Let the backpacking begin!
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Sarah
04 Juli 2014 | Nieuw Zeeland, Wellington
Hello everyone!
Long time no see ;) I have found it rather difficult to keep writing blogs whilst travelling, but I will try to update you guys over time. I will start from leaving the farm and make my way up to what I am doing at the moment (it will probably take me a couple of blogs to get up to date, I have been doing so much!!). Alrighty, here it goes:
I left the farm with mixed feelings, as I had such an amazing time with Rachel, Harvey and the boys. They really adopted me into their family and being so far away from home that was really comforting. But on the other side, after 3 months staying in the same place, I was getting quite excited to start my travelling and see some more of New Zealand. So after saying an emotional goodbye to everyone and Harvey dropping me off at the busstop in Waipawa, my backpacking adventure started! My first stop was Wellington, where I would be staying for the weekend. On the bus straightaway I met a kiwi guy named Jack (who studies in Dunedin, south island) who gave me a lot of information and tips what to do in Wellington. Meeting people is seriously so easy! After 4 hours in the bus I finally arrived in Wellington and after saying goodbye to Jack I made my way with my big heavy backpack to my pre booked/payed hostel. When I arrived there they couldn't find my booking in their system for the whole weekend, but luckily they could let me stay there for 1 night in a private room. After the night I had to look for something else, which would be fine if that happened after I had done some travelling. But as I just started travelling I was just so overwhelmed by the city (after living so isolated for 3 months), that it really scared me and I nearly started crying. So the guy helped me out and gave me a good alternative hostel at the beach, about 20 minutes away from the city centre. Just so that I could adjust to the buzzing life again. Once that was all settled and done, I started exploring Windy Wellington! Luckily for me I had a beautiful (wind free) weekend in Wellington, with lots of wandering around, shopping and visiting museums. I also rented a bike (I soooo missed cycling) and cycled along the coastline of Wellington which was gorgeous and reminded me of the OC. So after the weekend I felt much better and adjusted to city life again, that starting my journey to the south island felt as a good thing!
I took the ferry from Wellington to Picton (which was very scenic) and took the 5 hour bus down to Christchurch where I stayed overnight. The next day my Stray adventure started! So the Stray bus is like a hop on hop off bus, but people tend to stick to the same bus, so that you really can bond with the people you are travelling with and form a nice group. My first stop was Keikoura, which is famous for the sea life, such as dolphins, whales, seals etc. As it was quite expensive I did not do any of the activities there, but instead walked along the shore line with seals lying everywhere which was also really nice!
The next day half of the bus took off to Wellington, whereas I stayed overnight in Picton with the other half of the bus in a very cool hostel with jacuzzi (awyiss). Here I really got to know my fellow backpackers Chloe (from England), Siobhan, Emma and Robert (all from Ireland).
In Picton there is not much to do so we caught up with some sleeping and relaxing. The next morning a new bus picked us up with a lot more new people, and in the end the whole bus of people (25 people) turned into a really close group as nobody got off the bus for 1.5 week. So it made everything really fun!
We made our way to Abel Tasman where we had an awesome hostel for ourselves, right at the edge of national park Abel Tasman. Unfortunately, it didn't stop raining for 2 days so we didn't see much of the national park (just some short hikes). However, as the hostel had a huge living room and telly we had a Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit marathon (it is filmed after all in New Zealand!). After 2 days of rain it finally cleared up, but unfortunately it was time to go to our next stop Punakaiki (also known for the Pancake Rocks). These rocks are beautifully shaped and have lots of flat layers, that's why they are called Pancake Rocks. After doing a nice coastal hike we headed towards our amazing hostel right in the middle of the rainforest, to our private houses (the group was divided over 3 houses). I stayed in a house with Chloe, Soibhan, Emma, Robert, Luke (England), Jonas (Belgium) and Breana (USA). My house (apparently) was the nicest, so in the evening most people came over to our house to play some games, to have a drink and get to know each other. Oh man, I have never laughed so much in one night. The Irish lads (Paudie, Pa, Carl) constantly made fun of the German boys (Stephan and Marcel), right until the end of our bus trip (all good though, no fights haha).
The next morning we had a travel day to national park Franz Josef, which is famous for the glacier. We arrived quite late, so we got some groceries and made a nice group meal in the big kitchen. The hostel also had a pub/bar, so in the evening we headed over for some drinks and there was a limbo competition! Well I ain't gonna say no to that! So Chloe, Breana, Haein (USA) and Carl joined in and after every go under the limbo you got a shot of something watery and not very alcoholic. In the end three people (including Chloe) had to do a dance off in order to win, which was very embarrassing according to Chloe. She did however get second prize by doing a roly poly. The next day most of the group did the glacier hike, but as it was a bit too expensive for me I did some kayaking instead on the beautiful lake Mapourika into the kiwi bird rainforest sanctuary. I also did an amazing hike through the rainforest and went into a pitch-black tunnel filled with water to see some glowworms. I freaked myself out sometimes as I thought I heard footsteps behind me, but it turned out it were my own footsteps haha. In the evening there was a rock, paper, scissors competition but unfortunately I didn't win :(
The next morning we headed to Fox Glacier and had a beautiful hike towards mirror lake and we had some good views of the Southern Alps (Mount Cook, Mount Tasman and Fox Glacier). This was my favourite spot so far of New Zealand, the fresh crisp air, the beautiful blue lakes, the white mountains and green meadows. From this point I started to fall in love with New Zealand! Literally, NOTHING is ugly on the south island and everywhere you look is beautiful. So sitting in the bus a lot wasn't that bad, as you had so much to see. And we made regular stops to do some short walks, away from the tourists (that's what Stray is known for: going off the beaten track!). That night we arrived quite late in Wanaka and after a nice meal with Aiofe (Ireland), Emma, Siobhan and Chloe, I headed to my bed to get some sleep because the next day we would travel to the party & adventure (and also my favourite) capital of the south island: Queenstown!
Next time I will tell you all about Queenstown and my further adventures! Love to all!
Sarah xxxx
Long time no see ;) I have found it rather difficult to keep writing blogs whilst travelling, but I will try to update you guys over time. I will start from leaving the farm and make my way up to what I am doing at the moment (it will probably take me a couple of blogs to get up to date, I have been doing so much!!). Alrighty, here it goes:
I left the farm with mixed feelings, as I had such an amazing time with Rachel, Harvey and the boys. They really adopted me into their family and being so far away from home that was really comforting. But on the other side, after 3 months staying in the same place, I was getting quite excited to start my travelling and see some more of New Zealand. So after saying an emotional goodbye to everyone and Harvey dropping me off at the busstop in Waipawa, my backpacking adventure started! My first stop was Wellington, where I would be staying for the weekend. On the bus straightaway I met a kiwi guy named Jack (who studies in Dunedin, south island) who gave me a lot of information and tips what to do in Wellington. Meeting people is seriously so easy! After 4 hours in the bus I finally arrived in Wellington and after saying goodbye to Jack I made my way with my big heavy backpack to my pre booked/payed hostel. When I arrived there they couldn't find my booking in their system for the whole weekend, but luckily they could let me stay there for 1 night in a private room. After the night I had to look for something else, which would be fine if that happened after I had done some travelling. But as I just started travelling I was just so overwhelmed by the city (after living so isolated for 3 months), that it really scared me and I nearly started crying. So the guy helped me out and gave me a good alternative hostel at the beach, about 20 minutes away from the city centre. Just so that I could adjust to the buzzing life again. Once that was all settled and done, I started exploring Windy Wellington! Luckily for me I had a beautiful (wind free) weekend in Wellington, with lots of wandering around, shopping and visiting museums. I also rented a bike (I soooo missed cycling) and cycled along the coastline of Wellington which was gorgeous and reminded me of the OC. So after the weekend I felt much better and adjusted to city life again, that starting my journey to the south island felt as a good thing!
I took the ferry from Wellington to Picton (which was very scenic) and took the 5 hour bus down to Christchurch where I stayed overnight. The next day my Stray adventure started! So the Stray bus is like a hop on hop off bus, but people tend to stick to the same bus, so that you really can bond with the people you are travelling with and form a nice group. My first stop was Keikoura, which is famous for the sea life, such as dolphins, whales, seals etc. As it was quite expensive I did not do any of the activities there, but instead walked along the shore line with seals lying everywhere which was also really nice!
The next day half of the bus took off to Wellington, whereas I stayed overnight in Picton with the other half of the bus in a very cool hostel with jacuzzi (awyiss). Here I really got to know my fellow backpackers Chloe (from England), Siobhan, Emma and Robert (all from Ireland).
In Picton there is not much to do so we caught up with some sleeping and relaxing. The next morning a new bus picked us up with a lot more new people, and in the end the whole bus of people (25 people) turned into a really close group as nobody got off the bus for 1.5 week. So it made everything really fun!
We made our way to Abel Tasman where we had an awesome hostel for ourselves, right at the edge of national park Abel Tasman. Unfortunately, it didn't stop raining for 2 days so we didn't see much of the national park (just some short hikes). However, as the hostel had a huge living room and telly we had a Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit marathon (it is filmed after all in New Zealand!). After 2 days of rain it finally cleared up, but unfortunately it was time to go to our next stop Punakaiki (also known for the Pancake Rocks). These rocks are beautifully shaped and have lots of flat layers, that's why they are called Pancake Rocks. After doing a nice coastal hike we headed towards our amazing hostel right in the middle of the rainforest, to our private houses (the group was divided over 3 houses). I stayed in a house with Chloe, Soibhan, Emma, Robert, Luke (England), Jonas (Belgium) and Breana (USA). My house (apparently) was the nicest, so in the evening most people came over to our house to play some games, to have a drink and get to know each other. Oh man, I have never laughed so much in one night. The Irish lads (Paudie, Pa, Carl) constantly made fun of the German boys (Stephan and Marcel), right until the end of our bus trip (all good though, no fights haha).
The next morning we had a travel day to national park Franz Josef, which is famous for the glacier. We arrived quite late, so we got some groceries and made a nice group meal in the big kitchen. The hostel also had a pub/bar, so in the evening we headed over for some drinks and there was a limbo competition! Well I ain't gonna say no to that! So Chloe, Breana, Haein (USA) and Carl joined in and after every go under the limbo you got a shot of something watery and not very alcoholic. In the end three people (including Chloe) had to do a dance off in order to win, which was very embarrassing according to Chloe. She did however get second prize by doing a roly poly. The next day most of the group did the glacier hike, but as it was a bit too expensive for me I did some kayaking instead on the beautiful lake Mapourika into the kiwi bird rainforest sanctuary. I also did an amazing hike through the rainforest and went into a pitch-black tunnel filled with water to see some glowworms. I freaked myself out sometimes as I thought I heard footsteps behind me, but it turned out it were my own footsteps haha. In the evening there was a rock, paper, scissors competition but unfortunately I didn't win :(
The next morning we headed to Fox Glacier and had a beautiful hike towards mirror lake and we had some good views of the Southern Alps (Mount Cook, Mount Tasman and Fox Glacier). This was my favourite spot so far of New Zealand, the fresh crisp air, the beautiful blue lakes, the white mountains and green meadows. From this point I started to fall in love with New Zealand! Literally, NOTHING is ugly on the south island and everywhere you look is beautiful. So sitting in the bus a lot wasn't that bad, as you had so much to see. And we made regular stops to do some short walks, away from the tourists (that's what Stray is known for: going off the beaten track!). That night we arrived quite late in Wanaka and after a nice meal with Aiofe (Ireland), Emma, Siobhan and Chloe, I headed to my bed to get some sleep because the next day we would travel to the party & adventure (and also my favourite) capital of the south island: Queenstown!
Next time I will tell you all about Queenstown and my further adventures! Love to all!
Sarah xxxx
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