Blogs from Raglan, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

6 Uhr klingelt der Wecker im Bungalow und das Aufstehen der 4 Personen beginnt. Nach dem Duschen, Frühstücken und Tasche packen geht die Busreise für heute los. Eine lange Fahrt auf einige Hügel erwartet uns. Der Zwischenstopp führt uns nach Hamilton, Neuseelands viert größte Stadt, auch wenn sie nicht so groß ausschaut. Hier wurde wieder für den Abend eingekauft. Ich schließe mich vier anderen Leuten zum Abendessen an. Der Bus wartet hier vor der Bibliothek, wo endlich wieder im Internet gesurft werden kann :D Anschließend ging es mit dem Bus nach Raglan, Neuseelands bestem Surfstrand. Kurzfristig habe ich mich noch zum Surfkurs angemeldet. Unsere heutige Unterkunft ist mitten im Jungle. Es schaut einfach super idyllisch aus, so mitten im nirgendwo zwischen all den Bäumen und die Unterkünfte unterstreichen dies noch einmal :) Als nächstes geht es ... read more

Drove 350 kilometers and the journey was longer than expected as the place we intended to stay looked closed, the town I mean. Ended up in Raglan which is an attractive seaside town on the west coast south of Auckland. Lovely sunset before dinner.... read more

Raglan So on we went down the coast towards a little surfing town called Raglan which is on the North Island on the west coast. The main reason we headed here is that Jenny who worked with me in Dublin lives there and we thought it’d be cool to meet up. To be honest, she did push me a lot towards taking the plunge to go travelling when she came for the few months telling of her numerous adventures and her new life in New Zealand. We arrived in the early afternoon and John wanted to quickly check out the surf. He has been dying to go surfing or kite surfing somewhere along the way and this is the place we were sure we could get it in! As we drove out the coast it was ... read more

Start Again Start again. Start Again. With a calm and quiet mind. Alert and attentive mind. Balanced and equanimous mind. This is how S. N. Goenka begins the instruction sessions in the morning and afternoon during a ten-day Vipassana course and it pretty much explains why I chose to start this trip by sitting down and shutting up for ten days. But let me start by quickly explaining why I am all of a sudden out in the world again. Goodbye Mobilethink I had found a really promising job in a company that I thought was doing well and steadily expanding. I got to travel to exotic places like Iran and Papua New Guinea with another trip to Jamaica lined up. Very nice colleagues and a boss that scored 9 out of 10. So everything was ... read more

So after 6 months away, experiencing the Latin culture, it is sad to say i have left it all behind and returned to NZ. Though it is really good to see my family and friends again, but it means that i have left others behind. It has been such a fun journey over the past 6 months, and i have meet some great people and seen some amazing things. Whether it was visiting ruins that are older then our country, surfing in the hot hot beaches and releasing turtles out sea, or getting chased by big pick up trucks, all these they have all made my trip the most memorable and enjoyable. Mexico is a great country with so much to offer and can keep you entertained for months. Don't be put off by what is ... read more

The Stray Tour bus turned up at our Ponsonby backpacker hostel at around 8.10am. As soon as we boarded the bus there was lots of enthusiastic ‘good mornings’ said to us. We set off for Raglan the first stop of our Stray journey. On the way the driver ‘Gollum’ kept pulling up for us to take some gorgeous scenic views, and also to collect some alcohol and food for the night. We all paid $10 each to arrange a huge barbecue for all 24 of us on that 1st night- proper good feed! Once we arrived in Raglan, we checked in to the Karioi Lodge, and went for a trek around the infamous ‘Loop’ track which was very steep muddy and hard work. When we set off, nobody would go first, so Jen talked me into ... read more

Raglan. Went along with Laura and James to watch them surf some pretty hefty swell at Manu Bay. No surfing for me. Ribs seem to be gettin worse each day rather than better. Probably should be the other way around. There was a surf competition on at Manu so they went out a bit further around. The surf got pretty big. Had a pretty relaxing day walking around with Laura and James to help him get his stuff to another hostel. Good relaxing day just chilling out in the sunshine. Have decided for sure that I'm going to buy a campervan of Doug who I've been hanging around with this week in Raglan. So that means saying goodbye to Raglan tomorrow to meet up with him in Auckland before he heads off to crew for a ... read more

Day at Daphne's! Daphne who me and Laura met on the bus bumped into me yesterday and invited us around to her house in Raglan for a cup of tea and a chat. We ended up staying there all day talking. Daphne is a really interesting lady who, at 70 years old, has her arms covered in really well executed tattoos all with different personal meanings. Her house was full of paintings and artistic bits-and-bobs and she's lived life to the fullest and has plenty of interesting stories. Really enjoyable day. Headed out to local night-spot the Yot Club with Laura and met up with group from the Hostel. Headed back after and had another jam on the guitars. ... read more