Blogs from Tongariro National Park, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 4

Do města Taupo, které má 20 000 obyvatel (v létě prý až 100 000), jsme dorazily v pátek 26. prosince autobusem z Aucklandu. Cesta trvala 5 hodin, ale utekla poměrně rychle a navíc - stále se je čím kochat. V Taupu nás vyzvedl nás hostitel přes Couchsurfing a za půl hodiny jsme s ním a jeho synem jeli na víkendový dům (něco jako naše chata…něco jako;)) jeho rodiny. Tam nás hostila jeho máma, její přítel, bratr, nevlastní bratr se ženou a 2 dětmi a jejich neteř…jo a pes Charlie :) Zpočátku to bylo divné, nevěděly jsme, zda jsme vítané, ale postupně jsme si na sebe zvyklí, víc si povídali a bylo to fajn. Víceméně jsme se jen tak poflakovali, v sobotu jsme jeli na kajak a v neděli rybařit a tramtarara, chytila jsem svou první rybku! ... read more

Finally, the day arrived to move on, ready for more travels! After exactly 8 months, I'm leaving the hotel. I can't believe I stayed this long here! The fact that it's an excellent place to save money, THAT'S what kept me here for so long. It would have been hard to find another job with the same conditions I had here, and with the possibility to save well. I'm surely going to miss the hotel, but I couldn't wait longer to leave. Most of all, I'll miss the people at work. I've met so many people, most of them friendly and cool..."most", but not all hahah! The majority I'll never see again, but many I'll probably see again in their home country or in Curaçao one day. I'll also miss having my own room, my own ... read more

Trust, submission, surrender, yielding; all words that I detest. To say I hate giving up control is an understatement; I see it like handing over the reins and being driven off a cliff. But when you’re caving, there are no cliffs, just endless holes that lead to the belly of the earth and since I have no sense of direction underground and there’s no map to follow, I indeed do have to surrender to the greater knowledge of my guides. Imagine how that feels. For this lesson in surrender we find ourselves in Waitomo. Not much to look at above ground but once you squeeze yourself through a hobbit-sized hole there are massive caves in which to go exploring. The area used to be underwater, when New Zealand was nothing but a small rock in a ... read more

Mein Weg von Christchurch nach Picton ist hauptsächlich nur in einem Auto gewesen. Ein Koreaner, der auch in den Norden reisen will, nimmt mich mit. Sein Englisch ist eher begrenzt, also sind unsere Konversationen intellektuell auch weniger anspruchsvoll - natürlich auch mal okay, hehe - und es stellt sich heraus, dass sein Hauptreiseziel wohl das Fischen ist. Immer wenn ich frage, wo er bisher gewesen sei, wo er als nächstes hin wolle, nennte er dann einen Namen und ich frage warum und er antwortet: "Fishing!" Mit einem Grinsen und diesem total enthusiastischen asiatischen Unterton in der Stimme. Ich finds witzig. Die Mittagspause in Kaikoura mit Fish&Chips hat ihm natürlich sehr gefallen. In Picton angekommen denke ich mir, das kostenlose Internet im Fährhaus zu nutzen um Hostels in Wellington anzurufen, aber es stellt sich heraus, dass alle ... read more

Geo: -39.2901, 175.562We have been so lucky with the weather so far. Except for one day we have had blue skies and hot sun every day. And our stay at the South of Lake Taupo was no exception and the best place so far. The Lake House bed and breakfast was wonderfully comfortable with fantastic views from the terrace of the garden and the Lake in the distance. Our hosts Neil and Raywin were very hospitable with lots of drinks and an evening meal the first night and lots of stories and information about NZ and this area and their life story of course. We also had a coupe of swims in the very refreshing, ie bloody cold, lake below, and were amazed that there was hardly anybody else around - this being the end of ... read more