Tag: travelling

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.

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

Views and too much booze!

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I arrived in wellington on Monday afternoon.

Tuesday morning I had a lie in and then headed out to explore Wellington, I took an electric scooter to the bottom of Mount Victoria and then climbed to the summit, it only took around 30 minutes and the views from both the walk upwards and the top overlooking Wellington CBD and the harbour were to say the least, pretty amazing.

View from Mt Victoria

You get a pretty good 360 degree view from the top and from there I saw a beach that didn’t look too far away, as it was sunny and still pretty early in the day I decided I would wander down the other side of the mountain, unsure of where exactly I was going but on an adventure none the less. I managed to find my way to the bottom of the mount and through a residential area, around an hour or so later I arrived at the beach. In front of me lay Lyall Bay a beautiful beach with glistening blue water, the beach is right next to the airport but still peaceful and relaxing. plenty of people surfing and swimming in the sea.

Lyall Bay

I then took a scooter back around the mount along the waterside and returned to the city centre. I walked through town and then grabbed something to eat for lunch and started to walk up towards the botanical gardens, it took me a little over 20 minutes to walk to the top, but when I reached the top I was exhausted and decided that I would leave walking around the gardens to another day and possibly take the cable car up next time.

I returned to the hostel and then later met up with a friend and went for a short walk along the waterside and then to a bar on Cuba Street, spent some time drinking and playing pool, met some locals and then sat down to eat. When the waiter had brought out our food and we had started eating another waiter then brought out the same plates of food to us, we hadn’t realised that it was a 2 for 1 deal so we both paid $21 for two plates of pork ribs with chips and coleslaw. I obviously didn’t eat it all and shared it to some others in the bar but christ thats a pretty good deal. Also the jugs of beer only cost $10 so you can’t go wrong there. I returned home at around 11pm and went straight to bed.

I awoke at around 1:45am when an Irish guy stumbled into the dorm room pissed out of his head, literally just slurring his words and being loud as ever, he climbed up to the top of his bunk and pretty much descended into sleep straight away. Anyway, around 1-2 hours later I was awoken again by his mate who had woken up beneath him, I then heard the sound of running water, I looked down and saw liquid pouring out of the mattress above and down onto this guy below, the guy above had just pissed himself in his sleep and the urine was sinking through his mattress down and splashing the guy beneath him, I was about half asleep at this point but couldn’t help but laugh. I mean in all honesty it was fucking disgusting, who needs to get that drunk. The guy beneath him was his travel mate so I think perhaps he was more understanding as he didn’t wake the guy up and say anything, although if you’ve pissed yourself and your still asleep chances are you won’t be waking up. I think his mate then just decided to just have a shower and sort out his bedding.  

I’ve always detested being on the top bunk, but now I hope that I’m always on the top to save myself from this utter nightmare. I don’t even know what my reaction would be if this ever happened to me. Im unsure if the guy even knows if it happened, I’m sure his mate will inform him though. There was only one girl in the room and I’m pretty sure she moved rooms this morning, I do not blame her.

I have 2 weeks here in wellington, I’m unsure whether to get a job and stay longer or to just relax and then head to the South Island.

“Spontaneity is the best kind of adventure”

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

See you on the mountain!

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I’ve finally finished my job in Palmy but have agreed to come back and help them with a big order in two weeks. . Excited for the aching pain in my hands to stop, the constant trapping of my finger underneath pumpkins, the close falls with sliding on cabbage leaves and the smell of fermented and rotting pumpkins to leave my nose.

I have just over two weeks until I need to return to Palmy and then I’ll head to Wellington. But first, where to go? Skiing, I haven’t skied in 6 years and I’ve decided that after working for 10 weeks and only having 5 days off in total that I deserve a good break and will head first to Mt Ruapehu and Ohakune for a day or two’s worth of skiing. So this will be the first stop on my plans and then possibly to Mt Taranaki and New Plymouth for some more exciting adventures.

Working in Palmy hasn’t been all that bad in all honesty, I’ve met some really cool people both at the hostel and at work, the owners of the company are amazing and have done so much for me in my brief time here. Tony keeps nagging me to go to the dentist, I’ve had my teeth removed but an old filling has come out recently and he constantly asks me every day if I’ve booked into the dentist so I will need to get that sorted before I leave Palmy. They are both extremely caring and supportive and I can’t thank them enough.

Recently at the hostel a large school group arrived so a few others and me were upgraded next door to boutique rooms, I had a double bed with electric blankets, nice furniture, a TV and my own shower and toilet. I stayed here for around a week and a half before returning to the hostel. So it was a nice place and I definitely will miss the electric blankets. Due to all the work I haven’t really seen much of the town but me and a German guy went to a few of the bars one evening for some drinks and a few games of pool, it was nice and something different.

Update: Ive arrived in Ohakune, rented my ski gear and will head to the mountain tomorrow. I’m super excited and can’t wait until morning.

“the slopes are calling”