first time surfer and hitchiker's thoughts on Ahipara and the journey there

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My journey to the north started as soon as I recieved word of two things. Number one, that my father had finally decided to jump on a plane and see his youngest son, and would be landing in Auckland on March 18th. Secondly, I got a facebook message from Kyla that read "Geoff- I'm living in Ahipara for the next couple weeks, spending my days lying in hammocks and pretending to surf, and my nights racing cars with policemen. You have to come up here. It's paradise. Do you have a job in Christchurch yet/is your dad coming out?" Key words in there for me were 'surf', and 'hammocks' and 'paradise'. I wasn't too sure about the policemen bit, but regardless I was on a public bus within the hour headed towards a little town (suburb) just outside Christchurch, close to the main road heading north. I geared up for my first hitch hiking experience.

I got off the bus with Bubba (my big bag) and a smaller backpack, and walked to Main North Road. I had been assured by a few fellow backpackers that it was easy to hitchhike across NZ. And at the beginning it was.

My first lift was from a middle aged Electrical Engineer. He was on his way north for work and he could drop me off at a spot just south of Waipara. I was waiting at the side of the road for no longer than 10 minutes before he picked me up, so I felt very encouraged. On the way I found out that he was a Scot who emigrated to NZ with his wife, and had a daughter going to the University of Canterbury. We also talked about some American politics, which seems to come up everywhere I go. The talk about the economic recession almost always followed it.

It was an easy ride to my stop first stop. I thanked him for the ride and set up on the side of the road. I made sure that my Canadian flag on my bag was showing. The electrical engineer said he saw the flag and it made the decision to pick me up a lot easier. Again, I felt pretty proud to be Canadian overseas. The second leg of my trip didn't come as easily. I was waiting for about 45 minutes after at least 25 cars and trucks passed me and didn't pick me up. Some would wave at me which confused me a little bit. Was I to wave back? I had to go for a piddle and so I walked across the street to use the bathroom. I picked up some snacks, and in my head was planning an emergency back-up plan if I didn't get picked up. I had planned to stay on the road until 4:30 in the afternoon, and that I didn't want to hitchhike after dark. So, I parked on the side of the road again and had another 2 hours to wait. Soon after I got back to my spot a car slowed down and parked behind me. I thought he was stopping for me, but instead another hitchhiker jumped out of the car. This was the last thing I wanted to see... He was a little rough around the edges, younger than me, and an experienced hitchhiker. He had been visiting his friends at the Uni in Christchurch and was heading back to his hometown Blenheim, which was just a few kilometers short of my final destination for the night; Picton. Thankfully he said that he'd gladly let me take the first ride that stopped, unless there was space for both of us, and in that case we would both jump in. He let me in on a hitchhiking tip, that he himself didn't really like using. He said that if you stick your thumb out, as is standard in hitchhiking practice, but at the last moment look at the driver as if you recognize them and start waving, the chances of them stopping are much greater. Then, while they're stopped, they might realize they actually don't know you, but feel so bad about perhaps giving you some hope, that they pick you up anyways. Thankfully I didn't have to use this method, and soon enough the first ride came. There was only room for one, so I jumped in.

The driver was an interesting guy. He was a senior, but didn't act much like it. Firstly, he made sure I knew that his hearing wasn't that great while he was driving. He found that it was too loud when he drove with his hearing aids in, so he just got rid of them. He asked me to speak up a few times, but for the most part he could understand what I was saying.

As we drove north he told me that he had a daughter in Calgary who was a nurse, and had married a doctor. She was settling in Canada, but he has never been to see her. He has a few children, one of which, another son who was living in New Zealand. He didn't talk too long about that one. In the moments of silence I made sure I caught some of the view outside. We had good weather for the drive. The thing was that the scenery was going past quickly. This was an experienced Kiwi driver, and he did this drive very often, so he knew the route well, and wasn't slowing down for much. Currently he was heading to Picton to do some back alignments; something he picked up later in life to keep his mind sharp. He and his current wife took it up, and practiced it in his hometown, but often went to Picton to catch the tourists crowding off the ferry from Wellington in the North Island. In the back of his car he had his whole temporary set up, which included a few tables for people to lie on, and a tent in case it rained. He described exactly what he did, which sounded something like some alternative medicine (I don't know if he had been schooled or if he was self taught). He charged about $45 an adjustment, which he mentioned was well below the industry standard. He mentioned that in his youth he had been a farmer, a land-owner, manager, crayfisherman (he described the whole process of fishing for these massive crustacions) and a sheep shearer. I didn't doubt him one bit. He seemed to be a man of many talents.

We stopped once for coffee on the way (which was not the best), and a bathroom break, but we headed straight to Picton. The ride took quite a while but flew by. Soon enough he dropped my off right in front of my hostel for the night in Picton called 'The Villa'. I thanked him for the drive and the good company and he was off.

The Villa is one of many Hostels in Picton. It's funny because it's such a small town, but because it's the port for the ferries leaving to the North Island, all the visitors heading north funnel into town. I picked The Villa because it had a pretty good rating in the BBH handbook. I booked my night on the way in the car. If you're coming to New Zealand for a while and planning on staying in Hostels, I would wholey recommend getting a BBH membership card. It's $45 for the card, and with it you get about $3 / night off for your accomodation and a $20 phone card. It's well worth it.

I booked my ferry trip at the front desk at the hostel while I confirmed my room. I was staying in a group dorm, and I booked the 6:15am ferry. The girl at the desk said you can catch the sunrise from the water, and that appealed to me... In the end I missed the sunrise. 😊

Instead, I chose to go for a little grocery shopping and make myself some dinner. I ate, and met a woman named Francis who was doing some 'tramping', or hiking around New Zealand. She seemed particularly wise on the matter; she had been to New Zealand three seperate times for weeks at a time, and kept coming back. So she must have found something in New Zealand that she loved... So, I grabbed a pen and wrote some destinations down. She mentioned the Queen Charlotte Track, and the Abel Tasman track couldn't be missed. I plan to do these with Dad.

After Francis hit the sack, I found myself sitting with a Chilean named Diego. He had long hair, a beard was wearing a bandana, and seemed very relaxed. He looked like how I pictured myself looking in three months... haha!

I got to know him a bit. He talked about his adventures on Waiheke Island and recommended a hostel that I must go to; I think I'll be travelling to this place he talked about with Northy. It sounded fun. The owner there is supposedly a character, and a lot of funny things happen to be there. He had spent some time on a pumpkin patch and hated it; he quit after a day. We talked about his time in Chile and about his sisters wedding party. By this point we were sipping on some vodka that needed to be shared and was sadly sitting in my bag for a horribly long time. This seemed like the right occasion, so we drank the night away. Eventually a few German girls joined us, as well as a few Americans. The conversation got a little more animated as the night went on, but if I remember correctly no one got hurt...

Remember that 6:15am ferry ride I had booked? Yeah, I missed that one, but I was lucky enough to be ready for the next one at 10:15am. I packed very quickly, grabbed a full bottle of water and waited for the ferry to leave. I was relieved to have caught this one. I was planning to start hitchhiking on the North Island to get to Auckland.

The ferry ride started smoothly. I sat with a British girl who was also staying at The Villa the night before. We discussed how someone came into the room just before I had, and having more booze than he could handle, loudly and publicly vomited all over himself before a friendly bunkmate handed him a plastic bag. Oh, the joys of shared dorm rooms... When I came in the room (I could have sworn the floor boards were uneven) he and I bumped into each other and I apologized. This was supposedly right after he had finished his episode. No one got much sleep in that room that night. Eventually she went to watch Benjamin Button, while I stayed in the front part of the boat to enjoy the view. What a horrible mistake.

The captain came on and warned of some rough water on Cook Straight. He mentioned two meter swells. I wasn't feeling too great at this point and I tried to brace myself for the worst. It reminded me of a trip the Brooks clan went on together from France to Jersey. Everyone was happy and excited about Jersey. They boarded the boat with enthusiasm, smiles, and a skip in their step. On the way out they weren't so happy, and a slight shade of green. On the way back from that trip mom had loaded us all up with Gravol and we all fell asleep before leaving the port. The way home was smooth sailing.

The trip from the South to the North Island was three hours. For two hours, it was like a funhouse. People were walking up and down the halls diagonally and trying to keep their balance. People were being sick EVERYWHERE (mostly in the bags provided, but there were some that weren't so accurate. We were told by the captain (who sounded annoyingly chipper) that the back of the boat would be better for anyone feeling at all queasy. At first I was feeling alright. I was enjoying picking out the other passengers who I thought were going to run to the back of the boat. I was mostly right; some people stayed where they were and didn't seem to have a problem. People were being tossed around the cabin quite easily, while some hardcore people were standing out on the front deck of the boat. As I was enjoying watching people suffer, I started to suffer myself. I guess you could call it karma, but I'm pretty sure the vodka from the previous night had a little to do with it. Nevertheless, it was one of the most unpleasant boat trips I've ever had. I had to focus very hard to keep my wits about me. I found that writing in my journal helped. I couldn't look up, and every time I did, I felt very sick instantly. So, I just kept writing nonsense in my book. And it worked. I managed to survive the trip. At the very end of the rough seas, the Captains came on the loudspeaker hoping everyone had a pleasant trip up until that point. I joined everyone by laughing at him.

Eventually the water calmed as we approached Wellington. I reconnected with the British girl, and she offered me a ride to a good hitchhicking spot. Her friend from Wellington was hosting her for the night and she had a car.

It was cold, wet and miserable in Wellington. I wanted to get out of there fast, but I still wasn't feeling that great from the boat trip, and hadn't had much sleep from the night before. We met her friend and I got dropped off under a bridge on a road on the way out of Wellington. I sadly had to pull out the toque and a sweater to warm up. Again, I was picked up very fast by a mother and daughter who felt badly for me... I didn't think I looked like I was in distress, but I appreciated the ride anyhow. They drove me just north of Wellington, where I decided to relax and book a public bus to Auckland instead of hitchhiking. It was just too far, and I didn't want to deal with the rain any more. I booked the overnight bus service (it took 11 hours), and chilled out in the town. This included trading a book, reading that book, trying to find the library, not finding the library, using the internet for a bit, enjoying a pint at an Irish pub (which are EVERYWHERE in NZ), nearly falling asleep at the bar, and having a coffee at a cafe.

The bus picked me up at just after 8pm, and we were in Auckland by 6:30am. It was an alright trip, except for a few locals who came on and decided it was okay to sing songs on the bus... Most people were trying to get some sleep, but not these guys. I think they started singing the Thong Song at one point... I donned the earplugs and got a few hours of rest. It was still dark when we arrived in Auckland.

From Auckland I grabbed the Northland Express at 8:30 to a place called Paihaia. I didn't stay long here, but it seemed like a wicked place. I'm sure I'll end up back here with either Dad or Northy. Maybe both! I called Endless Summer Lodge to book my spot for the night, and hopped on the bus that would take me there.

I was getting tired of travelling, and I was ready for a break. It had been a fast decision to leave Christchurch and I had pretty much been travelling straight through. That trip took me more than three quarters the length of New Zealand on busses and a boat. I was exhausted, and ready for these hammocks that Kyla talked about. In a few hours I was in Kaitaia, and being picked up by Blaine, the owner of Endless Summer Lodge.

Ahipara is a tiny town (population of 1000, 1001 after I got there) but it packs a punch. It's on Shipwreck Bay, and is the start of Ninety Mile Beach. The place itself was perfect. Across the road from the beach, you could walk over in your barefeet with your surf board and jump in. When I arrived there I was excited to see a familiar face from home. As I was getting a tour from Blaine, I turned the corner and there is Kyla talking to her mom Patti on the phone. It was a funny moment. I talked to Patti for a bit and continued on the tour of the place. It was very clean (thanks in part to Kyla who was working for her accomodation), and it was a very comfortable spot.

I spent five days there. We actually made some pretty decent food, and shared it with some great people there. We met this American girl from Texas named Jessi who was also working there, and Spanish guy named Vincent. They were both great people and easy to get along with.

Vincent took me and Kyla out on my first day of surfing. He stopped by in his little white hatchback (circa 1988) and drove us to our surfspot down the beach. The nice thing about this beach is that you can drive on it. The sand is more than firm enough... you just have to watch for the tide; otherwise you might surf past your sinking car... On our first session it was very difficult to get comfortable with the surf and the board. I had a little experience windsurfing (in a previous life it seems), but eventually I started riding some waves in on my belly. It felt great. At this point I felt like I was a kid again. I was having so much fun in the water. It was pretty tiring, and eventually we quit. I was hooked though.

The next few days were spent surfing when the surf was decent. I ended up standing up my second day out there, but didn't improve much the rest of the week... It was sweet though, I hope I end up doing a lot more surfing before I head back home.

It felt great to be really active again. I also surprised myself by going for a run one morning along the beach. It was a great one, but the wind was in my face on the way back. I was so distracted by the view I didn't realize how long I had been. It was an hour and a half long run, and my legs definitely felt it the next day.

On my second to last full day, Vincent and I were out in the surf chatting, and my board got away from me, went up a wave, caught some wind and ended up flying towards him. Before he could react to my screaming warning the front edge of the board hit him in the head... He started bleeding right away, and we rushed him to the shore. It was a pretty nasty gash, and I felt horrible about it. We got the first aid kit out, and after a recommendation from Blaine to superglue the cut closed, we headed to the hospital to get him sewn up. I didn't expect to be at the hospital this early in the trip, but there I was... Thankfully as a friend of the injured. Vincent was in and out in about half an hour and the scar looked great. We made up a story that he'd tell the ladies about the scar and we were back at the Hostel in a flash.

Ahipara was a great trip. I didn't get many pictures, partly because I was enjoying myself too much. The hammocks, as Kyla had described were nice, and the surfing was excellent. The company was even better. I also plan to return to Ahipara to link up with Vincent again who will be there for the next few months. We will stay at his Holiday Park and go out on the surf for a bit.

I headed back on an early bus on the 17th to Auckland, ready to meet Dad at the airport. By the time I arrived in Auckland Dad had already boarded his plane headed from Toronto to LA. I was excited to see him.

More on Auckland and Dad's first days in the next post.

Bye for now!

Kiwi GB

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Photos

Bubba and Me
Hitchhiking.

Picton
View facing North from Picton, the night before my fateful ferry ride to Wellington

Nate and Malcolm Quiz
What kind of animals are these? I found these on a potty stop between Pahaia and Kaitaia

Look! More animals!
Do you know what these are called? (I'm talking about the ones on the right, not on the left hahaha)

Exterior
Note the Palm Trees. These become prevalent in the far North of the Island

Guard Dog
He was very intimidating. I walked right over him, and he did... NOTHING. I never caught his name, but it could have been Sleepy.

Slow down
Life moves very slowly at Endless Summer; on this portion of the road at only 50 km/h

Beach
right outside the front door

Our ride
Vincent, Kyla, Jessi and myself all fit on this quad which we rode to the beach. We also carried the surfboards by gerryrigging them to the front.

Dinner
We bbq'd the hand picked oysters, peppered steak, lamb and mint sausages and had mashed potatoes and salad to top it off.

TEASER! Dad in Auckland
Pure happiness caught on camera at the Auckland Fish Market. More details to come on the next post.

Comments

[Andy B]

keep 'em coming!
brooksie! amazing updates! you've changed.

[Deepak B]

Olah broseph
Hey buddy, I had no idea you left and was attempting to post a message on facebook when I followed the link to your blog. Its great you're traveling and sounds like you're already killin' it. Keep it up and keep us "posted". Safe travels!