Raglan

So as I mentioned at the end of my last post, I headed to Raglan for Christmas with the intention of then heading to Gisborne for New Years, but such was the greatness of Raglan, I cancelled my Gisborne reservations.

Raglan is only a very small town with a population of approximately 2700 people. Situated on the west coast of NZ it is famous for its numerous surf beaches, its great waves and for the orcas it has attracted over the last few years. Sadly during my stay there I didn't get to see any orcas but I guess I'm lucky I didn't have to surf amongst them.

Surfer gets a surprise at Manu Bay, Raglan

It's a lovely little town with only one main street which has a few shops and bars. The two hostels in Raglan could not be more different but they were both amazing. The first I stayed in had a spa and jacuzzi, free kayak rentals and provided surf lessons, and hosted maybe 50-70 guests. The second offered none of the above, hosted only 14 people, but with its small size came a real homely atmosphere. It was in this hostel that I spent Christmas, and what a Christmas it was. Since there were French, Germans and English people staying there at the time, we celebrated two Christmases, the 24th December for the Europeans and the 25th for the English. I don't think I've ever drunk so much alcohol in 48 hours. Nor have I ever had such a feast for Christmas lunch. The hosts provided pork, chicken, lamb, beef, turkey and lobster. Everyone who was staying there provided all the salads and side dishes as well as dessert. It was my first Christmas away from family and as much as they might hate to hear this, it was the most fun. For that I have to thank the amazing hosts and the awesome people who were staying there. 

To get to the beach you really need a car, which I don't have, and nor did most people I met there. So hitchhiking was the solution. Everytime time I went surfing I managed a lift which was sweet.  The most memorable hitchhike I had was, picture this: 9 people and 7 surboards in one car. Quite a hilarious ride, especially when we crossed a police car on the other side of the road.

Most of my time spent there was at the beach, often staying till sunset as you could witness some incredible ones from the main beach. Other than the surfing a tradition was to jump from a foot bridge into the river at high tide and go swimming. I also managed a little kayaking during the stay and I certainly tried to make the most of the sauna and jacuzzi.

All this is fine and dandy but I ended up spending pretty much my every last penny over there and thus had to return to Hastings to find some work...

 

Hawke's Bay

The Lonely Tree - Te Mata Peak

So I arrived in Hawke's Bay a couple of weeks ago and the experience couldn't be more different to Auckland. I've been staying at my cousin's who lives about 15 minutes away from town by car so there hasn't been so much partying as I don't wanna splash out on cabs and drink-driving isn't exactly an option.
Instead I've made the most of the weather and landscape and have done a fair bit of trekking and discovering the area. In the area you've got hills, beaches and an abundance of vineyards and orchards.

Trekking up Te Mata Peak has been a fairly regular occurrence as there are a number of routes around the peaks, all offering different views of the region.

My "Quiet Place" atop Te Mata Peak

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach

 Other than excursions to the hills and to the beach, a fun activity in the area is to go cycling around vineyards, sampling all the different wines. There's a clearly marked up cycle path for those who want to spend an afternoon cycling around, rehydrating in various cellar doors. It's all free so needless to say I've taken advantage of the opportunity. Some of the places even offer cheese platters, so it's pretty much a combination of all my favourite things: cycling, photography, wine and cheese!!

To justify my cost free stay at my cousin's I've been doing a lot of gardening as well as a bit of manual labour here and there. On top of that I've done a few days work on his vineyard, which includes spraying/ fencing and bud rubbing. It's some of the most tiring work I've ever done. The vineyard is on a hill, which doesn't look like much but when you have to go up and down it over 100 times on a hot humid day it's pretty nasty.
At least I can drink the wine in the evening and the hospitality is top notch!

"Death hill" vineyard- where I've been working for a few days

I've been learning a thing or two about wine as well so I may have to look into it in more detail. The work is tough, but the rewards are sweet.

I've yet to meet a New Zealander I didn't like. Chatting to a 50 year old guy the other day cracked me up as he kept referring to me as "dude". Everyone in New Zealand is "dude" or "mate". I thought South Africans were chilled but Kiwis are on another level. 

That's about it for this post, I haven't been up to that much but things should pick from next week when I head off to Raglan and Gisborne for Christmas and New Year. Hopefully there I shall enjoy a sunny festive season with plenty of bbq's, surfing and cocktails on the beach.

Touchdown in Auckland

So after 44 hours travel with a stop off in Guangzhou, China, I finally landed in Auckland on the 27th November.
Luckily, for both flights I had an empty seat next to me despite being on crowded planes. Not that it changed much; my lanky legs kept cramping up and I must have slept maybe 2 hours over the course of the journey. So it goes without saying that I was looking forward to reaching the hostel and the comfort of a bed.

After witnessing another passenger attract the attention of a sniffer dog and being taken away to an interrogation room (hahaha), I boarded a bus towards my hostel which is situated just off Mt Eden, a dormant volcano overlooking the city.
Stupidly, instead of getting off at the bus stop 5 minutes away from the hostel, I got off 4 or 5 stops too early and then had to walk for just under an hour with my 100L Rucksack and 33L daysack. Needless to say that by the time I arrived I was dripping with sweat and feeling rather pissed off at myself. Rather than specifying the junction I needed to get off at, I simply asked the driver to let me know when we reached Mt Eden Road which happened to be a depressing 6 kms away.

Mt Eden as seen from SkyTower

Alas I eventually made it to the hostel, dropped off my stuff and climbed Mt Eden before it got too dark.

View from Mt Eden

The next day, my only full day in Auckland, I met up with a guy I'd met on the plane and his room-mates and walked around the city for the better part of the day. In the afternoon we went up the SkyTower where you have a 360* view of the city from 200 metres up. Pretty awesome.

View from SkyTower

Auckland Harbour and Harbour Bridge

Cheeky rainbow

Then went out in the evening for a few drinks and I may have gotten a little too merry as I lost my hostel key. As I reached the hostel at 02:00 in the morning with not a person in sight I started to think I was going to spend the night on the street. Luckily though my bedroom was on the first floor with french doors leading onto a balcony, so I managed to climb onto the balcony and get in through the back doors (thank god they were unlocked) without alerting the police and enjoyed a good night sleep in a bed rather than under a bridge in the pouring rain.

And that's pretty much it for Auckland as the next day I headed off south towards Hawkes Bay, where I'll be staying for a couple of weeks. So all in all quite an adventurous start to this kiwi journey!