Here I go. I am in the New Zealand now. Finishing my long holiday in the Himalayas I am finally arriving to Auckland airport. I am about to completely change the scenery and once again join the English speaking culture for a while. To work and life in this beautiful country, where “The Lord of the Rings” was filmed and where the nature is like in the fairy tales.
Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park
“Hey Bro, how’s going? How much to get to town from the airport? Serious, $20?! How far? Around 20km did you say? Hmmm, for that money I am use to eat, sleep and see something for two days straight through. Thanks anyway. I will have to get use to it now, ahhhhhh ….” But $20. Didn’t Paul say it is so easy to hitch around the country?
And so I have got some maps from the local info center and started to talk to a courier in front of the Departure hall. This lovely Maori woman was on the job to deliver some flowers and she had offered to take me downtown, if I am in no hurry. Of course I am in no hurry. Leaving me near my friends house later on, she had left me with here phone number to call if I need anything. She has told me a lot about here family and children and how the people from cities see the countryside. What a great welcome. And so my experience with the people here continues. Looks like the New Zealand is full of nice people. They like to talk and are very helpful. I am sure, it is also my approach. Well, from a travelling I am just about to smile at everyone and talk to any stranger whenever I need something. Some people are born like this, but for me it is always a push to be so much of an extrovert.After my arrival in the New Zealand, I was planning to use my working holiday visas and stay in the country for a while to get a proper feel for it, get to know the culture and also earn some money to support myself for a further travelling. Soon I have realized, that to earn enough money here will be hard, as the earnings are very low and spendings high. The New Zealand is nice and relaxed country to live in on one hand, but also very isolated place from the rest of the world. For me being used to the international variety it’s been rather a big change. I have decided to work in Auckland and stay with my friends at the beginning, which was very good experience. Auckland itself is not really heart breaking city, but rather a big (80km long) village to me. Massive traffic and luck of the city transport makes it an adventure to commute to work everyday and some 10 km could take up easily an hour. I have ended up working a long hours and the rest of my time exploring cities harbour, beaches and surrounding hills and meeting with my friends for a water pipe in local Turkish restaurant. Time had passed fast and before I knew it, the spring had come to the New Zealand. So one day I left to see the country from its “top to toes”. Having done the Cape Rainga and most of the Northlands previously I have set off for the Coromandel Peninsula - one of the most beautiful places, before slowly progressing to the South Island, where I was going to meet my friend. I know Jerry from the London and he was going to share some of the travel adventures with me. It happened, we managed to get along reasonably well and in the end we spent almost four months travelling down the West Coast together.
Of Course “To be continued…….”
