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Australia

I climbed Mount Taranaki in New Zealand

“All I can say is that I’m now yet another singer in the choir of people that praise New Zealand to high heavens.”

After a few months in Australia of mostly working I figured it was time to go out and explore a bit again. I always wanted to see New Zealand and since my good buddy JJ (whom I met in Vietnam on my motorcycle trip) was a kiwi I figured now was a good time as any to go and visit him. He lived near the beach in Ohope and even had a spare bedroom! I booked the plane tickets with a return 3 weeks later and off I went.

After an extremely pleasant trip hitching from Auckland to Ohope with beautiful roads all the way and locals going out of their way to help me, I arrived. The last ride I got, which took me directly to my final destination, was a couple named Jono and Kelly from #rallylife and they even offered me to stay in their house while I was in town! If you read this Jono and Kelly – thank you – you have no idea how much I appreciated it.

thank you jono and kelly
Thank you Jono and Kelly!

As JJ was working I spent most of my time hiking, working from my computer or going to the beach. That itself doesn’t sound too bad but JJ pushed me to go a bit out of my way and explore some more. On the last day, this took me to the Agrodome where I witnessed a sheep getting sheared live in front of us at a farming show.

agrodome farming show in new zealand
A one hour show at the Agrodome, presenting a selection of 19 types of sheep being farmed in New Zealand. The Merino sheep in the top middle is my favourite

It also took me to Hobbiton (the Lord Of The Rings movie set). I’m glad I did both of those things!

hobbiton movie set new zealand
A rabbit hole, I mean Hobbit hole in Hobbiton. The amazing movie set used to film the Lord of the Rings series

However, the highlight of the trip was a 3 day camping trip (+ roadtrip) across the north island to New Plymouth with JJ and his dad. We did a ton of hiking (or tramping or mountaineering) as well as climbing Mount Taranaki. It is the biggest volcano on the North Island and even has snow on the top! It is also looks a lot like the more famous Mount Fuji in Japan.

climbing mount taranaki new zealand at 45 degrees angle
This mountain was no walk-over. It was very steep . I don’t know the actual angle but from this picture it looks like 45 degrees

It took about 4 hours to make it to the top. We spent an hour up there enjoying it. And it took 3 hours to get down so it was a full day experience. JJ’s dad swore that it was the last time he would climb this mountain but that’s also what he said last time, so who knows.

climbing mount taranaki in new zealand
The top of Mount Taranaki near New Plymouth, New Zealand. It was a rough climb but as always – worth it in the end!

This is a short summary of my time in New Zealand but so much happened and I had such a good time that it would be pointless to write it all down anyway. All I can say is that I’m now yet another singer in the choir of people that praise New Zealand to high heavens.

showcasing new zealand scenery new plymouth
New Zealand is beautiful!

An Update from Life on the Road

G’day mates! This post serves as a small update from my life and a visit into the life of a Dane on Working Holiday in Australia

Too lazy to read the whole thing? I’ve been in Sydney for a little over a month now and it’s been great!

Reminiscing on the past

The first two weeks I stayed at my friend David’s house near Bondi Beach – beautiful surroundings, central location.

The next two weeks I stayed at my friend Garrett’s girlfriend’s parent’s house in the suburbs. I slept outside on the balcony, listening to kookaburras and frogs while enjoying the pleasant temperature of the Australian summer.

Finally, I spent a week at a hostel, a time which can be seen as a transition period before I finally will be moving in to a regular apartment in Ultimo, Sydney (about 15 min walk from central station). It’s a dorm style flat where we are 5 people total and 3 in the room I’m in.

Rent in Sydney is ridiculously high and unless you want to pay a lot of money or stay far from the city center, that’s how you do it. A good offer is about $350 AUD / week (or about $1500 AUD = $1150USD = 8000DKK per month) for a private room in the city center. I pay $175/week. On the plus side, there is a free gym, free pool and a fussball table included.

“Everything is better with a fussball table.”

Living in the present

Currently, I am in a train on the way to Canberra where David works during the weekdays. He stays at a hotel so I can crash there and stay for free while taking a break from Sydney to explore Canberra, the capital of Australia. Everyone says it’s a shithole because it’s basically just a very lightly densed small town styled city in the middle of the bushes. Consequently, it’s an ideal place for spotting Kangaroos, so that’ll be the highlight of the trip for me. Kangaroos and the Australian War Memorial which is also worth a visit if you find your way here.

UPDATE (I succeeded):

I’ve also gotten a job at the iconic location of Luna Park, which is a 1930’s styled theme park right by the river with a view to both darling harbour, the opera house and the bridge. It is a prime location and a well-known tourist attraction. I work there in the functions department which means my day mainly consists of polishing glasses, decking tables and serving / waiting food and drinks at events.

It’s not too hard on the ol’ thinker and when your shift is over you can forget about work – none of that “Your work follows you home” kinda crap.

“It’s not too hard on the ol’ thinker and when your shift is over you can forget about work – none of that “Your work follows you home” kinda crap.”

the iconic Luna Park in Sydney
Luna Park in Sydney by night. Source: Internet

Forward, Always Forward.

My immediate future looks like I’m going to be a working man. I’ve got a couple of online endeavours as well as the job at Luna Park and between these I’ll have plenty to do. I’ve already accepted that these first 3 months in Australia are dedicated to money making time. Less sightseeing and more canned Salmon and pasta. I’ll still be able to get “underneath” the city and experience day-to-day local living here.

Also, I haven’t touched a drip of alcohol since New Years and I’ve dropped 6 kgs down to an all-time low of 89kg (in recent time).

So that’s my life in a nutshell. I’ve opened a bank account, I’ve opened an Australian phone number, I’ve moved in to an apartment, I’ve gotten a job and a tax file number. In short, I’m settled.

Return to the Western World

As I’ve been here in Sydney for a week, I’ve gotten a vague idea of Australia. Obviously, Australia is huge and I’ve only seen one city.

Similiarities with other cultures

Australia is, naturally, heavily influenced by England which manifests itself in such things as an abundance of fish’n’chips shops, driving on the left side of the road and cricket fields. However, Australia also has distinct cultural similarities with for example California in the US, like the laid back culture; the flip flops and the board wear.

bondi beach in sydney with surfer
Bondi beach, Sydney.

The language is English but there are a many new words and expressions that I’ve never heard before. The overuse of the word “heaps” is one. It means “a lot” or “many”:

“There are heaps of people on the beach”.

Another fun little quirk of the Australian language is exchanging the end of a word (or name) with “o”:

Bottle-o (bottle shop), arvo (afternoon), servo (service center), David (dave-o).

Sydney Beaches

You’ll see several different types here: You’ve got the German tourists out to lick some sun away from the cold winter back in Europe, you see the young surfers with their blond curly hair and billabong shorts and finally you see the ripped people running around topless (the boys, that is) who spend most of their time going to the gym and eating healthy. In all three situations, the goal is the same: to look good on the beach.

I went to two of the beaches in Sydney so far – Bondi and Bronte. Both extremely nice beaches with white sand and blue water.

bondi beach in sydney
Bondi Beach, Sydney from a high vantage point

You’ll see several different types here: You’ve got the German tourists out to lick some sun away from the cold winter back in Europe, you see the young surfers with their blond curly hair and billabong shorts and finally you see the ripped people running around topless (the boys, that is) who spend most of their time going to the gym and eating healthy. In all three situations, the goal is the same: to look good on the beach.

There is a definitely a large culture evolving around the beach and life on the beach.

Biking in Sydney

One thing, I miss from Denmark, is the bicycle culture. With the amazing weather we’re currently having here in Sydney a bike would be just great. Needless to say I was super stoked when my friend David said that I could borrow his bike. The initial excitement went away though when I learned that bikes are not exactly common in Sydney and people don’t use them as much as a means of transportation but rather recreationally – on racing bikes rather than citybikes.

There are no bike lanes so you share the road with the cars – and some cars really don’t like that so they get super close to you. Still, there is a functioning train/bus system and actual sidewalks which is a nice change of pace from the craziness that is Saigon (and the rest of South East Asia).

Sports

I’ve heard Australians call themselves a very sporty nation many times. They obviously play rugby and cricket but they also play four (!) different types of football, with one of them being the normal style soccer. They have huge stadiums (100.000+ people) and, apparently, the atmosphere in those stadiums is through the roof. Even if I don’t like the sport, I should still go, just for that sensational feeling.

Conclusion

Australia Provides a lot of new and interesting things for me to explore. And I’ve only been in one city so far!