The Kaimais

I had to get out of Auckland this weekend and voiced this issue to a member of the tramping club named Richard; and so a tramping trip was born. Four of us left on Saturday morning at 7 am for the Kaimai ranges which are about 2 hours south of Auckland on the Bay of Plenty (which I discovered is not a bay, rather a fertile valley). It was Richard, myself, a young guy named Tommy and an alumni named Chantelle.
The first day was half spent on a track that was frequently used by dirt bikes and 4 wheel drive trucks, so it was not so scenic. Then we ducked into the dense bush to try and find the hut we had been told about. The bush was so dense, it mostly bushbashing and trying to find a few trail markers pinned to trees. The amusing part is that this hut we were headed to is not on any modern maps and minimally recognised by the DOC, so we were mostly just hoping it still existed! Needless to say, we found the hut, and just before the rain came.
The next day included so more dense bushbashing but the trail opened up and made for a nice 6 hour hike. We got to the car just as it started to rain and headed over to a city called Miranda for some good post-tramping hot pools. Pictures...

Richard and Tommy posing by a waterfall on the first day

Erosion on the trail before we hit the dense bush

A view from about half way up.

The "Bay" of Plenty, just to clarify

Our beautiful hut for the night. Its currently scheduled for removal whenever it next needs work so the local trampers are keeping it up.

Richard cooking some delicious oatmeal!

The view you were waiting for...

Getting into a Rhythm

I realized that I haven't updated in about 10 or so days so I figured one was due. The reason for my lack of updating is that I seem to be settling into some sort of rhythm here in Auckland. I haven't gone on any wild and crazy trips in a little bit mostly because I have been staying home for the purpose of schoolwork. Only four weeks of classes remain and then the three weeks of final exams begin.
I have recently begun to make some sort of acquaintances at a nearby bike shop called Calibre Cycles. I had to drop of my bike there for repair (it felt so weird to do!) because I lack most of the tools that were needed. I completely wore my chain out so I guess I am riding here more than I thought! The slightly annoying factor is that I told them exactly what needed to be done and I am pretty sure they didn't do it because the problem is persisting (look ticking and creaking in the bottom bracket).
Also on a bike related note, I have been trying to get out to the velodrome lately. I have ridden out there twice in the last week only to find that nobody was there to let me in. One of guys at the shop told me that he basically lives at the velodrome and that I could come with him. I found out recently that he is the NZ velodrome champ with the fastest 200m on record here among other various achievements. He's also raced at our velodrome in Blaine! So, needless to say, Im a little nervous about riding with him. We are going to try and get out there Tuesday morning, barring the usual bad weather here.
This weekend Im going out backpacking, nothing crazy, just a little trip. It will be a good excuse to get out of Auckland and skip a couple derby practices. October 6th is our first bout and I will be playing with Dead Reckoning. I think it will be a whole lot of fun! All the girls are skating really well, we have three well trained referees and many score keepers. There are also tons of people coming and a live band at half time! Ill definitely be posting pictures! Hope everybody else is having an awesome September.

So Excited!

I just booked...

Abel Tasman for 4 days of tramping



Heaphy Track for 5 days of tramping



and Milford Track for 4 days of tramping



Who's excited?! I am!!!!

Important travel tips

So, today is my second day being wallet free. In case you haven't heard or I haven't told you, my wallet was stolen on Sunday night at derby practice. Currently, I have $24 to my name and I think it should last until my credit card comes from across the ocean. Tips to all those who are travelling abroad:
- always keep photocopies of all your credit cards and IDs, hide these
- always have a stash of emergency money hidden somewhere safe
- keep some of your IDs separated out so that if something does happen to one of them, you do still have some method of identifying yourself
- retain your plane ticket out of the US and a photocopy of whatever visa you currently have
- know where your nearest US consulate is
- know where you can get emergency food supplies if necessary
- always keep money on your cell phone so you can call the necessary agencies in the case of a situation
Everything is working out alright here and all my friends have already offered to help out if I should need anything. I think this may be the best money saving strategy I have yet to encounter! I have only spent $4 in 2 days which I believe is a new record for me! Haha! I dont know who would knowingly choose to steal from a bunch of roller derby girls; to me, that just seems like a really bad idea!

Wellington

A view of harbour

Yay! I just got back from my week long adventure in Wellington. It was a really amazing trip, and I have to say that travelling alone is actually kinda really fun! I ended up meeting tons of really cool people who are doing working vacations in New Zealand and several people who seem to live the truly nomadic lifestyle.
I stayed at a hostel in downtown Wellington called Nomads in an 8 bed dorm. It was really clean (except for my duvet, which smelled like a homeless person) and the people there were awesome (except for the jerk who stole my guide book). But hey, it only cost $127 for seven nights. Over the course of my time there, I got to:
- chill out in the Botanic Gardens on a gorgeous day
- tramp around a gorgeous wildlife sanctuary
- kayak for several hours in the gorgeous bays
- explore all of the old buildings of the city
- hang out in the friggin sweet public library
- check out this amazing vegan cafe ... daily
- and many other things I cant think of right now!
As per usual, check out the sweet pics below! There are probably quite a few, so I will try to edit and keep this entry to a moderate length!

In a park on the harbour

A view from the top of the city (I took an old school trolley to get up there!)


One of the parliamentary buildings

Ahh! Flying metal fern ball of death!

One of the street performers swallowing a gigantic sword


In the botanic gardens; birds of paradise grow here lots of the parks!



At Karori Wildlife sanctuary, they have literally fenced off a huge piece of land so no predators can get in.


More of Karori

More of Karori

Pedal-strewn path... paradise, no?

*Pardon the underlining and random hyperlinks... Im having troubles formatting this entry for some reason*