NZ. The Beginning...

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So finally got a chance to write a bit of an update! Been in New Zealand nearly 2 weeks, and it’s going pretty good so far.

So I arrived on a sunny afternoon on the 20^th, knackered and looking forward to a bit of sleep! Didn’t get to sleep much on the massive 28 hour flight, mainly due to the fact I was squashed in between a fat Indian guy and a Dutch guy who kept on falling asleep on my shoulder! Never mind…

So after sleeping for about 20 hours I thought I would go make some friends in the hostel, and make sure no hippies had nicked my bike. After befriending a small Northerner we went to the sky tower to do a bit of sight seeing. However his camera broke on the way there, and I forgot my camera, so no photos were taken! To be honest it was OK, but nothing special.

The next day I had planned to visit Rob with his parents in a motor home, and spend a few days traveling around Northland with them. They were currently in a small town/hick village called Dargerville. I caught a bus first thing to the nearest city Whangarei which was about 35 miles from Dargerville. Unfortunately when I arrived there I discovered there wasn’t a bus going to Dargerville for another 6 hours, and this city wasn’t the kind of place to hang around.

Deciding to try and hitch hike I started to walk out of town, thumb by my side waiting to get picked up by a lonely murderer looking for innocent travellers. I eventually got picked up by a large Maori in his pickup truck (They are called Ute over here). He was a bit of a character, and enjoyed talking about English soaps and their lesbian characters. He also took a liking to me, and after advising me not to go to Dargerville invited me to his patch, where he would take me pig hunting with ‘The Boys’. This, he assured me would show me proper New Zealand life, and turn me into a proper local. I politely declined, but we exchanged numbers just in case I was in the area again and fancied killing some pigs. I probably won’t be going to Dargerville again.

Rob and his parents were very welcoming when I eventually arrived, and were interested in my new Maori friend ‘Guy’. They had planned a nice few days travelling round with me in their motor home, and things were looking up! We went to a stunning beach in a small town called Piha, and spend a night there, where I got into a bit of body boarding, and got a bit drunk with Rob and his parents at the local legion club on the hill. We also visited a tree museum, which was about as interesting as it sounds. Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of the trees.

After a nice few days with Rob, Marian and Stephen I was returned back to my original hostel to and had organised a small trip to the Bay of Islands with a load of European travellers. After an interesting bus ride I had discovered I was the only British person on this trip, so befriended a few Swiss and Dutch people. On the way up we stopped, and were given the opportunity to hug one of the oldest trees in the North Island. I politely declined, and had no plan of hugging an old tree. I spent the day up in the Bay of Islands fishing with a few new friends, and getting very burnt and very drunk in the evening. Doing Wales proud some would say.

I better finish this, might have rambled on quite a bit without realising it! So after that brilliant trip I caught a ferry to Waiheke Island, just of the coast of Auckland. I have been staying here for a week with Rob and friends of his who works over here. It’s been a brilliant week, and met some brilliant people. Island activities include wine tasting, swimming, rallying a rental car, and creating our own Billy Drum and Bass party in the house.

Plans for next week include 7-10 days farm work in Rotorua and getting out on some excellent mountain bike trails while I’m there.

Hope all is well back home x

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Photos

Me & Stephen
Enjoying a lunch in the Caravan!

Fishing
Casual fish at Bay of Islands

Pizza Time
Pizza with Becca and Rob on the beach, brilliant end to an evening.

Comments

[Dom]

Spellcheck
I see you're quite a natural at the art of spellcheck! Keep the blog coming!

[Peter Suter]

Hi Andrew, great to hear from you and that you are safe, well and having a great time. Stay safe and keep us updated, we look forward to you next blog. Take care.