marlo detemmerman

marloinnz

marlo detemmerman




Oceania March 21st 2015

Without a car and predictable hours, my social life has been very limited here, as well as my mobility, leading to many days off where i really did not konw what to do and spent more energy trying to figure out a plan than to actually enjoy the weekend. This being said, i finally found a buddy and a sunny day to explore the Marlborough coast, and all of this the day before my birthday! :-) What a present in itself. We started off by doing a tasting and picking up some tasty beer at Moa Brewery down the road, and then drove the windy and perilous Queen Charlotte Drive to get to this beautiful secluded bay in the Marlborough Sounds. Simplicity reigned, sitting down on the beach with a couple beers, and discussing about random ... read more
IMG_2055
IMG_2057
IMG_2062


Just finished a week's woofing in Mapua, which is near the Abel Tasman National Park up in the northern bit of the South Island. The landscape here is different again! I'm still not getting to grips at how diverse this country is in natural landscapes. Here, we are surrounded on one side by large shallow estuaries which half the day look like lakes and the other half look like deserted beaches, and on the other by acres and acres of orchards, predominantly apple and kiwi, but almost everything grows here! Arriving at this place, i had just had a really frustrating week of travelling with 2 mates, one of which i ended up getting really fed up with, which made the trip really hard to enjoy... So when i got here to a lovely family with ... read more
IMG_1504
IMG_1511
IMG_1513


Manapouri – Finished making beds, which ended up not being too bad! Good team, and a fast 3hr work day, in exchange for luxury - in other words a room for myself, and classic greasy pub meal, nightly. Circle track - took small boat accross river, joined 2 Germans in their early 30s along the way, talked about Germany city architecture all the way down, and had great group selfies along the beach Kepler track –met cool recently high school graduated Germans along the way, did Luxmore caves with them after a smooth shot of whisky – was beautiful, relaxing & fun, walked to and from caves under a moonlit sky. Did them again the next morning with Danielle and her buddy Adam. Didn’t go as deep though, and was less flexible in the morning! Routeburn ... read more
IMG_1335
IMG_1220
IMG_1223

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Te Anau October 6th 2014

It is now week 1 of my Woofing adventure, and before i start, i'm going to give you a little update about my plan for the upcoming months. Having just finished a winter season up in the Southern Alps of NZ, the region opened my eyes to how exciting exploring the outdoors can really be. The extensive skiing and hiking I did during my time there got me really excited to continue exploring New Zealand's backyard. With not much of a budget, the option that made most sense to me was to work in exchange for food and accommodation around the country (Woofing), one week a time. So finally, after a painful last minute search for my first woofing place, my first stop is Lake Manapouri, 20 mins from the township of TeAnau, and not far ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Wanaka September 4th 2014

Setting off with Danielle and two friends of hers, we completed a 5hr return hike. We hiked alongside a river, passing through tussock, mountain beech forest, and V shaped valleys, before arriving at our destination, the Fern Burn Hut, where we had a picnic, and then made the journey back. Highlights: Beautiful beech forest Hiking in a small team Diverse terrain crossed - dense beech forest, deserted V shaped valleys and views of the raw, ragged snowy peaks around us ... read more
IMG_0677
IMG_0678
IMG_0682

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Wanaka August 30th 2014

Every morning, after a 30 minute shuttle ride, including a 10 minute climb, i arrive at work, at Treble Cone. I usually arrive 30 minutes before the start of work, so i take the opportunity to look at the stunning view, in the crisp morning air. First, the sky lightens, and a pink shadow emerges above the pristinely groomed white slopes. Then, the whole sky becomes a beautiful baby blue, as the pink dissapears, and the sun emerges from behind the raw, ragged mountain range and comes gliding over the lake below. That's when i close my eyes, and allow for a few seconds to absorb the first streaks of sun into my body. The warmth it brings in the crisp morning air is unique, and so energizing. After pacing up and down the freshly groomed ... read more
IMG_0503
IMG_0504
IMG_0509


What a treat this place has been for me... Hidden in the bush, the energy that could be felt at Te Moata brought the whole place and its inhabitants to life. I had the chance of participating in all the retreats that took place here during the month of April while i was woofing (working for food and accomodation). The first one was one given by a buddhist monk on META, a form of meditation serving to open ones heart to the world and spread love and kindness to one another. Effectively, you needed to think of someone you wanted to spread love and kindness towards, and repeat the phrase "may you be well, happy and peaceful" for 45 minutes without a break. Tiring, but rewarding, as one leaves a session of META feeling at peace ... read more
maelle, hadrien, quika :)
breakfast ready!
Dances for universal peace with marny and sally :)




Tot: 0.101s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 13; qc: 68; dbt: 0.0522s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb