. It only took about 30-40 minutes to get there, I then sat down and took in the views for around 30 minutes before following the track back, I then took another track down to Peter’s Pool where you can see a cool reflection of the mountains. Unfortunately you can no longer see the glacier from the pool as it has receded back to far up the valley. I then walked back to Franz Josef to which I relaxed in the sun for a while.

Franz Josef Glacier
Peter’s Pool

Unsure of where I was heading next I did some research and decided to head to the remote town of Haast next, I chose to get the bus to Haast, as the weather didn’t look too promising for the next day.

I took my bus the next morning, the driver was pretty cool and it felt more like a guided tour as he explained the local area and we stopped off at some awesome lookouts and beaches. When we arrived in Haast it was raining pretty bad so I headed straight to the hostel. It carried on raining most of the afternoon so I decided to stay indoors. The next morning I had 2 hours before my bus arrived and the owner of the hostel offered me a bike so I could head out and see the beach, the only reason I planned to stop here. I took the bike out but it was still pretty overcast but had a good ride to the beach and back.

Haast Beach

When the bus arrived I jumped on, left the West Coast behind and headed for Wanaka.

“West side is da best”

Ali G

An Unforgettable Journey

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DAY ONE

I began my journey with a shuttle bus from Takaka to the first hut at the beginning of the track, the Brown Hut. The bus arrived at 12pm and I got off the bus, grabbed my bag and headed off straight away.

Looking back at the shuttle after heading off

The first part of the track is a winding route that is on a gradual slope climbing up 915m, the track is mainly through the bush and is a pretty cool walk with great views of the valleys and hills in the distance.

Valleys in the distance

I walked around 3.5 hours up and then stopped at the Aorere Shelter, which is the first campsite you could stop at, however I had booked into the Perry Saddle, I chilled out and ate my lunch before heading off to my final destination for the day. On the way I stopped of at Flanagan’s Corner viewpoint to take in the views, supposedly you can see Mt Taranaki on clear days but unfortunately it was pretty overcast. I arrived at Perry Saddle Hut and set up my tent before taking a walk around.

Tent all set up

There was a small mountain spa further down the hill, which turned out to be just a small stream at the bottom of the hill but worth the 10-minute walk to get to it.

Walkway to mountain spa
Mountain Spa

I chilled out and relaxed that evening before cooking my tea of which I failed pretty badly at as I boiled way to much water for my sachet of soup that it was pretty much still water after it was added, but if anything it is a lesson learned. I then went back to my tent and went to sleep, getting ready for the biggest and longest day of the trek.

DAY TWO

Day two arrived, I awoke around 3am freezing cold so I chilled out and I had my breakfast and then a small nap after I had warmed up. I packed up my tent and set off at around 10am to get to the James Mackay hut later that day.

Valley stretches out

I walked for about 1.5 hours through fields of golden grass and marshland, the valley here begins to widen around the Gouland Downs and you can see for miles. After 1.5 hours I arrived at the first hut, took a short break and then headed back off down the track before coming to some caves to which I explored a little before continuing on my journey.

Start of the caves

I got to Saxon Hut an hour later and ate lunch, whilst I ate I watched a Takahe (endangered bird) search for his dinner.

Takahe

I finished up and continued on my way. There’s an old pole with old and new boots tied on or nailed to it along the way, which looked pretty awesome.

Boot pole corner

Todays hike was 24.2km and you could see pretty far across the hills in the distance and I crossed plenty of streams and brooks.

I arrived at today’s destination at about 4pm, set up my tent on the decking provided which took longer than I expected, as I had to use rocks instead of pegs.

The area was pretty misty so there wasn’t much of a view. I cooked up my evening meal of mashed potato, peas and chicken with 3 Germans I had met on the track. We ate and then headed of to bed for the evening.

DAY THREE

In the morning I awoke, it was still pretty misty but you could see the mouth of the river, which is where I was heading for the day, I ate and then packed up my tent once again and headed off around 08:45. This was my most favorite day, not because it was practically all downhill but that it was through what looked like an enchanted forest and where I first met the famous West Coast sandflies.

Drooping trees
Magnificent Trunks

There were some swing bridges to cross, one of which was 148.8m long and the largest suspended deck bridge built by the Department of Conservation.

One of many swing bridges

There are sections on this part of the track that after heavy rain can be pretty flooded especially at high tide but luckily the day turned out to be pretty clear and sunny.

At this point you’re walking along the edge of the river and occasionally there would be a large clearing or small path down to a beach.

I was amazed at some of the trees in this forest as they are extremely large and magnificent. Further along I found a small cave which I went in as far as I could, unfortunately for me I later found out that the 3 Germans I met managed to get in further which just meant wading through a little water, but managed to see glowworms further into the cave.

Sitting in the cave entrance

Anyhow I arrived at the final hut, the Heaphy Hut at around 13:30 and set up my tent to dry it, as it was pretty wet from the previous night. I saw a helicopter land at the hut and then take of which was cool to see and according to some people it’s not something you see everyday whilst hiking a great walk. I then ventured onto the beach and had a quick wash in the river, as it had been 2.5 days since I had last had a shower. I chilled out on the beach and attempted to create a large driftwood house, unfortunately when I added the roof it was two top heavy and collapsed, I had spent around 3 hours on this already and decided to pack it in as I was pretty exhausted and had been attacked my hundreds of sandflies.

The only photo I got before it collapsed

The 3 German guys arrived and they showed me a video of them swimming in the river and footage of one of the guys being bitten by an eel, which was pretty funny for me but the guy then couldn’t walk and carry his pack so his mate had to carry both of them.

I cooked up my dinner and then went to watch the sunset at the far end of the beach, down the far end you could pick up the first signal I had seen the past 3 days so that was good.

Sunset on Heaphy Beach

DAY FOUR – FINAL PUSH

The next morning I woke up early and dismantled my tent before heading off at 7am, as I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to arrive at the end of the track and I had a shuttle bus booked at 12:50pm. I headed off through bush and along the rugged coastline of the West Coast, there are so many lovely and deserted beaches along this 16.2km walk to the finish.

Walking next to Palm trees
Little misty in the morning

I sat and ate an early lunch whilst looking out over the ocean. I then continued to the end of the track, checking out some viewpoints and lookouts along the way. I finished with around 1 hour to spare before my shuttle arrived to take me to Westport and to where I would sleep in a bed for the first time in what seemed like a pretty long time.

The past 4 days have been so amazing that I am definitely persuaded and pushing myself to do more multi-day hikes whilst I finish my last few months here in New Zealand. The views and scenery I have seen on this trek are unimaginable and so, so beautiful. I’ve definitely enjoyed every minute even though I’ve come out with a few blisters and hundreds of sand-fly bites.

Now I continue my travels by making my way down the West Coast…

“Don’t be scared to walk alone. Don’t be scared to like it.”

John Mayer

A short stay in the Golden Bay

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I left the orchard in Motueka to go to Takaka about 45 minutes drive towards the Golden Bay area. I got a lift with one of the sellers who has been working on the orchard and selling the produce in Takaka. When we arrived I said goodbye and walked around 35-40 minutes to arrive at the free camp spot at Waitapu Bridge, a beautiful spot next to a river. I set up my tent and relaxed for a while before heading back to town to explore and buy some groceries.

Waitapu Bridge Free Camp

Later when I was in the free camp I heard my name shouted, I looked around to see someone else I had been working with at the orchard who had left 2 days prior to me. I sat down with her and her friends and played a few games of cards.

Later that evening I relaxed and watched the sun set.

Sunset at the free camp

I woke at around 3am freezing cold, now when I bought my sleeping bag I opted for the lightest one, as I would be carrying it around a lot with me. Big mistake but oh well, I’ll just have to wear more clothes at night.

I woke up and cooked some noodles for my breakfast before another mistake arose. So the free camp has just toilet facilities with no access to running water, not that I’m complaining mind as I had 2 nights free camping there, but as I cooked my noodles and drank some water I realized I was pretty much empty on the waterfront, I had a small amount left for my morning walk to the springs.

Camp Kitchen

It was only around 1 hours walk each way, and then some more time to walk around the springs, the springs are so beautiful, the water is so clear and mesmerizing. Unfortunately it is prohibited to swim or to even touch the water as it is New Zealand’s largest spring and obviously they don’t want the water tainted with the human touch.

Springs

After I returned from the springs, dehydrated with the lack of water, I rested a little before walking into town, at this point I bought another 1L water bottle as I did not want to be in that situation again, I then filled them both before going to the library to book my campsites and shuttles for the Heaphy track.

I returned to the free camp and made sure I was reasonably packed so I could leave the next day.

I was pretty cold again during the night, and I will have to figure something out before I leave for my great walk. Anyhow I awoke, got changed and packed up my tent, I left the free camp around 10:00 and walked over the bridge to the road that heads towards my destination, Wharariki Beach. I’d booked into a campsite for 2 nights at $20 per night. I then started to Hitchhike hoping to get as far as I could. I was only waiting for around 15-20 minutes before a couple from the Netherlands picked me up and took me all the way there, which was amazing. Once I arrived I waited until check in at 12pm and then once again pitched my tent, ate some lunch and then went to explore.

From the campsite the beach is around 20 minutes walk, it’s a pleasant walk with good views the whole way. When you reach the beach it looks amazing, silver sand dunes all over the beach, huge rocks with archways that just look great.

Wharariki Beach

I spent around 2 hours here, the wind was pretty violent and sprayed sand almost constantly in my direction. I wandered around and even found a place where there was some 3G but then the wind picked up more than it was before and I got a whole face full of sand, which blinded me temporarily. I then began to walk back to the campsite and rested there. I showered, recharged my electrical appliances and began writing this blog. There is little Internet here; there is Wi-Fi available but at what seems like a huge cost, 100mb for $10.00. So I will just learn to live without for the next 2 days.

The next day I took a walk to farewell spit, it was a pleasant walk and only 7km to the spit and around 10km to walk around the track. You can’t go on some of the spit as it is protected and you can only access these areas on the guided tours. It was a lovely walk, again the sand dunes looked so beautiful and stretched really far across the beach. I intended to walk back across the hills and past a lighthouse but after walking around 17km already I was pretty tired and hitchhiked back to the campsite.

Farewell Spit

The next morning I left at around 08:45 and started walking towards the main road, the first car I saw, I held up my thumb and fortunately I got a ride about a third of the way, after I was dropped off I waited around 30 minutes and was picked up and taken another third of the way, and then eventually got back to Takaka on my 3rd and final pick-up. When I arrived, I went to a campsite and saw they had cabins available, to which I jumped at the chance as the weather forecast looked rainy for the next 2 days and I didn’t want to get my tent wet before I start New Zealand’s longest Great Walk.

Morepork cabin

My final day before leaving Takaka, I visited a local tourist attraction called Labyrinth Rocks and spent some time finding my way through the maze of rocks before heading back into town to buy the last bits I needed for my trip. I also bought some long underwear to hopefully solve my problem with waking up cold in my tent every morning.

Labyrinth Rocks
Labyrinth Rocks

“Mistakes are sometimes the best memories”

Unknown

The Carrot Capital

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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.

Starting point: Horopito

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.

Ohakune Station

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.

Turoa ski field

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

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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 28th 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 6th 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.

Manawatu river

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.

White Horse Rapids (Manawatu Gorge)

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.

Sunset on the farm

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?

Trying my hand at dagging

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.

Trying my hand at Drenching
Caught a huge Snapper!

“Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced”

John Keats

Numb Thumbs and getting Drunk

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It’s been over a month now since I last posted on my blog, I guess at first I just didn’t know what to write about next, and then I got myself a job and met some amazing people and that kept me pretty busy.

So I started working in a Kiwi Orchard pruning the plants and tying them down ready for the next season.

I’ve been working for just under a month now, it’s been an experience if anything. So before I started the job I questioned others in the hostel as to what it was like, pretty negative comments to be honest, I mean its manual labour so you have to expect some gripes and groans.

So I arrived on the Sunday at the working hostel in Tauranga, I was meant to start work on the Monday but due to the weather I didn’t start until Tuesday.

So the work isn’t hard but you need to go at some speed, the tasks are to prune away old and unneeded vines and then tie down the nice ones at about 15 cm apart. So pretty easy right, well… one you start clipping the vines to the wires you put so much pressure on your thumbs when you clip them after only my first 4 hours my thumbs were numb and they have been ever since. Also all the contractor wanted was for us to go faster, I personally managed to go pretty fast and once you get the hang of it its pretty easy to speed up. Not for everyone though as it seems that some people are really slow, I was going at least 3x the speed of some people. The contractor would then say that if they continued with this sort of work then he wouldn’t be able to pay them for it. Quite a few people moved on after this, but if you’re not prepared to work hard then there’s not really a place for you.

So you need to be at least 165cm to do the job, trouble is for people taller they then have to lean back most of the day, which seems to cause them back pain, fortunately I’m pretty short so just strained my neck a little and it only hurts whilst I do the work. The tools you need for the job are a pair of loppers, secateurs, and a bag full of kiwi lock clips, some gloves and some fabric loops. Mostly supplied by the contractor but if you want better tools you can purchase your own.

The only really bad thing about this job is that it is currently the winter period in NZ so it is raining 2-3 times a week, and whilst your in the pruning business they don’t really permit to you working in the rain. The reasons I was told for this were because the cuts are made the plants could get infected, the vines tend to snap more when wet and the contractors don’t want the blame when the employees start to get sick. So I only have worked 3-4-5 days per week, which isn’t manageable to make money and save. I won’t lie though, I may have taken a few sick days due to hangovers.

My time here in Tauranga staying at 109 loft backpackers has been pretty amazing to say the least. Everyone was so welcoming straight away, I met so many new people from so many different places and made some amazing memories that i will never forget. Unfortunately like most hostels everyone leaves and moves on with their travels. Most people were doing the kiwi pruning but decided to leave for several different reasons. The hostel was pretty cool, several times we sat down together for meals, went out to different places and got pretty drunk most evenings, so all in all it was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

The hostel is so empty now, its gone from being pretty much full to having around 12 people left, its so quiet and doesn’t have that homely atmosphere it had a few days ago, So I myself have chosen to move on and find work elsewhere.

“I’d rather live a life filled with challenges instead of a life filled with routine”