Since the 8th of January, I've been driving around New Zealand in our newly purchased but very old van (1982 Toyota HiAce) named Phil along with my travel companions Julia and Susi from Bovaria, Germany. Our goal has been to see and experience as much of New Zealand as possible while keeping our expenses almost solely limited to food and fuel. This means showering at beach showers, rivers, or sneaking into hostels. Getting our drinking water from bathroom taps or boiling water from streams; and charging our camera's, phones, and my laptop by grabbing a seat next to an outlet in a cafe, Starbucks, or McDonalds for several hours.

The trip started out in Auckland where we immediately made our way to the very northern tip of the country, Cape Reinga (now my third and final time there). From the Cape, we officially started our way south, with the intentions of stopping off at nearly every major city along the way. We've kept track of the roads we've traveled as well as every spot we've stopped over night on the detailed AA maps that came with Phil. Eventually, I'll take some photos of the maps and stitch them together to give a full view of the entire journey.

While Phil has proven reliable so far, he's quirky in a way I don't think Susi or Julia will ever understand. When cold, it takes two quick pumps of gas to get him going, pulling the choke to a certain notch so it doesn't stall, and keeping the RPM's above (what I'd guess without a tachometer) 3,000 to avoid a jerky backfiring ride. Once warm, he runs well but doen't start unless you have the gas just about half way depressed followed by a quick pump as you turn the ignition. Regardless, once I managed to figure out his special needs, he has served us well.

Without power, your entertainment is basic, but in a refreshingly primal sort of way. Most days have been filled with hiking, swimming, and sun bathing, but never in the same spot for more than a day or two. We've swam in the Pacific Ocean, Tasman Ocean, black sand beaches, white sand beaches, rocky bays, hot water springs and pools, cold streams, and rapid flowing rivers. (We love the water and have spent the night parked next to some body of water all but one single night.) My biological clock is now set with the rising and falling sun, going to sleep shortly after dusk and waking up shortly after dawn, of course I sneak in a lazy afternoon nap every once in a while. I like to start out most mornings by jumping out of the crowded van, hot and steamy with the heat of 3 bodies cramped into a can, throwing my swimsuit on and diving head first into whatever water we're near that day. It's like coffee and a shower in one, only better! In a way, when living on the road, everything it takes to sustain life becomes an adventure. Whether it's finding a free source of water to refill our jugs, cooking a meal with just a pot held over an open fire, picking apples and plums from a wild roadside tree, washing clothes and dishes in a clear blue river, even finding a suitable place amongst the brush to poop, I find it all fascinating because it's just so different from the life I've been accustomed to.

Other than that, I spend a good couple hours a day reading, I'm almost done with my third book since we began traveling. Unfortunately, the boost in my vocabulary can go to waste when even simple english is often responded to with a "Huh?" by my German travel mates. English can sometimes feel foriegn to me when I have to reword what I'm saying several times before I'm understood. At times, it can be frustrating, (especially when almost none of my humor is understood... I now fully understand Heather's appreciation for adult conversation after spending all day with kids) but in the end I'm exposed to a different culture, and it's pretty convenient when something like 30% of the travelers we meet are from Germany.

Once you escape the high traffic tourist areas, where the locals aren't so sick of tourists, it becomes clear why the Kiwi's are known for their hospitality. On our first night out with the van, we pulled off a gravel road next to a field of cows. We were kind of uncomfortable parking next to someone elses land. As it grew dark a car approached. We were sure they would ask us to get off of their road, but instead we were greeted with a friendly hello and offered a parking spot in one of their free padocks where it might be quieter for us. On two seperate occasions we've been invited into someone's home for some afternoon tea and biscuits. Once by a family whose ranch we had parked in front of, another time by Marty, the sand board rental guy in Cape Reinga. After sneaking into an open room in a Paihia hostel to shower for the first time in 4 days, some of the people staying in the room came in and laughed at the situation, offering us a couple cold drinks and advice on beaches to see during our travels. When camping overnight at the Coromandel Penninsula, we met Lucia who was camping as well with her 9 year old son, Mako, and a couple of his friends. After an evening of fishing, skipping rocks, and telling stories around a camp fire, they offered us some parting gifts; an extra fish Mako caught, and a bottle of Lucia's sweet home made gin.

I'm currently writing this in a cafe in the lakeside town of Taupo, about half way down the North Island. It's the largest lake in New Zealand and is actually a crater filled with water, formed by one of the largest volcanic explosions in the earths history. When we stopped here, we ran into some friends Kit and Rich, from the UK, whom we met in Auckland while looking for our van. We've joined them and spent the last two nights in this cool free camp park situated along the Waikato river (think of our river back home, but replace the desert with rain forest, and paint the water this vivid blueish-green). Tomorrow, if whether permits, we'll be doing the Tongariro Crossing. This hike is arguably New Zealand's best one day hike, crossing through the middle of the national park where we will see a number of pristine lakes and rivers (as well as Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings) as we climb a volcano.

-UPDATE-

I wrote everything above about a week ago but didn't get the opportunity to post it until now. We didn't end up going to the Tongariro crossing the next day as I had planned. While stopping by a random hostel to check their free food section (most hostels have a shelf in the kitchen where people can leave behind food they don't plan on eating) we came across a job offer for lavender weeding. Needless to say, the 5 of us (us plus our English friends Kit and Rich) spent the following days weeding for $10 NZ an hour. I ended up working 12 hours the first day and another 8 the following since it was the first job in a while and I wasn't sure when I would next get a paying job. Near the end of our second day, Rich challenged us to describe the work in two words. Some of the answers were 'back breaking, mind retardening, and suicide inspiring' but it was a new experience and we walked away smelling better than we started.
After the weeding experience we celebrated with a pint of Guiness and 14 hour comma in the van. A couple days later we made it to the Tongariro Crossing. We spent a day in the van waiting out some rain so we pushed the crossing back hoping for better weather. But, the following day we awoke to more of the same rain and freezing wind. It was going to be then or never so we packed up and hit the mountain. A lot of the hike looked just like scenes from Lord of the Rings, especially some of the steep rock climbs. At one point, where we were climbing up the ridge of one of the volcanoes, the wind was so strong we had to get onto all fours in order to continue without being blown over the cliff side into the crater. Kit got a couple cool photos of us defying gravity as we leaned forward into the wind. The Emerald Lakes were the must stunning portion of the hike. At the top of this volcano were a series of large pools with this surreal light blue color that almost seemed to glow. Meanwhile, at our altitude, the clouds were rushing up over the mountain side and blowing right across the surface of the water. I was on the verge of going for a swim, but the wind was so strong and the air so cold I wasn't sure I could finish the hike if I did.

We're now in the beautiful coastal city (as if there were another kind of city in New Zealand) Hawkes Bay, renown for the unique art decco influences found everywhere throughout. We're going to see if we can get a job doing some apple picking nearby. If not, I might try for my firearms license so I can apply for a job posting I saw for 'Bird Shooting' at a vineyard (Only kidding, although I can't help smiling as I imagine a real life version of 'Duck Hunt' for Nintendo back in the 80's). I'll post again when I can, miss everyone!

Hopefully everyone had an awesome Christmas and New Years, I know the family was spread about the country on their own adventures so I'm sure you all have some good stories to share as well. I'm currently in the Albert Park Backpackers in downtown Auckland where Julia, Susi, and myself are waiting to hear about a campervan for sale. Here's the play by play of my holidays. (note the lack of pictures is due to me now being camera-less, the 4 year old paper weight finally gave out)

Let me know if you prefer smaller posts broken up or if it really makes any difference at all. I think I'm writing a little too much, but at the same time I think I'll be glad I did later on. I just don't want it to get too boring or intimidating because of the length.

Christmas Eve

My first long distance hitchhiking adventure went on without a 'hitch', so to speak. On Christmas Eve I made my way from Paihia to Auckland, a distance that takes about 3 1/2 hours by car. It did take a total of 5 or 6 different rides, but I got a chance to meet and talk with some interesting people along the way including a guy in his 20's that was starting up a landscaping business, an older guy reluctantly traveling 8 hours by car to take his grandchildren to a Christmas parade, an organic farm owner that talked for an hour straight about the death place of Jesus Christ, and a really funny sarcastic English guy now living in New Zealand that was late to pick up some friends from the airport but made the time to stop for me anyways. Shortly after getting into Auckland, I got a call from Angie and Laura with directions to the house in which they were staying. I hiked up West Victoria Street and into the neighborhood known as Ponsonby. It's the hip, young, wealthy section of Auckland, reminding me of some of the areas around Newport, only with more history. My jeans, sandals, and oversized backpack got some weird stares as I passed by trendy pubs where people mingled outside with fine wines and champagne in hand. Following their directions, I made a right past a tall wooden historic church and onto Shelly Beach Road, keeping my eyes peeled for a 'grey wall with a bunch of mailboxes' because the street number wasn't marked on the place. After passing 1 grey wall that didn't look to be the right place, I came to an area where there was a light grey wall next to a dark gray one, both of which had locked gates. "I have no idea," I thought to myself, so I called them up, about to explain that I was completely lost when Laura answered the phone and said something along the lines of "Look up idiot." The two of them were standing on the balcony of the place to my left laughing hysterically. The house was very modern and minimalistically decorated in a way that made you unsure whether they were very clean or had just recently moved in. Either way, it was a pleasure to spend our Christmas Eve and Day lying around the leather couch wrapped up in blankets, snacking, drinking and making up for the lack of TV the 3 of us had watched in the past couple months. However, we weren't complete wastes of space, we did go to the 11pm candle lit service at the church I had passed on my way to the apartment.

Christmas Day

Angie's family (parents and younger sister) arrived late Christmas afternoon. Despite the long flight from Wisconsin, they were quite energetic, although it could have simply been that our excessive TV watching had made us lazy. Everyone caught up after being apart for the last several months and Laura and I were invited to join them in their family dinner at the hotel. After working out the logistics of how we would get there, how we would get back and how the reservations were reserved (I see where Angie gets her love of planning), the 6 of us piled in the rental car that seats 5 and drove 30 minutes to the hotel. We got to the luxurious (for New Zealand anyways) hotel that was more like a high rise apartment building. We went up to their rented apartment on the 11th floor of the building that was easily the tallest in this city where we had some awesome views of the vast stretch of coastline, suburbs below, and the long white clouds New Zealand was named after. Unfortunately, the dinner they had made reservations for had been cancelled without them being informed until we got there. Angie's family was flabergasted, but the 3 of us by then were well aware of 'New Zealand Time' where service is slow, people are late, and the word reservation doesn't actually mean you've reserved anything. Not that it's a bad thing, it's a more relaxed lifestyle as long as you understand that nothing is set in stone. I sat and enjoyed the view a bit longer while the girls showered, changed, and tried to figure out what we would do for Christmas dinner, and Angies Dad made a trip to the convenient store (aka Dairy in NZ). 20 minutes later, it was obvious that jet lag was beginning to settle in and there was no longer a need for an extravagent dinner; some good home made pasta made by an Italian family would be just fine. Angie's Dad returned from the store perterbed that the lady at the counter wouldn't accept his American currency. We piled back into the car, stopped by a small grocery store back near the Ponsonby house we were staying at and made a delicious dinner of asparagus, pasta, and the New Zealand classic, wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce. Finally, Laura and I said our goodbyes to Angie and her family as they returned to their hotel to start their family trip around the country and we returned to the couch to watch movies.

The days before New Years

Laura and I spent the following day in the city. We attempted to see a movie but realized it was still another month until the current US blockbusters would arrive here. So, we decided upon spending the afternoon at Gloria Jeans in the book store. Around 5:00pm we made our way to the car rental place to pick up a car she would be renting for the trip with her younger brother (who was arriving by plane early the next morning). We managed much better than we had a month earlier on our last attempt at finding the rental place. Laura's sandals and feet remained in-tact, and rather than an hour plus journey filled with wrong turns and circles, it took only 20 minutes. You don't truly appreciate a car until you've spent more than a month walking everywhere. It's a similar feeling to the first day you get your license, minus the akwardness and peculiar desire to use a drive-through for everything just because you can. We finished the night off with another excellent meal of chocolate-chip pancakes and wine and squeezed in the last bit of TV watching we'd get in our temporary Ponsonby home.

We stayed up too late and woke up too early, but we were both pretty excited about trying to figure out how to make it to the airport. We were a little late, but we made it with only a few wrong turns which wasn't too bad considering that we only knew the name of the exit we had to take off the highway. (Online directions in NZ can sometimes be useless). Immediately after picking up Laura's brother, Zack, we turned the car north and made our way back to Paihia. It was a nice change to have the odds in my favor again, that is 2 guys and 1 girl, (Ryan, you know what I'm talking about), sorry Laura but you had it coming. It's funny to hear the perspective of someone new to the country, it reminded me of all the things I've now grown used to. "Whoa, what kind of cars are those?" "What a weird arrangement of trees, palms next to pines?" "Man, I want to go rolling down those green hills!".

In Paihia I got a cash in hand job cleaning at the hotel next door for a day. It was pretty easy work and they were interested in having me clean the following days as well, but we made some new plans. Two of my current roomates, Julia and Susi (friends from Bolivia, Germany) and I decided to go in on a car together. We test drove a really fast 1990 Subaru Legacy GT Turbo that was selling for just $1500 NZ (about $900 US). Before buying it we had a mechanic friend of Julia's checked out the car and sadly it had an oil leak and needed 4 new low profile tires, so we decided to pass. However, he informed us of a good running camper van we may be able to purchase. I can't recall the make of the van, but it was manufactured in 1988, is painted 5 different colors, and lovingly named 'Charlie'. After talking with the owners a bit, we found that they were going to Auckland for New Years then would be looking for a farmstay job, at which point we could then buy the van from them. By now, the 3 of us, Julia, Susi and myself were feeling anxious after talking about buying a car and traveling for the last week so we decided upon taking our chances going down to Auckland for New Years and hopefully being able to purchase the van soon after. But first, there was some more adventuring to be had since Laura and her brother were in Paihia and had a rental car.

I rushed to finish cleaning that afternoon because the Cape Reinga trip ahead of us was 4 hours, each way. At about 12:30 I finished up and ran over to the Bay Adventure Backpackers to meet Laura and Zack. The weather was pretty good, much better than the first time we drove through a storm to get to the cape. This time, we made sure to stop along the way to rent some sand boards for the dunes. The cape really was an unreal sight, seeing the two great oceans meet and clash in a churn of white caps and waves with these bright green sub-tropical trees swaying in the strong winds that blew over the crest of land. We snapped photos and sat on a grassy hill taking in the views, it was like an impressionistic painting in motion (it might have just been my crap eyes). Before heading to the dunes for some sand surfing, we wanted to stop off on a beach we had seen a detour for on the way up gravel roads towards the cape. We followed some more winding gravel roads through thick sub-tropical forest until we came across a ridge where we could see the beach below. It was a beautiful cove protected, white sand beach with light blue water and some nicely breaking waves at about 3-4 feet. We pulled the car over and walked down to the sand where we could only sit still for a few minutes, the water was just too perfect to stay dry. Zack and I grabbed the two sand boards we rented and tried some skim boarding across the light sand. In a matter of minutes our clothes were just about completely soaked so we figured we might as well just go all the way in the water. I had planned on sand surfing, not real surfing, so my boxers were going to have to do. We went out, and caught a few good waves in the water that was surprisingly warm for being next to naked... (completely naked when the big waves hit). Sure I looked like an idiot out there in my red boxers, but it was a ton of fun, and got us in the mood for the sand surfing to come. As per the words of the guy we rented the boards from, that day was about the best it gets for sand boarding. It had rained the previous days, then dried up today. This helps flatten out the sand, keeps it from blowing, and also creates the cool wind swept patterns you might have seen before. We parked in front of the dunes and walked around a shallow stream that lined the perimeter of them. It was so strange to stand in this stream of water with vast barren mountains of sand to your right, and lush green plantlife to your left. We made several climbs up to the top of one of the steepest sand faces we could find. On one of the rides I hit a bump, flipping over the front of my board and rolling a good 4 times in the sand. (I'm still brushing sand off of my wallet 5 days later). After the monsterous hike to the top, we always took a little break before flying down on our boards. We met a couple Kiwi's up there and we also got to talking with a family from San Francisco. One of the kids was only 14 and already got a chance to visit nearly 20 countries, Laura and I couldn't help but to feel a little jealous. I made my final ride down from the tallest, steepest corner of the face we were on and I managed to make it all the way back to the stream we had walked through earlier. It was one of the most exciting days I've had in a while and is really what New Zealand is all about: having a blast in nature for next to no money.

So, it was decided that Julia, Susi and I would leave Pahia on Saturday. It worked out perfectly that on that same day Laura would be driving the rental car back to Auckland. So while I got a ride back to the city the girls had to hitch-hike, I did feel a little guilty but there was no way I'd turn down a free ride just to keep them company. We decided to take the 12 highway south to Auckland, it's a bit longer of a drive, but the scenery is well worth it. We made a stop off at Rainbow falls where we climbed into a flourescent green mossy cave below the 60+ foot waterfall, jumped from rocks, and dove into the deep fresh water. I haven't seen too many waterfalls, but this was certainly the most impressive one yet. We made it to Auckland around 7:00pm where Julia and Susi had already reserved me a bed in the Albert Park Backpackers. I dropped off my bags there, helped Laura return the rental car, which oddly enough we were directed to leave on the sidewalk in front of the place, then we picked up some pizza and wine which Zack, Laura, and I enjoyed on the rooftop of their posh hostel, the Globe Backpackers.

New Years Eve

I said my final goodbye to Laura and Zack the next morning as they returned to their hostel to catch their tour bus across the country. I returned to my hostel, and caught the long overdue Z's in my 12 person dorm room. It's funny that I can sleep easier in a room with 12 people than I ever could sharing a room with Brian the 'Garbage Animal' back in Santa Barbara. I woke up around 5 that afternoon and read my current book 'The Pillars of the Earth' well into the evening. I met some siblings from Netherlands, a brother and sister that I spoke to for a while in the room. Neither of us had plans for the night so we figured we would head out together and see what happens. However, shortly after Julia and Susi came back from the internet cafe and said they knew of a house party we could go to. We did some good pre-drinking at the hostel backpacker style ($10 boxes of wine, 1 box = 3 bottles). Throughout the night we kept trying to get ahold of the house party guy, but he never answered his phone (we later found out he passed out early and missed new years altogether) so we figured the best course of action, now that it was 11:30 was to hit the streets. We walked outside to see the city streets were now flooded with people, spilling over the sidewalk and blocking most of the street traffic. Everyone was smiling and cheering, drinking in the street was almost acceptable, and music was blasting from every other car and business open. We followed the flock of people to Sky Tower just 2 blocks from our hostel. Below the iconic tower of Auckland was a mass of people yelling, dancing, snapping pictures and laughing, and all traffic had completely stopped. We didn't here a countdown like we're used to, but right at 12:00am of 1/1/2007 the top of sky tower lit up with fireworks blasting from all sides in an impressive display that reflected off all the nearby buildings, and doused the crowd and streets below in purple, orange, and bright white light.

I popped the cork off our bottle of champagne, spraying half of it into the street, and we split the rest of it in a couple minutes. We couldn't help but bob our heads to the cover band playing in the club directly behind us so we headed in and danced for the next hour. Later, we left the club without any particular destination in mind, rather just interested in taking in the partying that filled the streets. Everyone else in the crowded streets seemed to have the same motive, for we stopped and talked with what seemed like every other group of people we passed. Finally, in the distance we spotted some bright flourescent lights that seemed to call out to us. I focused my eyes to read the words 'Burger King' and instantly we were on a mission to get the biggest sloppiest American style burger we could order. Up until this point, I had never actually tried any American fast food in New Zealand. The names of the burgers were completely different, but it all looked and tasted better than I remember Burger King ever tasting back home (Note that my ability to judge quality of food was slightly impared along with most other senses). Susi and I were pretty satisfied with the night at this point but Julia (who didn't eat any delicious Burger King mind you) wanted to go to another club. We waited in line for an all night house club, only to be turned down at the door. They only accepted Passports or New Zealand Driver Licences; my California license and Susi's German License weren't going to work. Julia flipped out for a minute because she had told us to bring our passports earlier, but it all worked out fine in the end. We got some sleep and Julia got her partying done, returning to the room at 8am.

Currently, we're still at the Albert Street Backpackers waiting for a response on the van we initially came down here for. If the owners are able to find a farmstay, we can pick it up. It's a good deal cheaper than most of the other vans we've come across so we're willing to wait a bit longer for it. Alright, I need to stop writing for the moment. I'm laying in my dorm bed being pelted with plato by the Germans. We'll see what happens in the coming days with the car situation. Stay tuned...

-Update-

I meant to post everything above about 3 days ago but didn't get a chance to make it to the internet cafe. Since I originally wrote that, we did find a car, or van rather, covered with spray painted flowers named Phil. It's basically the ultimate hippy van, it's pretty hilarious. The guy we bought it from, John, was a school teacher from England but he has been living out of the van and traveling New Zealand for the last two years. He was incredibly honest, pointing out every tiny flaw Phil had, and always referring to the van as a person rather than a thing. He was asking $1750nz, but he accepted $1600nz from us, split 3 ways. We bought a cheap pot, took some cutlery and dishes from the hostel, then bought a full size mattress that fills the back and will easily sleep the 3 of us. With only the cost of fuel and food, we'll be living pretty cheaply in the next several months as we travel every crevice of the north and south islands of New Zealand. Tonight is our last night in the hostel, where I am sneaking in and sleeping in one of the free 12 person beds at night to save some cash. Our plans are far from certain, but that's what makes it exciting! I'll post again soon.

(Note, we have since removed the creepy stuffed animals. Susi and Julia promptly took showers after John's fairwell kisses; I washed my hand.)

(Random Photos)

One of the last nights together with the Pahia group, all chilling out in our single dorm room.

From top left, clockwise: Sebastion, (on the ground: Sam, Emily, Julie, Margaret) Sidse (top right), Me, Yochem, Susi, and Julia behind the camera.

Simon's last day in New Zealand, we celebrated with a delicious dinner of Ice-cream, chicken, cake, and beer.














Passing the day away in Albert Park, Auckland.