NEW ZEALAND (NORTH ISLAND LAST WEEKS); The sickest time, I'm so lucky lucky lucky, becoming a TV star, the highest skydive, gorgeous places, steaming natural hotsprings under the stars, wonderful peop

4th of August RAIN, AUCKLAND, BORING...

Spending 1 day in Auckland. 3 hours with the bus from Rotorua. Weather can't get any worse. You copuldn't even see the Skytower in Auckland. Good stories about Indonesia in the bus. Lantana Lodge in AUckland is a surprise. Free fast Wifi, fridges on the room, no bunks...No. 3 hostel in NZ, lucky me there was 1 bed left. The Thai boy at the restaurant was enthousiastic when he prepared me a meal; 'This is really spicy hot hot hot hot!' Hmm, what did you use, only pepper? Come on Mr Bangkok, try better next time. Sleeping in Auckland? No way! The rain stopped at sunset time, so a citywalk. With some good friends this city has a lot of nightlife and stuff to offer. But if you're on a diet don't visit Auckland...unlimited places with all sorts of (fast)food. Lonely me ended up in Albert Park with my new collection of muffins. My roomie was a cool dude from England, and always fun to be on the exact same level. So a short night as usual.

5th of August KIWI EXPERIENCE, SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS RIP-OFF AND A FEARLESS MORE THAN 1 MINUTE FREEFALL FROM 16.000FT WHOHOOOOOO!

Something what I always wanted, travel with a big green KIWI EXP-bus UHHH NOT! But what the hell, just try and see if the stories are true about party busses full with young kids having sex with all the young English girls. Only 8 people in this masive bus, rediculous. Not much to talk in the bus, and no interesting stops. The Cape Reinga Tour seems to be done by a different company than KIWI. What's the use of trippin' with KIWI? 11:30 in Paihia, Bay of Islands. Shitty weather turned into a nice sunny winterday. SO jump on a cruise for swimming with dolphins. Enthousiastic as I am I jumped on the bopat with snorkling gear and fins. We sailed through Hole-in-the-Rock which is absolutely freakin amazing...for someone who has never seen water and rocks before. And it was time to spot the dolphins. So many dolphins jumping out of the water! My pants were already half my knees to jump in, but no. No swimming today because there seem to be young dolphins in the water. Uh, there will always be young dolphins I guess? So it's just a marketing trick to attract people for these cruises. Although seeing this creatures from a short distance playing is still cool and the views while sailing through the islands and lagoons wasn't bad at all. 4:15pm back on shore. I was picked up by a laidback Canadian dude called Rick, cool traveller. Picked up for what you might guess? Well, 1.5 years ago I had this thing in my head about skydiving above the Bay of Islands. I found out that recently the highest skydive of NZ is right here. Don't think about the money, just do it. I did, 375 NZD for a jump and 140 NZD for a DVD and pics. The smalles propeller plane. I jumped in with my tandem jumper Tim and there was another jumper from my hostel; Nick (from Vancouver). Here we go! Nothing to hold on in the plane, one side open and the pilots doing some tricks for extra G-Forces...I like it already :-) At some point we had to put our oxygen masks on and it was freezing. But the views man...skydiving with sunset at a hight of 16.000ft OMG! Legs outside and there we go...wwwhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow! What sweet as?! This is fuckin' sick dude! A flip and a freefall for at least 70 seconds with a speed of 200km per hour. 3.8km free fall according to my calculations. My ears were poppin but shit I like this. Feel free, flying over the islands towards the sun A-MA-ZING! Parashute pops open and then you have some time to realise what is happening. For some heavy G-Forces it's time to spin...go on, keep it going. Nice landing and this was it, the most expensive orgasm ever hahaa. The 50 year old owner gave us a few beers and I'm starting to realise what I'm going to do with my life after all the stories tonight. And I wonder what happened with my fear lately, it seems that nothing scares my anymore. Even this jump, I was so relaxed. The thing is; don't think too much and only believe in the fact that it's going to be stunning. Another fact is that you have to trust your instructor with extreme sports. After this wicked adventure it was time for karaoke night at Base Bar...brrr. Happy that I met Nick, the Canadian guy. We kept on talking and went out for the uffy pipes of NZ. At scared Nick after having a police car that turned over to us. Ow the stories about X Base and KIWI-bus? Even though that it's not summer and we have a lot of 'normal' backpackers on the bus...my personal experience is that the stories are true :-)

6th of August SPEEDING ON THE BEACH, HUGGING THE ANCIENT GIANTS, SANDBOPARDING AND FLYING OVER THE CREEKS...AND GETTING ROBBED

Tetetetee Teteteeeeh! It's the A-Team! Oh fuck, it's the huge tourbus of AWESOME. Well, let's find out how 'awesome' this daytrip is. The driver, Barry, like to talk...a lot. Talking about his name for 10 minutes and all sorts of stuff. Shut up! Nick already had is Ipod on after half an hour in the bus. Okay, ancient forest walk at Waipoua Kauri Forest. Huge Kauri-trees, should be a attractive walk. Oops, it's only a 5-minute boardwalk?! What a shame, hugging a tree was the main attraction according to them. In the bus, tourists complaning about the cold, was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. And the bus drives on to the beach. Speedlimit road signs on the beach?? Yes, 100kmph. Driving on 90-mile beach with 120kmph was new for me. It's actually a highway, but be carefull with the tides. Only at the end there is a stop for a few minutes. Carwrecks in the sand, funny. The bus turns right, drives up a river with the bus...towards the high sand dunes...52 meters high. Sandboards ready, climb and go! From above it looks way more exciting. On your belly on the board, up to 80kmph with you face almost in the sand. At the bottom there is a small jump and if your good you just fly over the river. I loved it, went up 6 times before the busdriver said we had to leave. Everyone was waiting for me in the bus. No need to hurry up, guess what happed...the bus broke down! What is wrong with people and thinking about empty batteries nowadays? Luckely we had an couple from Hanmer Springs on board and one of them was a mechanic, after some tricks he started the bus. Up to Cape Reinga and Spirits Bay. This area is sacred and full of spiritual activities. The busdriver starts talking about the death of his son and all sorts depressive stories. At Cape Reinga he starts praying in Maori and singing Maori ritual songs. Ok this surprised me. A 1 hour walk in the most Northern part of NZ, climbing down on a rock and watching the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meeting eachother...this is a special place. But where the fuck is my backpack with camera's, money and everything?! Damn, it is stolen just in a few seconds. Yes, NZ is not as trustfull anymore as I expected. THere is only one option, go out for a run and find out if those thieves are still here. After a while I found them, it were 2 German girls and a guy...completely surprised that I caught them. All sorts of excuses blablaaa. I didn't even get angry, I was only thinking 'It will happen 2 you some day and you will not be that lucky'. The brutal thing was, that they were in the same bus, how stupid could they be?! After a tasty fish and chips meal at Maonui I already forgot the incident. An evening walk along some of the hostels ended in an interesting meeting with Julia, so my opinion about Germans is still good. Sorry guys, I will not generalise ;-) I feel younger and younger these days, even a kid that was half my age refused to sell me a bottle of cider in the supermarket! Hahaaa, if a 30 year old guy is not allowed to buy drinks...so I look like under 18...I was flattered.

7th of August MUD MOUNTAIN BIKING IN THE STORM AND NIGHTWALK ON THE STREETS IN OUR UNDERWEAR

What a waste of time, being in the Bay of Islands and heavy rainfall all day long. Nick and I tried to get the tropical feeling by having a few early Corona's in the warm Beach House (it was around 10AM). Our tropical waitress Verena helped a little bit to get that feeling. After a ot of laughs Nick left and I moved to my new hostel. Hanging around with my new temporary friends Gert (who I met at Queenstown during the worldcupfinal) and Marko. JUlia finished work and nobody had the guts to join me on a mountainbike trip. A wet trip to the top of Mt. Bledisloe and after the Haruru Falls and the mangroves. Muddy tracks, al lot of water and rain, strong winds, a bike way too small for me and a lot of climbing. 2 hours of fun, getting the worst part of the storm today. It's a good way to loose some energy. After a shower we watched the rugby match All Blacks vs. Wallabies, again NZ kicked ass. A very long game of pool, Holland against Germany. Well the worst game ever for us. But like the Dutchies in the worldcup, we played bad and we still won whohoo! So jacuzzi time. Getting our clothes off and jump illegally in the jacuzzi of X Base. It was not allowed but who cares. At some point they kicked us out and they found out that we were not staying at X Base. Angry security and we were walking on the streets in our wet underwear...hahaaaa. The locals said we looked like a few gay guys, uhm there is also a girl here (allthough she was pretty small). Yeah a funny night, this is what we call Kiwi Experience X Base! :D Some issues about where I should sleep tonight, dorm are not always the best room to book hahaaa.

8th of August THE 1ST BORING DAY IN NEW ZEALAND, 17 HOURS OF TRAVELLING

Finally good weather, a beachwalk near Paihia. Trying to make a deal with the dolphin cruises for a swim, uh uh no. So chill out and chat with my Paihia-crew after the filling pancakes that Julia made in the morning. A small cartrip to the waterfall and no ride to the muddy hotpools, the organising Germans think that we didn't had time enough. Well 3PM the first bus trip, a big green KIWI-bus full with young English, a 1.5 hour stopover in Auckland followed by a 12 hour bustrip to Wellington with Intercity Link. Boring and not spending any money, so that's the good thing :-) In Auckland I suddenly got the feeling to walk outside the bus terminal, and who did I meet there? Whaaaaat a surprise, it was Nolwenn. Yeah, she was maybe the highlight of today whahaaa.

9th of August START OF THE NEW ROAD TRIP, FLYING THROUGH THE CANYONS AND WARNING!

7.00AM at the Central Railway Station of Wellington, waiting for my new travelbuddy for the next 10 days, Sandra. I had to wait for 1.5 hour so I spend some time having fun with the local students. Sandra picked me up in her private Spaceship, had a few drinks and snacks in windy Wellington. And the other reason why I was here? My passport and Cuban visa...it is all there. Cuba Cuba Cuba! Oscar seemed to be a funny guy, and surprisingly I had some fun at the Ambassy, completely forgot that there was someone waiting outside. Heading North to Rotorua, with a stop at the Wai.... Canyon for some free activities at Gravity. Well I was standing at the bungy jump platform (80 mtres high) and I found it so boring that I decided to do a tandem jump with Sandra, doing a flying fox. Climbing up 180 metres high and let yourself drop dowm on a zipline with 160km per hour. NZ is way more safe than Laos, completely packed and hardly any space to move. The first few seconds were fun, the following 8 minutes were making me sleepy. Doing so many crazy things makes you spoiled...you want faster and higher every time. The canyon area was beautiful. Driving through the Rotorua National Park area, cold and many dark clouds...a magnificent scenery! During sunset the vulcano's and the clouds in the sky turned pink and purple; it was the exact same scenery as on the Lonely Planet cover. After renting some cramp-ons, ice axes and shoe covers we arrived at National Park Backpackers. 'We wanna do the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow'...Staff; 'Are you experienced mounteniers?' Me; 'Yes and we got all our equiptment'. Alarm fase ORANGE; even well experienced mountainiers are not allowed to do the Tongariro Crossing due to the extremely bad weather conditions. Uhm, the sky turned pink during sunset and at the moment it clear. I don't think any bad weather is coming. But many warnings from several people that there is a lot of ice, water and snow on the track and nobody had been there the last 2 days. 2 days ago an experienced climber died falling 300 metres down. The busses are not doing the shuttle and no guided tours, it's up to us... More thieves! This time it was the Italian Maffia that robbed me of a bottle of wine and some Tim Tam's, luckely I had a good 1st day with my new travel partner.

10th of August TONGARIRO AND CROSSING THE EDGE'S

Ohohooo, I wanna do that Crossing, but no still warnings and rangers that are more than happy to stop you. So only 1 other option, there is a simular track at Tongariro, the Tongariro Traverse. That part goes across a waterfall and up to 1600 metres between 2 vulcanic lakes between Mt Tongariro and Mt Ruapehu. Sandra didn't let me snowboard in the vulcano, while the conditions were ideal. Just like the weather conditions. Piet Paulusma (our Dutch National weatherman who's always right...not!) can easily get a job here. This was the best and most sunny day in NZ so far, Sandra burned here face and I got a good tan today. For the biggest part of the track we were the first ones to walk on the track since days. Incredible, walking in snow above you knees (yeah even my balls were freezing sometimes). Icy parts and getting wet feet in the streams we had to cross. The snow in the forest was still there. The waterfall was one of the best I've seen, although it was not that huge. All because of the brown colored cliffs and the ice at the bottom. Adventurous how I am, I climbed down to the bottom of the waterfall...Winter Wonderland! Walking on and on, noticing that Sandra was not amused today. Miss Munich was a little bit grumpy, complaining about everything. I wanted some fun so a few jokes and throwing snowballs maybe? uh uh, not amused. The walk was at least amusing me :-) Arriving at the highest pint between the Lower and the Upper Lake. A bit windy here but still accesible. I found a teriffic track walking further on a narrow cliff on top, going slightly down to the Lower Lake and crossing the Lower Lake, followed by a steep rocky climb. Sandra started complaining again; 'This is a National Park, if yopu don't stay on the track you destroy the vegitation!'. Hahahaa, uhm we can't even see if we are walking on tracks because of all that snow and making these tracks didn't destroy shitloads of vegitation? The wood that they used, how many trees did they kill for that? Don't tell me something about walking on tracks and destroing nature :-) After a 7 hour walk it was time to leave the National Park, unfortunately Miss Munich didn't wan't to stay another day for some vulcanic snow boarding. So we arrived in Taupo in the evening. Sandra was still grumpy and even making an impressive salad and a nice meal was not good enough; the color of the sauce was not good enough for madame and she didn't even try the salad because she knew that all the salad in NZ is crap. Okay, this is boring and annoying, I'm ending this road trip baby!

11th of August THE UNEXPECTED TWIST, TOO MUCH FUN BUBBLING IN HOT STREAMS

Sandra was testing my nerves again, constantly asking for money and receipts to share the costs. Okay, here is your money and do your thing today! I went on a 3 hour walk to the Huka Falls and the hot stream. No option to go to the Orakei Hidden Valley, the weather is too good today and no busses available. 40km was a little bit to far with a bike in the late afternoon. And just when you think this place is boring...BANG! Clem and Julie (two funny French girls Adrien and I met in Franz Josef) walked in. Introduced me to Tyler (US) and he introduced me to Louise(UK). Yeah this was group of interesting characters together. We bought 6 bottles of red wine and beer, walked to the Huka Falls (for most people the 2nd time today) and after some bridge hanging above the falls we stopped at the natural hot streams. During our walk we met another funny person from Korea. Oh and Clem had to make a pee-stop, people walked passed us and told us she took a nice spot... WHAHA, Clem didn't even go into the bushes, she took her pants down on the middle of the path! The hot streams...our group was so impressive that we scared all the other people who were having their private time between the bushes. The bottles of wine went fast and again French people that know how to smoke weed hahahaaa. Yeah good times, chilling there till far after sunset. At the end everybody was to drunk/stoned to drive the car, so let's walk. The sulfar made the feelings even more intense. Louise and I were the smart asses (we didn't drink that fast) so we didn't get lost like ouir friends. Reunited after a while, time for shopping adventures in Pak'n'Save. Shopping trolley races in the supermarket, a trolley full of wine bottles and pasta sauce, Clem and Julie crashed with their trolley with full speed, fl;ipped over, bottles everywhere but nothing broken. The complete staff wanted to kick us out, but after some cheers from the other customers we were allowed to continue shopping. The other customers found it quite amusing. Yeah we are kids again :-) Epic times at the hostel, Julie was getting a little bit too close for her status hahaaa. Night jogging on the streets of Taupo, lovely beachwalk under the stars, ping pong and all the other things I can't remember.

12th of August MTB, CLIMBING MT RAPAHA, 'TARGET JUJU', HORNY DEER AND MISSING BALLS

Most of the crazy crew experienced a serious hangover, Clem vommiting in front of the reception (hilarious!), big holes in their memory. Me? Too much energy. Renting a descent MTB from Rainbow Lodge for 20 NZD and cycle. Climbing for some excersize. Mt. Rapaha is not known as an official track but recommended by locals. Crossing some Maori property, the way up is a little bit hard to find. Walkinsg between the sheep and in their poo. The track up the mountain surprised me, definately not a standard walk; most parts crawling through the bushes, and squeezing yourself through narrow cliffs and rocks. When you reach the top, don't forget to turn right and walk further through the bushes for a magnificent view over the lake (standing on the rocks). It's a 2 hour return. It was 1:30PM and I had half an hour to go back to the hostel...hmm, how do I shorten 1.5 hour into half an hour? Not possible, but I looked like cycling the Tour de France. And what happens while you're on top of an unknown track? Meeting Dutch people. Tyler, Julie, Clem and I jumped in Tyler's car. We are going to Waitomo! Yeah, yesterday I booked a bus to Waitomo and luckely I dind't gave my Credit Card details. After meeting my new crew I heard they were going the same direction. So I just cancelled my bus, Sweet As! Heavily packed we drove...so much fun. Maori music in the car, singing, dancing, spliffing and a new game on the road; 'Target Juju'. Try to hit someone with objects using warning signs on the road as a katapult...perfect when hitch hiking is getting boring. We found our way to Waitomo easily, the swimming pool at Juno Hall was crap, but we had trampoline, a tennis court and a lot of farmlife. The deer was a little bit horny, first trying to bite my balls and after; climbing on Tyler's back hahahaaa. Playing tennis in the dark was hardcore, maybe we should dip the balls in petrol and set them on fire? Or just use glow worms? After wine and green the trampoline is so cool! Yeah, we're getting younger and younger.

13th of August THRILLSEEKA! ADVENTURE TO THE CORE...ROCK CLIMBING, ABSEILING AND SERIOUS CAVING

Damn, caving adventures are priced over the top here. Rafting, 1 x abseiling, seeing a cave on a boardwalk and some glow worms can cost you between 145 and 395 NZD (pictures excluded). The girls had no time and went to the touristy concrete paths of the Glow worm Caves. Tyler found a bochure of Green Glow for 100 NZD. This was something we both didn't expect; An unbelievable day, we started fitting our clothes and equiptment at 10AM after feeding Paul's funny pigs and goats. Is this a joke' Getting these blue and black sriped strecht pants and a purple vest> I looked like a chick in that outfit. But no, I had to keep them on. Paul is running his own business after his jobs at Rap, Raft and Rock, Spellbound and more of the wellknown companies here. We could decide what to to, the first 1.5 hour we did rock climbing on the lime stone cliffs in this area. Class 13 was easy for me, but class 15 was not to be done by me. I didn't had enough strength in my fingers after a while to pass the 'roof'. I tried so many times...shit. But a cool experience, to be continued. Followed by 5 abseils (from lime stone towers, cliffs and into caves) up to 30 mtres high. Serious caving for 4 times. And you better have some guts cause it's not for pussies. You will get cold and wet till your belly. You can hurt yourself easily and there are no tracks, boardwalks or lights. REAL ADVENTURE! Eels, cave spiders and many many glow worms! So cool, having you lunch in the dark surrounded by thousands of glow worms. Climbing down strong waterfalls in the jungle, climbing down underground waterfalls, crawling through the smallest holes and squeezing yourself through the walls. Big pieces of rock fall down sometimes during the light earthquakes. ARe you claustrofobic or not adventurous? Better stay at home pussies ;-) And it's so much better when the tour is personalised like this. Paul was copmpletely into photography, he had tripods and external flashes with him to make the most amazing pictures in the caves. I learned also something about photography today. After 8 intensive hours it was time to stop, the big storm started outside and it became stronger and stronger. Paul even gave us free dvd's and stuff! What an experience and that just for 100 NZD.

14th of August WHICH DIRECTION? PARTY TIME IN RACIST AUCKLAND...

Wake up, what you gonna do? Bad weather...New Plymouth and visiting Desiree or heading to Coromandel? I got a ride with Tyler to the airport of Auckland. A 2.5 hour ride through rainy NZ. The highlight op the trip, this dumm ass looking black donkey on the middle of the road that didn't want to move... IE AHHHH! Tyler, thanks for the lifst and the food buddy, see you in California. I heard Nick was in Auckland and it's Saturday. TIme for some party! 'Welcome home' said the Fijian Bro at the hostel in Auckland. A warm welcome, maybe NZ will be my 'home' one day... I'm leaving 2 Coromandel tomorrow so free Wifi ayt the Library (you gotto be patient, it takes at least 20 minutes before you have any connection). Hemp Store, oldschool sessions, drinking beers, buying six-packs of my favorite DIESEL. Dumpling at the Food Alley, damn that guy was bad...service in NZ is not always the best thing. Treating us like a bunch of retards and no possibility to pay with any card. The good thing, dumpling is da shit :-) More drinks and sessions, hanging out the window in the hostel, braincrackin Dubstep through the speakers...Auckland we gonna rock! Feeling hungry, Indian Restaurant Ravis was the most expensive dinner in NZ so far, and seriously good stuff over there. Nad now on our way to K Road to find that 24-hour pumping night club. It's cold in NZ, but all girls dress like it's a Playboy contest. Yeah, good times for the senses. TIme for some chill out at Little Turkish Cafe for some sheesha. Thailand memories dude! Only difference? They didn't want us in the cafe. Sheesha not possible, why not? Everybody has one here. Not allopwed to buy alcohol, while all the other tables have beer and bottles of wine on their table. And if you have ordered and payed, you have to ask a couple of times when we gonna get ou sheesha, tea and food. Again zero service and they treated us like shit because we were the only non-Turkish customers. If you emigrate to another country you better enjoy your work...or stop being an asshole :-) After all the pleasures of this evening we were too fuckin tired to look for a good nightclub, the nightlife wasn't that interesting this evening. When I walked my mind walked faster then my body whoosh... Good to meet my Canadian buddy again. Jumping Nick, he just loves doing all the possible base/skydive/bungy jumpes in NZ. See you in Nimbin!

15th of August HITCH HIKING SILENT COROMANDEL, GETTING LOST IN THE JUNGLE

A mistake with the booking system with 360 DISCOVERY, really cheap price with the ferry HALELUJA TECHNOLOGY! No more storm but still grey and windy. 3 hours on the Ocean, Coromandel Town was dead. Lion's Den hostel looked really cool; African hippie styled place but there was nobody. So hitch hiking? Hell yeah. No rain so thumbs up. 10 minutes, Kiwi Micky did the first part and dropped me off at a better location. 10 minutes later, Karen picked me up and showed me Matarangi Beach. She and her husband have their own local Brewery; Coromandel and invited me to take a look at the brewery. From Matarangi it took me 1 minute to get my 3rd lift of today; surfdude Tama (Maori for 'boy') dropped me off at Witianga. THis temporary workless fisherman, contructionworker, snowboarder and surfer just knows how to enjoy life. The hostel was quiet but amazing. Sue showed me around, I'm gonna wake up with a view on Buffalo Beach with the sunrise...and I can just stay in my bed to see it. Free kayaks and stuff. Weather is getting better, so tramping is the activity for today. Mini ferry to the other side of the river, a few slippery walks on cliffs and yeah, it was about to happen some day... I GOT LOST IN THE JUNGLE! Taking a directtion that looked like a sort of track but the forest became denser and denser. Stupid as I am I kept on walking and finding my way through watefalls, river, bushes and rocks. I was lost hahahaaa, took some time but at the end I was back on a track again. Some cool sceneries and Vince be carefull on the rocks at the beach. So slippery, wrong shoes and feld off the rocks some times. Mussels all over the place. After some fresh barbequed fish of the locals it was the end of a relaxing day at Coromandel.

16th of August I'M SO LUCKY IN PARADISE! NEW CHUM'S BEACH, HOT WATER BEACH, TV STAR

7.00AM get ready for the sunrise, it is the best spot to stay here on the beach. Hanging around with some local girls on the beach early in the morning. What's the plan today? A speetboat tour for half the price or renting a bike and cycle the whole day to see everything? Nope, just talk with some people and find out that there are 2 Canadian girls driving around Coromandel today and going to the same places I wanted to go. How does it work? Just ask if you can have a ride with them and smile. A 20 minute drive to Whangapounga, drive all the way to the end of the road. According to some of the locals you have to cross the river. We didn't have a boat so the only way is through the water. Small backpacks above our head and go. Edith and Lisa were adventurous enough and I like that attitude. Not sure if this was the way to New Chum's Beach. A 30 minute walk through the bush and WTF...this is definately one of the top 10 beaches of the world. So lucky that the sun came through and the sky turned blue. It felt like being on the stunning beaches of Thailand again. This beach is the only beach in NZ completely untouched, inaccessible and hidden in the bush. It was worth a cold swim and a slippery walk. Chilling out, enjoying the sea and the white sand, getting a tan, having a few drinks and some fruit, swinging at one of the trees, listen to the sound of the birds. We had to go after a while. On our way back we bumped into the National TV crew of TV NZ. Karen told me yesterday about the plans of building a road and start with building 20 houses on this beautifull piece of untouched NZ. They were shooting a show about this item in 'Close Up'. Ofcourse we don't like these plans so hopefully we helped with supporting the locals and keeping this beach hidden as it is now. And Edith and I are going to be National hero's. A beginning of a TV career? Hahaa. Soaking wet and covered in sand we jumped in their rental car.

A short break at the Deli Bakery in Witianga and getting shocked about shipping costs fore a 5kg package shipping to the Netherlands > damage 109,00 NZD! Getting our free spades from the hostel and woosh here we go to Cathedral Cove. Happy that I didn't rent a bike to do this, there is a lot of climbing on the roads. There we are, heaps of Kiwi Experience kids running around. The sign says 45 minute walk, uhm 20 minutes? Such a shame that they have to put these fences everywhere around the Cove. Again at the right time the sun comes through. Adventurous as we are we walk through Cathedral Cove, climb some rocks, cross some water to go into some small caves and walk back. Edith was on a mission for some wine, we were just 5 minutes late at the wonderfull winery in Hahei.

The last treat of today; Hot Water Beach. You have to know when it's low tide, it was already low tide for an hour so hopefully most of the tourists are gone. 5.30 PM here we are, a pink and purple colored beach with the sunset, bright white foam on the waves from the last bit of sunrays. We runned to the end of the beach where it all happened. STill a bunch of relaxing people hanging around in their holes. We took and borrowed some spades to dig our own hole in the sand. Amazing, you dig a hole and hot water is coming out of the ground. Be carefull, one spot can be cool or warm, other spots can fill up with boiling water. Shit, I forgot my eggs! Finally you can say things like 'Get out of my hole, your hole is hot! would you like to sit in my hole etc.' without having weird looking faces. Time to chill out, bottle of wine, can of Diesel and relax. The feeling is almost spiritual. A clear sky above us, the whole Milky Way above, the moon shining and giving us that mysterious light on the beach. And even shooting stars. Everyone was fun around here. Looking up and thining about how fucking lucky we are with this life. Yeah life is beautifull, this is living the dream. Midwinter and perfect weather in Coromandel today, the only cloud here is the steam of the hot pools that make the view on the stars and the moon even more mysterious. 07:30 PM, we were one of the last ones at the beaches, floating in our pool till the tide came in. So sad we have to leave this place...heaven on earth...

17th of August CURVING AROUND COROMANDEL ON THE 309, WE ARE NATIONAL HERO'S AND HAVING LOADS OF FUN WITH WINE, CHEESE AND DICES

A special sunrise in the morning. Time to leave Witianga, thanks Sue it was fantastic. Edith and Lisa are going to Auckland the end of this day and flying out of the country tomorrow. The same as I do...how perfect can it be? So I joined them in the car. You see, you don't have to travel with busses all over NZ, there are so many other opportunities. The 'famous' and curvy 309 Road from Witianga to Coromandel Town. Whahaaaa, it was the lost world...nobody. Even the Honeyfarm was dead. Self service get your jars of Honey and leave the money in the basket. Our idea; leave a note with 'So funny, we took your honey and your money honey'. No, don't destroy the trustfull Kiwi reputation, so we left the money in a basket full of money. Stopping at the Waiau Falls for a little bushwalk and further on a Kauri Forest with Siamese Kauri trees. Feels like the tropics here with all these wicked colored birds flying around. The plan was to climb Castle Rock today, but despite some blue parts in the sky it was covered in clouds. So after a short pitstop at the waterpark we drove along the sunny Westcoast of the Coromandel. Lunch at the nice beaches, the last time to spot some of the millions of sheep in NZ. And an wonderfull extra lunch break in Thames. Fall asleep in the car and woke up in the traffic jam to dark rainy Auckland...the Kiwi Dream is almost over. Well, one more time a crazy night :-) Edith wanted someone to drink wine with and we had some delicious bread, cheese, dips and wine that night. So the three of us were pretty loud and rowdy in the YHA Hostel, the other (younger) backpackers were a little bit scared and moved a few tables. And we kicked the other backpackers out of the couch in the TV Room because it was time for our NZ TV premiere. Sorry guys, Family Guy is on screen tomorrow again... Loads of fun that night, beating those Canadian girls bigtime with their own dice games hahaaa ;-) Thanks for the lovely days girls! And Nick was still in Auckland, so meet up again at night, see you in Nimbin buddy!

NEW ZEALAND, SWEET AS BRO! INCREDIBLE COUNTRY WITH REAL ADVENTURE AND PEOPLE I WILL NEVER FORGET!

Yes, this country full of sheep and mountains was special. Snowboarding in your t-shirt, the crazy party's, good times with the locals and specially the good times with French and Canadians, stunning days full of tramping, the wildlife...well too much to tell. 6 weeks is nothing, I could stay here for a year travelling around. NZ I will be back!

NEW ZEALAND (NORTH ISLAND WEEK 1); A SLAVE IN A FRENCH SPACESHIP

29th of July BYE BYE SOUTH AND SUNSHINE, HELLO FRENCH ROADTRIP & CUBAN AMBASSY

3,5 hours on the Bluebridge Ferry (there are 2 Ferries, Bluebridge is cheaper most of the time and drops you off in the middle of the centre of Wellington). A cold time outside on the deck and meeting Anja and Carolin (Germany), more Spaceship travelers. Wellington, where is the sun?! Wellington was wet and no sunshine. The hostel was a good walk uphill. The city can be discovered in 2 hours by foot, loads of nice bars and restaurants in the Cuban District. I went to a place for French crepes and asked for a Cuba Libre. Why? I need to arrange my Cuba Tourist Card today and need to arrange a roadtrip with the 2 French teachers. And go to the Te Papa Museum, lots of exhibitions about nature, wildlife, Maori and more history about NZ. The Cuba Visa couldn't be arranged today so I have no more passport from now on. I met the Frenchies again and decided to start the road trip on the Eastcoast tomorrow...YEAH! After some French humor and futuristic games it was bedtime. Don't forget the wine and the Kiwi Grass (it's legal) that they sell here.

30th of July EAST AS ... DAMN GOOD ROADTRIP, SPENDING THE NIGHT IN PRISON

Thanks Wellington for giving me what I asked for. Good day, Dutch breakie at Rosemere and 10AM Hit the road! Spaceship has arrived. Cecile and Sandy where the 2 French aliens in the spaceship and my job for this roadtrip? Be their slave...whahahaa, we see what happens. After a long drive through small towns with all the same shops on a main street, we finally hit the coast. First jump off, Ocean Beach (under Kidnappers Cave). After a delicious muffin meal (I arranged 4 huge muffins for only 1 NZD at New World, thanks to the mistakes the self scanner makes) it was game time. Beat those girls with all the beach games was my mission and that was not a problem. It was getting dark so drive on to Napier, an Art-Deco style small town on the Eastcoast. The girls decided to sleep in their ship 'Amidala' and they met their Canadian friend. Maybe I have to learn more French, because drinking in an Irish Pub with 'Je blablabla...' isn't that easy. Well, I'm hungry and I'm going to find out how good the Napier Cuisine is (haha, a French word). I found 1 place that was absolutely packed, Kilim Turkish Restaurant. Only locals and they were really friendly to a guy with muddy shoes and a ski jacket :-) The food was amazing, like good Turkish food should taste. And if you like hot, they make it hot. The girls from the restaurant even gave me a bag of Turkish cookies because they said I was waiting too long. Tonight it's Friday and time to get drunk in this sleeping town. This night ended in spending the night in prison! No I was not arrested, but there is an old prison where you can sleep (almost everything is still in the same condition). I was the only guest but the crew was very cool. Mark, Mark and the redhead German chick. So my fellow inmates and I went out for a drink. Pak 'n' Save is open till midnight and the big bottles of cider are quite nasty :-) At the counter they looked a little bit scared when we told them we came just out of prison. Back to jail for a long evening and night of games. M&M went to bed at some point. The German story turned into an interesting deep conversation about everything. These are the people you just have to meet now and then. At 3AM it was time for a scary night in my cellblock. Well that's what I expected after hearing all these ghost stories and scary backpackers that tell you the place is haunted. My cell was next to a graveyard and I couldn't lock the door from the inside. Keep the lights on (cause there is no light switch inside the room). It was a funny interesting night in Napier. Oh and thanks to all the drunken youth in their cars that made us feel the most popular people on the Eastcoast, yelling and screaming at us all the time :-) Nothing better to do on a Friday night I guess...

31st of July RELEASED AND ENDING ON A GARBAGE DUMP

After a steaming hot (no choice of temperature, the only choice is steaming hot. And don't drop your soap!) shower at the prison I was released. A 1 hour city walk, see the interesting buildings, monsters and other stuff at Napier. It's a nice place to stop for a day. On the road, no plans. But we drove for hours and hours without stopping at maybe some interesting places. We stopped at some black beaches near Mahia and they looked different and cool. The weather today was sooo good. I wanted to do some walks but besides a few lunch, pee and smoke stops it was just driving. We wanted to stay at Tokomaru Bay (the Beach of the Rising Sun) at Brian's Place. It looked like an amazing place to me, a few guests and the owner hanging around, cozy little room under the roof with beds in the floor. But because there was no dryer the girls wanted to leave...hahaaa, it are girls for sure! It was a nice place for a big campfire on the beach and seeing the sunrise as the first people in the world. So drive on to TikiTiki, Eastenders Backpackers. This was a journey in the dark on a long dirtroad. The place is well known for the horse treks, walks and also the sunrise on the most Eastern part of the world. A warm welcome, cool Kiwi dude that wanted to help us with everything. But no, girls talk again...no laundry and supermarket. I said it was no problem for me to stay at the beach with my tent and they could sleep in the car. They thought it was too dangerous. Hahaaaa, I'm used to danger, come on :-) More driving in the dark looking for a place you're not gonna find in No-Mens-Land. Ending near .a small village called Te Araora (17km from Eastcape). Instead of sleeping at the Eastcape we started cooking our pasta here and Rosan, I used your tent! ;-) Cold in the night, but with 5 degrees above zero it was acceptable for me.

1st of August CALLING A.A. AND THE DRAMA'S ON THE ROAD

Waking up by daylight and crawling out of my tent. What a surprise by daylight! We camped on a garbage dumpsite NO WAY! The plan was wake up at 6AM and drive to Eastcape for a stunning sunrise. The girls slept in... The weather was not that good anymore and they didn't want to go to Eastcape becuase there was only 1/3 of the petrol left. Should be enough for a 17km return and finding a petrol station. But other problems...Amidala is dying. The Spaceship didn't want to start anymore because of an empty battery. Don't use the lights when you're sleeping in a car... Luckily the phone number of AA was free (Yeah I need to call Anonymous Alcoholics but this AA is a road service in NZ) and I had a little bit of battery left. After almost 2 hours the mechanic was there. I won the bet about the time and which directions, where's my prize? It is Sunday but even in a small village there was something open, and the petrol was only a few meters away from our car. No Eastcape anymore and after climbing the oldest and largest Pohutukawa tree of NZ we drove on to Bay of Plenty... Yeah, plenty of rain! So we did the Eastcoast in 2 days and we are already at Bay of Plenty. A few stops at beaches and signs, we even ended up in Hawai! A few runs for me on beaches and rocks at; Wangaparaoa Bay, Oruaiti Beach, Waitianga Bay and Waiotahi Beach it was time for a rainy pitstop in Opotiki. IN the afternoon we stopped in Whakatane, a place with only 2 backpacker hostels. Bad weather so why drive on. Windsor Backpackers is a place with loads of rules and you have to pay for a heather. But Pauline and Ray where friendly hosts and they gave us their DVD's and loads of homemade cake and more then enough blankets. The girls stopped fighting after a grumpy day hahaa. Visiting the active White Island volcano is expensive and not possible today because of the bad weather. So a long day to relax.

2nd of August RAIN RAIN RAIN FOREST WALK, TOURISTY STUFFIN' IN MAORI VILLAGE, AND THE STEAMING CITY OF ROTTEN EGGS

Whohoooo! Shitloads of wind and rain again. Why not going to Rotorua? Rainy trip, nothing to see and of course the smell is getting worse. It were not the girls, they had a shower. It was Rotorua getting closer. Before we stopped for a hike in the rainforest. HINEHOPU, Hongis Track, Lake Rotoehu. 1 hour walking in the jungle and in the rain. Finding some lucky coins and yes it worked, the sunshine came through! A nice bushwalk and some different sort of rainforest. Watch out for falling trees. Girls went shopping, I went hiking around the city. Walking between the hotpools. The ground was getting kind of soft and hot...no wonder why there are warnings everywhere. The platters seems to be just a few cm's thick. Better get on the track again. A few buildings, some bird spotting and last but not least, the spiciest Thai meal in NZ so far...AMAZING Thai Restaurant. A shame that when you speak Thai, the staff doesn't speak Thai... I lost the French girls, but I found a new one, Nolwenn. I joined her on a very touristy Maori Village tour (like everyone here in Rotorua). There are 3 main companies, but this one is in the forest including springs, river, canoes, bushwalk, glow worms etc. Of course there is a Hangi (traditional cooked Maori meal). Unfortunately this is served in a buffet styled area inside a huge heated tent. We enjoyed our meal and local Maori Beer with Daclan and Elaine, an Irish couple. More than a hundred guests and I was the only 1 form HOLLAND(!). Well, they knew after my eating skills where I was from :-) The concert was funny and worth a visit. Around 20 performers and around 10 different acts in a bush environment. The host and some of the performers were joking all the time. A very relaxing evening with interesting local music and more then enough food. I missed the bus back to the city, but no probs to find an alternative to get back. As expected all the bars in Rotorua were closed, except 1 Lava Bar...but nobody there. After a Kiwi Green night I slept pretty well.

3rd of August FEELING HOT HOT HOT, THE 'BIG' ERUPTION AND SPA TIME

The Mai-Ta-Pu Thermal Wonderland. Sounds spectacular. The Lady Fox Geyser erupts only once a day at 10:15. All the tourists in a rush. Be on time, it takes a half an hour drive from the city, first you have to buy tickets at a visitor centre, then back to the parking, drive to another location to see the geyser. Heaps of people, scared as shit and nobody on the front. Pussies, afraid of water? I knew it was fake! They have to put a sort of soap in to start the eruption. Well, it looks more like an ejaculation if you ask me. Maybe 8 mters high? It's tourist time in the park right now so we drove to a small bridge on the loop (just 2 km after the visitor centre). 'DANGER'-signs everywhere. Here streams the hot water that comes out of the thermal springs from the park. And ends up in a small river, mixing with cold water. So it's misty and rainy today, but I take my clothes off and jump in the river. What a good idea, further after the bridge the water get hotter and hotter. Time to get my hot body out of the water and go back to the park. Even with this ind of weather it's beautifull to see. The bright colors of the craters and the Champagne Pools. The girls were cold and tired and they waited for me in the car, I finished all the tracks and tested the surface sometimes. Back in town it was travel arranging time for me, what a rip-off at the I-Site! Grrr... Nolwenn and I decided after tossing some coins to go to the Polynesian Spa, even with the rain. DAMN! This was a good spa! Several thermal bath from 36 - 42 degrees, a nice view over the lake an dthe cold rain dripping on your head. We had a good time, the only thing that was missing was a bottle of champagne. I visited Debbie at the Crank Hostel, one of my friends from Thailand, funny to meet your old travel friends again on the other side of the world. My last night at Rotorua, sleeping with 3 French girls hahahaa. Well it was not planned, but the night didn't stop. Tea, cookies, more spa, language jokes, more chocolate, the green...Thanks everyone for the laughs and the adventures in the North.

NEW ZEALAND (SOUTH ISLAND PART II) HITCH HIKING ADVENTURES, FLYING SEALS, SWIMMING IN FREEZING OCEAN, ALLO ALLO FAMILY FEAST, HOTPOOLS & FLOODINGS, THE WORLD'S GREATEST TRAIN TRIPS

18th of July TRANZALPINE, WORLD'S GREATEST TRAINTRIPS

The day of one of the world's Greatest Traintrips; The TranzAlpine. Hostel dropped us off at the station, some shopping for our traintrip; muffins in all sorts of taste, grapes, alcohol and more. The trip was amazing, the seniors that took us in the us were also on the train so I bought them a big bag of chocolate cookies. Nice views during this 3.5 hour trip. Snowy mountains, cliffs rivers, high bridges, old small villages, mines and much more. I was standing outside the whole trip although it was freezing and very dark in the tunnels. Good that we found the Wintel Special for 79 NZD instead of the 150 NZD that all the other backpackers paid that we spoke to. Back in Christchurch around 18:00. Time for some action? No, Sunday is dead... We found a really cool and colorful bar area called 'SOL-square' lots of arts, lights, couches outside, fire outside, dj's spinning some nice urban and electric tunes. What a place! Just an alley that is hidden and surprises you.

19th of July BRIGHT BLUE LAKE TEKAPO AND SLIDING OFF MT JOHN

We booked a return to Lake Tekapo for today. Arrive at 11:00 and leave around 18:30. Very touristic around the old church, busses loaded with Asians. But the scenery around the turquoise blue lake was incredible. The fog was making it even better. We just got some walking maps at the information center and they warned us not to climb Mt. John because there was ice everywhere. Don't tell us that, so we started a 2 hour walk up to the mountain, so quiet and beautiful! Fresh snow on the mountains. We arrived after a while at the top at the star watching observation centre. Walked down? Uhm no I know why they warned us :-) It became a dangerous walk back gliding down the steep tracks covered with ice. Yes, it was the dark side of the mountain. I just went down on a weird position, but really fast. It was the thrill of the day I guess :-) The town itself was dead in winter, most restaurants are closed so we just waited for our bus back. In Christchurch more movies (it took some time for the at least 3 staffme?bers to find out how a DVD works). Preparing some food in the middle of the night after some sick deals at Pack'n'save Supermarket...this was so cheap!

20th of July CONNECTING FRENCH AND DUTCH IN THE AKAORA ADVENTURES

Wake up and just book a shuttle with French Connection to Akaora. 40 NZD for a return. This is a good company, they stop at a lot of places and took us for a lift a couple of times. Akaora is a small harbourtown in the middle of a volcanic area (Banks Peninsula). Adrien was happy in this former French area. I was happy with all the Dutch cheese at the cheese tasting. The walks were too normal so we choose to do the more interesting one...a walk over the muddy steep slippery cliffs to the peninsula. Which was an experience. Frenchie was scared and I did what my nickname told me to be...Dirty Dutch... After some stunts I had mud on every piece of clothes. And when you think to have a nice healthy lunch forget it...the bastard sold me some stuff that was far beyond the expire date. The forest walk back was one of falling in the mud. Start hitch hiking...everybody waves and smiles but no one picked us up. And if you are a backpacker and see other backpackers on the road while you have a big (camper)van or a Spaceship GIVE THEM A LIFT !!! Or couples in cars and the driver wants to stop and then you see the partner DRIVE ON DRIVE ON, DON'T PICK THEM UP! So after half an hour we were picked up by guess what, a bus again. The pool competition at Cokers that night was not so successful for us, both kicked out in the 1st round. But who cares with small prizes like 20 NZD bar tabs...

21st of July ALLO ALLO IN HANMER SPRINGS

Wtf this ladyboy in our room is really scary! Luckily we had to take the Hanmer Connection to Hanmer Springs. Adrien was sleeping all the time so I spend my time with the 1st Dutchie in the last 2 weeks. Suzan was a funny character. She thought she should stay with a friend in Hanmer but when the door is locked it's hard to get in huh. So yeah, we ended all up in Hanmer Backpackers. The most expensive one so far (27 NZD and no BBH), but you get the best! Edwin, a Dutch owner bought this place last year and made it perfect. A small wooden building with just 21 beds and no bunks. A warm feeling, unlimited free ice cream (8 different tastes) YEAH! And free milk, hot chocolate and other stuff. Wifi pay 5 NZD and get 50 NZD, discounts for the hot pools, 25 NZD discount for massages and discount on ski passes. But be aware that hiring board and boots is fuckin expensive here! 50 NZD. For the first day in this trip the weather sucks big-time, rain and mist all over the place. At the end of the day the hostel was full and what an atmosphere! People playing guitar, a French kid playing an accordion and singing French songs and come on guys...STOP GIVING ME FOOD! I made a huge Tortellini chicken meal with an even bigger Greek salad then the others start giving me food. 'How much can he eat?' Well; Thai Green Curry, Indian Chicken Masala, Crayfish (Bah!), some sort of baked fresh fish fillet and last but not least...my eyes saw the big chocolate mud cake. After 4 pieces it was finished. Again 5 different sorts of ice cream. Damn guys...I'm still hungry :-) This is how a hostel should be, all the guests on the dining table, bottles of wine, sharing all the food, young and old mixed. Edwin, Suzan, Geraldine, Cindy, Mick, Nathan, the Kiwi's, Adrien, and all the others...you made this a wonderful night.

22nd of July SMELLY HOTPOOLS AND IRISH DELIGHT

Because of the overload of food last night I had to do something. Adrien and I started running up Conical Hill. Weather shit again. I lost Adrien, he went back after an hour. I runned for 3 hours in the mountains, did half of all the walking tracks (Waterfall track, Majuma track, Woodland loop, Dogstreem track, Joliffe track, Fir track, Torquay Terrace and more). Running down some of the tracks was killing my knee...other walkers saw me flying over the rocks. Back at the hostel I booked everything for my new trip CUBA!!! It's time for the hotpools and Morgan had some free tickets. We spend some time in the rotten egg smell of the thermal pools. No mountain views, bit disappointing. They were renovating half of the area. Don't go to Hammer for the pools, go for the atmosphere. After 3 hours I went for a walk so my massage Mary Yo. Who told me it was 10 minutes from the pools?! Yeah with a car, but not walking in the dark through the forests. If found the place and the Irish former backpacker did a good job. Even dropped me off at the hostel, where it was a happy feast again. All this live music, French songs (damn it looked like being in an episode of 'Allo Allo'), more wine and Edwin baking Dutch apple pies! Whooohoo! This place is fantastic. New people, new fun. Again a late night.

23rd of July ILLEGAL DRIVING, FLOODED ROADS AND SHOCKING CHRISTCHURCH

Pepper the cat woke me up, this place feels like 'home'...if I had one :-) Bad weather day number 3, hitch hiking to Kaikura the Whale watching town NOT! Because of the heavy rainfall last days there are floodings. The roads to Kaikura are flooded so we can't go there. We got a ride with an 18 year old Frenchie. The car looked like it came from the dump, missing windows, paint all over. A big name painted in white on the front. 'Johnny' was a reliable car, he took us to Christchurch over flooded roads. The ride became more exciting when the boy told us he never got a drivers license and he was driving the car for 2 months already. My backpack broke and I had to buy a new one, is there never a cheap day in New Zealand?! Friday night in CHC, was not that busy. Malbas cheap drinks and free pizza and Iconic...guess what, whe were in the middle of a lingerie show/contest whahahaaa. It was getting to hot in there so next stop SOL-Square, Fat Freddie's and some other bars. Had some fun with the locals, but it seems that our party attitude was a little bit too much for them. Adrien was wasted, a lot of boyfriends were jealous and around 2am most of the people went home...WTF?!

24th of July I'M LONELY WHAHAAA, TRANZCOASTAL TRAINTRIP AND WAKE UP IN HEAVEN

My 1st lonely day in NZ, Adrien was still sleeping and he's going back to Melbourne. I jumped on the TranzCoastal after a free pickup by Canterbury Shuttles. The train ride was again pretty incredible. Spend almost all 4 hours on the viewing deck outside. I even spotting hitch hiking seals! They just sit on the road. Jumped off at Blenheim, got some free hot dogs from those nice Kiwi's, an hour later jumped on the Atomic Shuttle to Nelson and after a 1 hour hike I decided to jump on the shuttle to Motueka. I felt asleep with rain and grey clouds and before Nelson I woke up with sunshine, warm temperatures and blue skies. Colorful green mountains, good choice to go here. First stop the Thai restaurant. The White Elephant hostel was recommended by some people, don't know why...it was fucking freeeeezing everywhere. The house looked nice, but that's it. Internet was crappy and no people. I was way too tired to explore this town's nightlife on Saturday.

25th of July SEALS CAN FLY! DUTCH KAYAK COMMUNITY TAKING OVER ABEL TASMAN PARK

Wake up! Sunshine maybe? Uhuh, just a little bit. But it's time for some serious kayaking. Hard to find a company because there are not enough people. I found a pretty cheap (99 NZD) Winter Special for a full day. Kahu Kayak is doing a test period with this a few days a week. Brett was a funny young bloke and this guide was trying to take the piss out of us every time. 2 others joined me and I know them. Laanee and Rogier, 2 Dutchies that I met at the bar in Queenstown during the Worldcup Final. The kayaking was perfect on the calm flat ocean. The best part was around Adelle Island where the seals were. One seal liked to play a little bit. And shiiiiit! This funny seal jumped over my kayak. Followed us and I took one of my best timed pictures on this trip; A seal jumping in the air in front of my kayak, at his highest point a sharp shot! OMG this was timing. Everybody jealous hahaaa. A short walk up hill at one of the golden beaches. And a lunch not to forget, a gigantic muffin and an even bigger sandwich. This is what you call a lunch completed with a hot chocolate and cookies. Dutchies know how to eat :-) On our way back some small penguins, loads of birdlife. This well equipped tour is recommended, but they can't do it for this low price anymore. Oh and don't mind about some smelly shoes and clothes that they provide. For me it was about changing hostels tonight, darkness was falling so not a good time for hitch hiking. Indian food to please my stomach.

26th of July ROAD TRIPPIN AND CRAZY DUTCHY IN THE SEA AT THE CENTRE OF NZ

My first attempt of serious hitch hiking on my own. Direction Takaka/Collingwood. It took an hour to get the first lift, a hippie single mum from Quebec. Only 7km further. After another hour of trying it was time to make up my mind. No hippies on the road today so forget Golden Bay, turn around and yes! A car with a senior couple, Bhuddist teachers, took me all the way to Richmond. Nice people, originally from Canada. The 3rd lift of today was again from a foreigner that was emigrated, a German single mum having a good time in NZ with her twin boys. She drove me into Nelson and the weather was sooo nice...I saw Nelson's Beach and I wanted to stay. Walked into a nice colorful Backpackers. The 2 young female managers (Sarah and Lorraine) were sitting there with Cynthia and Frank in the sun. I asked them for some lunch with a smile and I got one...perfect! No guests in that place, but they were all nice. Even though the 2 girls were not really managers whahaa.Finally a place that's steaming hot inside, good showers, free internet to arrange all my stuff. Went out for a run, came back after 5 hours. Yeah I runned to the beach and jumped in the sea. I know, it's crazy in winter. But in Holland we do the same with New Years Day. This time there was no UNOX Rookworst. After drying up in the sun it was running time uphill. First through the Miyazu Japanese Gardens and then follow the track for a 45 minute walk. A lot of good looking female runners on this track hahaa. All of a sudden I was under a big white mark...this seems to be the Centre of New Zealand. And what do we smell/see at the middle point of the country? Ofcourse marihuana whahahaaa. Kiwi kids smoking a joint. Time to fly of the hill, through the city. No map, no problem. People in this town are friendly and nice. Some sightseeing at churches and cathedrals running over Trafalgar Street, the main shopping street. The cinema looks like one of the 60's. Making everyone in the hostel jealous with the smell of homemade Chicken Masala. A bottle of Rose can't be missed.

27th of July THIS JOURNEY IS FULL OF INTERESTING MOMENTS

Should I stay or should I go? After some rain the sun came through, time to hit the road again. Destination Picton. My experience is that hitch hiking works better without a cardboard sign. 30 minutes, a ride from half Austrian Leo, interesting stories about his companies and forestry work. Dropped me off in the middle of nowhere. Tried to get a lift, after 1 hour still nothing. Is this the first day to use Rosan's tent? Sorry Roosje, not yet ;-) Sun came through and there I was, sitting on the road, nice Ciabatta with cheese, bottle of wine, waiting for someone. A big Maori guy picked me up. A singer and reggae band member of Maori music. Really cool. He was flattered that I called him a Kiwi, that never happened to him before. Good stories about Maori culture, the past and the present. He dropped me out at Blenheim. Ah, 3 other hitch hikers here, let's see who gets the ride first... a good moment to make a big sign. And yes, not even a minute and local Jackie picked me up. Nice woman and loads of talking about art and designing. I was in Picton!!! What an experience. 3 wonderful rides with interesting people. That's where it's all about. Actually I'm learning a lot from hitch hiking. I'm getting less shy and networking becomes easier. Arrived after 3pm at The Villa (no not the one from the dodgy TV-show). Free apple crumble and ice cream every day! And a Dutch Bakkerij next door that opens at 6am, can it be any better? Boots? check...food? check...water? check...camera? check...jacket? nope...Hikingtime, Snout Track. Ingo warned me not to do it because it takes 3 hours. I started at 4, 1st warning a woman telling me to be careful because it's gonna rain. After 1 hour 2nd warning signs that the track is closed 'DANGER KEEP OUT'. Walked past the signs and yes it started to rain, pretty bad! The muddy tracks became slippery. Got some nice views of the ferry sailing through the Sounds. Crazy sky with sun and rain. 3rd warning, trees and rocks falling down in front of me, track washed away. Hmm, maybe it's time to turn back. After a shelter under the trees I went back, in the dark. First person I met after this; 'Hey buddy, there is something on your backpack'. Whahahaaa, this was a piece of the 'DANGER KEEP OUT'-sign! Be careful Vince, you only live once... Oh, dental problems again...same infection as in Vietnam. Time for a new surgery.

28th of July TRAMPING QUEEN CHARLOTTE, MISTY MUDDY, BOTERKOEK IN SUNSHINE

Who's calling me 20 times early in the morning?! Oh it's Bluebridge asking me why I'm not on the ferry to Wellington. Uhm maybe because I booked for tomorrow??? Let me guess, Mr. Reception made a mistake with the date...jawohl! Misty stuff all over town, but this is NZ. Misty morning, beautiful sunshine late in the afternoon. Booking a water taxi to the Queen Charlotte Track. Thinking about mountain biking but the tracks are very muddy. I wanted to do a long and high walk but all companies refused to bring me there. I know I walk faster than average. So it became the easy walking track between Ship Cove and Furneaux. Happy with my Gore-Tex-boots, your feet get sucked in the ground so muddy. I walked all the way with a Swiss guy that I met earlier in Motuaka. The 5 hour walk took us only 3 hours. Yeah I told the companies I was a lot faster. This track was covered with trees most of the time. The scenery during the boat trip was nicer. So treat myself with some wine while sitting on the rocks at the lake in hot sunshine. And not to forget a piece of fat Boterkoek from the Dutch Bakkerij (Oh yeah, next to the hostel was a real Dutch bakery with loads of good stuff) No dolphins or killer whales on the way back, just a few lazy seals. It looked like an adventurous day when you look at my pants and shoes...it was a relaxing day for me :-) Showertime was warm, but when I saw the shower curtain...ARRRGGH! It's a fucking Octopus! I hate them since this Worldcup! Evening chats with Ozzies and two funny French teachers Sandy and Cecile. Telling stories about hitch hiking and Cecile her English is not that good; 'You have been taken by a Maori?' Wahahhaaa! Good night with loads of free food, I still have a reputation that I can't say no to food.

STUNNING NATURE, SNOWBOARDING, PARTYING WITH THE KIDS DURING SCHOOLHOLIDAYS, HITCH HIKING ADVENTURES ... NEW ZEALAND, ANOTHER EPISODE IN THIS AMAZING DREAM!

8th of July

Oh yeah, waking up early at the hostel on the floor. Thanks for the great night! Some goodbyes from the Germans and Saskia. Pick-up and up to the airport. Well it was not that easy to get out of the country. Be sure you have your itinerary printed with you, because they won't let you out. I had to walk to several desks all over the airport to arrange it. The Air New Zealand made a mistake with my name so that's why it took so long to find my ticket. During all the hassle I saw Germany losing from Spain, there goes the dream final. After 1,5 hour everything was fixed and I could take my flight, ask Taxback at the airport. Adrien, my old French colleague was also there on the same flight. The flight itself was boring, no funny or interesting conversations. After some time it was there; the view out of the window, the Southern Alpes of NZ, just next to the sea...never seen something like that.

Christchurch was another episode of border security. Easy to get in with my pale looks this time, but now there were troubles with my hiking boots and tent. You have to declare them or you will get fined. With a smile and a surprised look on my face I could walk away with it. And they even cleaned my boots and tent hahaaa. Bus transfer for 7.5 NZD, hostel check-in and explore the city! In 10 minutes, because it's really small. The surprise was the price for alcohol. New favorite drink; DIESEL (Bourbon Coke) 6-packs for 10 NZD WOW! This is going to be hardcore partying in NZ. And I was right. Adrien and I went out with all the people from the hostel after losing 5 games of pool. The Malpas Bar was sick, drinks (also Woodstock Bourbon Coke) 2,5 NZD and FREE Pizza all night long! Good party music and nice bartenders. The night rocked! Ending up on Bourbon Street (Whahaa, why do they call it like that?). Shitloads of bars here. The nightclub was packed with young Kiwi girls, and I didn't stay inside that long. One of the Kiwi bouncers put my hoodie in my sweater and told me hoodies are not allowed in NZ. Whahahaaa, here we go again with the most stupid rules! It didn't feel that nice so I pulled my hoodie out again. He came back and kept on screaming 'This is a disco kid!' I thought he had a funny accent so I kept asking what he said...he repeated it 9 times hahahaaa. I asked what his fuckin problem was and that was not that smart. The 3rd time he came he had complaints about my smile and why I was smiling. Well he needed his fellow bouncers to send me away...just because I was a happy person with a hoodie...what a laugh! And what a night, Adrien getting lost on a street filled with prostitutes, I arrived at the hostel and bottles everywhere, toilets full with dust from the fire extinguisher, a room smelling like marihuana.

9th of July

Next morning leaving this town already with a 30 NZD bus trip to Queenstown. I just booked it and didn't arrange any accommodation. This seems to be quite stupid in winter season and during school holidays. After a 7 hour trip in a small bus (Atomic Travel) we arrived in Queenstown. During the trip snowy mountains everywhere. I ended up in a search for accommodation with Ozzie Army John (Newcastle). All big hostels full, all the visitor centers said 'full'. We had to go out of town and pay more for a cabin. They don't know me then. I will find a cheap place in town for sure, even if I have to camp! Adrien was looking for a place to, because his booking was cancelled. Just walk in a nice laidback hostel (Bungi) and smile and confront them with positive feelings. Result; the cheapest and best rooms in town, free soup everyday and a free night at the end. The name of our room; THE BUNKER (nice to invite people). First have a drink at Altitude Bar.

Adrien, John and me ended up in a room with a Kiwi family (brother and 2 sisters). Desiree, Angela and William were some funny Kiwi's. And a few good drinkers too! We brought Diesel power, they came with bottles of Tequila and Jamaican Rum. What a start! After a downhillride in a shopping cart it was time for Pub Crawl... World Bar, a drunk girl attacked the guys in our group and kissed them all. Happy Birthday William! It was packed with some Ski school kids. And teapots on the ceiling? Well in Asia you have the amazing buckets with killing rum and red bull. In Queenstown you have tea potting with shots. We started the party pretty hard, pillow fights in the bar, attacking the bartenders and dancing like crazy. I'm not sure if everybody was happy with us... Next stop Buffalo's. The climax of our party night. I'm feeling 18 again between all these partying kids. Second night out in NZ and already good times with Kiwi's, Desiree was the highlight :-) At some point everyone was lost. Adrien, John and me ended up in Winnie's, the sluttiest place in town and when it gets too hot, the roofs opens. I had enough and met my Kiwi friends at Fergburger. 10 NZD for the cheapest Fergburger, but they are HUUUUUGE! Be patient, because this place is crowded 24 hours a day.

10th of July

Time 2 sleep in, woke up at 11AM and Adrien and me went out for a few walks around Queenstown. After a few hours exploring the town, having a nice cousch cousch Lunch at a French Restaurant for just 10 NZD (Solera). Found the Ministry of Sports bar to watch the final in 2 days. After a sunny day and another free veggie soup at the hostel it was time to party again. We met Tosh, an American guy at the hostel. He had this amazing car, light blue Triumph. No locks, heater or whatever. We started the evening again with Diesel, I found a shortcut to the Bunker Room with climbing out of the window with a ladder. We met some other people at the hostel (Louise) and I made the classic mistake to call a tall girl big...don't be angry anymore Louise hehe. We went to a houseparty from her friends near Queenstown. Hard to find the house, even harder in an old car with frozen windows and a maximum speed of 60kph. The party was not like the house party's in Melbourne so we left early. Queenstown again; Buffalo's, Winnies...it was fun, but not a sick as the day before. Adrien was happy with all the young girls he kissed. I went home early in the morning.

11th of July

Early pick-up at 06:30. Why? Milford Sounds trip 2day. A 5 hour busride to the boat. Mist and clouds everywhere, hard to believe that this would be the best and most sunny day. I'd prefer to do this trip with a car and stop where you want. They stop a few times but not at the best places. The trip costs around 139 NZD (for backpackers). Around 12:30 our boat cruise started in the Milford Sounds (which is actually one of the many Fiords here at the Westcoast). What a stunning views and they were right; sunny day. Adrienne was also on the boat, this was one of the girls from the houseparty last night. Adrien and I had the best lunch on the boat, we brought our own bread, grapes, big salads, drinks...there were some jealous faces on the deck. And I got tea with an ice-cream stick, this is what they call ice tea after keeping it outside for half an hour in the freezing cold. The cruise went on for 2 hours and we got the full experience; stunning views, best weather, cool penguins with funny eye laces, seals, showers under 130mtr waterfalls, dolphins that close that you could almost touch them. Another 5 hour ride back with a stop in Te Anau (not worth a visit).

John, Tosh, Adrien and me decided to visit some different bars 2night. I was already dressed up in orange for the worldcupfinal Netherlands - Spain. We started in Altitude Bar and the place rocked. Especially when we arrived. It's so easy to go out for free in Queenstown. You don't have to pay entrance anywhere and you fill your pockets of your ski jacket full with DIesel cans. We had so much fun with all the people in the bar. Can't remember were we went after that. But something I won't forget is the night outside... Across the road from Fergburger we did a fantastic street performance; 3 guys playing a guitar, 1 guy playing a bongo, we were singing and dancing for a looooong time. We bought Fergburgers and gave everyone a bite (Fergburger didn't even thank us for that). We danced with people on the street, climbed in poles. There were masked guys on the street, shopping cart races and more. Just on word for this night > EPIC! Ended up at Buffalo's and got some discussions with Spanish guys so time 2 go. In 2 hours I have to be in the bar for the match.

12th of July

06:30 in the morning, no sleep and in front of the Ministry of Sports Bar to watch the soccer final. Finally some Dutchies in this town. We were maybe with 15 Dutchies, completely in orange and painted in red/white/blue. Our breakfast; 1 liter jugs of beer and baskets filled with fries. What a match, never seen Holland playing so relaxed. It is possible to beat Spain. Even after 117 minutes and that Spanish goal I still had the faith. But no, it didn't happen. It's a shame but at least we didn't miss the greatest party ever in The Netherlands. 9AM walk outside and jump on the bus for some snowboarding lessons today, no sleep, a lost final, still dressed in orange and with a tail and smalling like alcohol. These are not the best ingredients for a snowboard lesson. The groups were huge, because of the school holidays. After the 1st lesson everyone went to the bar for a 2 hour lunch, I kept on practicing and walking up instead of using the busy lift. Hardcore boarding. The 2nd lesson> Instructor 'You're going way too fast buddy!' Me 'It's cool, I like the speed' Instructor 'Don't be a muscle boy' Me 'hahahaa' Instructor 'You are crazy and dangerous'. He couldn't give me a bigger smile whahahaaa. I ride the whole day on the board, getting tired at the end and made some big crashes. 04:30 took the bus back, woke up in the bus with a local female and a kid sleeping on my lap.

The night was one not to forget. We visited all the same places again...boring. So I told Adrien to walk in a local bar (Bar on Warf). A live band, tasty cider and only locals. We sat down at one of the tables with some 50 year old people from Queenstown and Australia. They were surprised with these different kinds of backpackers. It became an interesting night. There were only couples there, but it seemed that the people like us. Adrien and I started the party, the band started playing again and we invited everyone for a dance. Doing crazy moves with the locals. Some of the boyfriends went a little bit jealous because their girls were having fun. After closing we spend some time on the streets, walking in some back alley bars. Funny experiences. And free food from the 24 hour convenience store on the way back.

13th of July

07:30 left the hostel, nobody there so we didn't pay for our last night. And where does that free bottle of Jack Daniels came from? A small Atomic Shuttle again up to Wanaka. A 1 hour drive. 2 Duchies were in the same bus, they were going to Fox. We arrived in dead and silent Wanaka. For a moment I was thinking about jumping back on the bus again. But luckily we didn't. All the big hostels with their stupid rules about not checking in before 2PM. Well full everywhere, no way. I found a nice place at the lake for a cheap price. Wanakabakpaka, 20 NZD but watch out on the icy hill! After a nice stop at the supermarket we decided to climb Mt Roy today because there we no shuttles up to the ski resorts half day. Do a walk around the lake before you start the mountain track. The mountain climb was sooo good. Took us 6 hours for a return, we met another Frencie called Matt. It was so hot on the snowy mountain, I was climbing it in my singlet. What a views, walking between the sheep and cows. At the top it was unsubscribable. 360 degree views over the Southern Alpes. WTF how beautiful. It was a little bit too dangerous when I walked further with all the snowy small tracks. The way down took some time even though I was running down through the sheep and cow shit. Normally it's a 5 hour return, it's took us 6 hours. Hitch hiking is too easy here, the first car stopped straight away. The evening we started in Reef Sportsbar which was quite boring. The Mint Bar is more a backpacker partybar next to Base, many young and drunk backpackers. Dangerous night walk back on the hill of the hostel; ice everywhere and I ended up upside down with my head in to huge shoes.

14th of July

Not fast enough and too laid back. Rent some equipment at Rocket Rentals, a good 161 board and some boots. Goofy is going on the piste again. Hitch hiking took just a little bit longer and when we wanted to stop this cool Kiwi guy stopped and took us up the steep dirt road without fences up to Treble Cone. The guy was a bartender at Barluga and gave us some advice. Treble Cone is the less crowded place and there was not enough snow. But a lot of steep tracks. With the snow machines it was possible to board. For me it was free because I took the green tracks. Adriens' poles were already stolen after 10 minutes. Icy track and it took some time to learn. Actually I only learned it after a free private lesson of the high school instructor Tracey (Wellington). We had loads of fun. A good day on the piste, having more fun with the high school kids there. a long day of boarding and again hitch hiking. A random family too us down and invited us with their friends at the Ale Bar on the corner in Wanaka. The Golden Lager and the local fries with cheese, bacon and sour cream tasted good. A fuckin nice Apres Ski with locals, this life is beautiful. The Japanese girl really listened to Adrien the day before and did what she promised; gave us a Japanese meal. Guess what? A massive plate with Sushi (Salmon, Tuna, Avocado and spicy Wasabi sauce). The bottle looked more like a Japanese dildo. And together with our free bottle of Jack Daniels we had what we call a typical backpacker dinner...NOT! This is the luxury travelers' life! Finishing at the chill out bars at Post Office Lane with hot fire and OH NO! They showed the Soccer Final again...

15th of July

The ride to Franz Josef, a scenic trip but spend so much energy last days so we felt asleep. At Fox it were the Dutchies again we met in the bus and we hopped of half an hour later at Franz Josef. Late in the afternoon so we did a couple of hikes (Pete's Pool, Douglas Walk and the Lake Wombat Track). Boring life in Glow Worm Cottage, but again free soup, a spa and pool. Some movies and felt asleep on the couch, Vanilla Sky is a weird movie.

16th of July

WHOOOHOOOO! Get your shorts on, the weather forecast for today is shit; pouring down rain and the worst day of the week. What are we gonna do? Climb a glacier for the whole day. 8:15, all equipment was there but I didn't use the pants, raincoat and other thing in the beginning. Why? Because the weather changed, it was fucking hot and sunny! A 2.4 km hike to the bottom of the 20km long glacier. We only go up 1km today. Franz is 1 of the more than 3000 glaciers in NZ and one of the fastest moving n the world (4 meters a day). Just be sure to start with the first group when they split up; you are the first on the new tracks and you see a lot more. The guide is preparing the tracks. 130 meter high waterfalls, awesome climbs, narrow cliffs of dark blue ice (you will get wet!) and small holes and caves. We were so happy that we had our first alcohol free night the night before. NZ is different every day and getting crazier every day. We went up half way and a lot further then the guide expected. On the way back a stop at the cave where the ice collapses. But why did we forget our bottle of Whiskey? There was enough crushed ice here. A chilled out night in the hostel, we met Becky, Delphine (who likes blond chicks hahahaa), Benjamin, Juliet and Clemens (a lot of French!). Together with Adrien I ended up in a holiday park bar called Rainforest Retreat and played some shitty pool games against locals. Surprisingly enough we kept on winning. The ciders, whiskeys and beers tasted good. I found a travel partner for Bali and we visited all the hostels in the middle of the night during our search for food :-)

17th of July

Naked Bus...should we get our clothes off? Well, actually Atomic Travel picked us up and didn't want to take us with them. They needed our 16 characters long booking number, impossible to travel with our names. No internet available this time. Fuck off, we are on this bus if you want it or not B*ATCH. And we were. Some stops in small villages called Hari Hari (What a name!) and a small town were the cute girl waved behind the window all the time in Horikari. Adrien and me jumped off at Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki and experienced the beauty of the West Coast. In the beginning it looked like the Great Ocean Road in Australia but it's much better! More green and incredible rocks and blowholes. We met nice locals and arranged some future couch surfing. Climbing over the fences for some prohibited cliff climbing and tunnel crawling. Hitch hiking to Greymouth was easier than ever. 1 minute after writing the name on the cardboard a group of grannies invited us in their private bus. Eating ice creams. It was Mary and bus driver Troy that took us all the way down to Greymouth and guess what? These horny seniors are in the same train tomorrow! Yeah these folks were a big laugh. A senior bowls group from Timura on their yearly weekend trip. Did we here so many people talk about one of the Greatest Traintrips in the world (Tranzalpine) and how expensive it was; 150 NZD each. I arranged a Winter Special for just 79 NZD and we were on the train. What a day, our smiles are getting bigger and bigger. Greymouth is a dead town, but we found our 'petrol' :-)

WTF?! AN EPIC LAST WEEK IN MELBOURNE

Yes! It is over, done, finito...no more 'Good morning, housekeeping', finding naked girls in the bedrooms and more, cleaning beds, bins and toilets. Yesterday was my last day at work. And it was time to say goodbye to everyone. Sometimes travelling is hard, I spend almost 4 months in Melbourne, lived together with a group of fantastic guys and girls in the ghetto shared house. It was a time I will never forget. Last month I was sleeping on the couch every day, enjoying everything that happened in the house. I was always there, just saving my money. Goodbye guys I WILL FUCKIN MISS YOU!!!

And also Habitat, the place where I worked for so many hours. I will also miss the atmosphere. It definitely is one of the best hostels in Australia. Always something going on, good music and performances, too many Germans that think they will win the World cup HAHAHAA NOT!, so many cool long-term stayers and free food and booze most of the time.

I took as much out of it as possible in my last week. Party hard, dinners at the Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant. Getting drunk with hidden bottles under the table (it's BYO but you normally have to pay for every bottle). And try the pumpkin cakes! Mwahaahhaaaa delicious. I have seen all these local bars like Rooftop, Carlton Club (with all the dead animals inside) and more. All the backpackers now know me as Mr. Cocktail, every day at 4pm just after finishing work, I started making rum cocktails with Stefan's' ice crusher. And there were the nightly cooking classes from Mohan, making Indian curry.

There also was this Dutch chick walking into our 'beautiful' mansion on Inkerman the day Holland played against Brazil. Should I say love at 2nd sight? She was staying at Habitat and we went to see the match in the Holland Soccer House. Bet; If Holland wins, I will takes off my pants and dance around in my orange undies...I DID! Well, fuck the rules, it's my last week so what? No things going on with guests? Hahahaaa. But maybe it's time for a hairdresser, kissing a girl whose hair is shorter than mine is kind of strange :-) The moments I will remember; our intimate romantic time between the mating penguins in the middle of the night whahahaaa. Damn, we had an amazing week, although it was hard sometimes to combine it with our other activities, study and work. We watched the match against Uruguay again at the HSH. Wiet, my Belgian friend from GOR part II was also there to support Holland at 4:30 in the morning. Kroketten, beer and good company. VIVA HOLLANDIA! Saskia, it was an interesting character, finally someone that could handle me, looked sexy and was funny. Maybe 2 see her again one day, but our plans are just too different for the next 10 months. And travelling, you meet amazing persons sometimes but life goes on when you split up again.

Great Ocean Road, escape from the Ghetto and the redlight madness

It was a strange week arriving back in Melbourne. Lost both my jobs, even though the Yellow Pages promised me to let me work before I left. But as they say 'If you snooze, you lose!' And I snoozed a lot in the van J I can work at one of the best hostels of Australia again, this time as a housekeeper, WHAT A CAREER whahahaa. Be sure that you know your rights in Australia, bosses offer you free accommodation and a wage. The thing is that when they offer free accommodation, they can pay what they want (and not using the minimum wage). The other thing is that when you stay in there, you don't get paid 150-200% on weekends and public holidays. They offered me 13 AUD an hour, no way that I'm working for that, I don't need accommodation because I'm surfing on couches. So I almost left to New Zealand. Almost, they called me the next morning that I could start straight away for the normal minimum wage. It doesn't work to trick me, telling me that they have backpackers that want to work for 13 AUD J Now I work as a housekeeper, cleaning beds and vacuuming with a supa doopa vacuuming backpack, I look like a fucking Ghostbuster! J

Friday night was a night not to forget any soon. Starting with a lovely dinner at Lentil As Anything with Tania, Silvia and Moana. Hiding our bottles of Aldi-wine under the table because it was not BYO. Followed by a funny night @ Veluto's with heaps of free drink vouchers. The bartenders were not really happy with us, spending only 80 free drink vouchers, they didn't make any profit that night. ButterBOX was the act for 2night, good house/hiphop music. We went on at Acland Street and crazy Rebecca joined in for a night at my colleague's house. James you gave us an awesome night, good times and shitloads of fun. Sorry for turning you crib in an even bigger mess hahaaa. Laughing at the documentary's of young (bold) Lee and James in The Netherlands visiting Sinterklaas and that sort of shit. Foodfight, breaking stuff, the green stuff and fastfood...oh and repair the heater in winter. Coming back at Inkerman at 7am, sleep 2 hours on the couch and ready to rock! Silvia, stop snorkeling! :-P Funny Germans...

GREAT OCEAN ROAD, HERE WE GO AGAIN!

It's a long weekend because of Queensday, so rent some cars, met some Gumtree connections and hit the road. No car to be found, almost all companies were out of rental cars. Well organized guys ;-) So we had to rent to more expensive cars. They had 2 nice red Corvettes! We took a cheaper option. On the road with 14 Irish and French girls and guys. The Irish just like drinking so you don't leave Melbourne before 3pm. Like all the time it is raining. Spliffing times at the first stop, searching for the pot of gold of an amazing rainbow at the beach. Next adventure, searching a place to crash for tonight at Apollo Bay. Busy weekend, everything fully booked. Only 1 motel apartment available, quite expensive (280 AUD), but we tried to put 10 people in it. Good times, drinking times, drinking games, Put On The Red Light...ROXANNE! Irish jumping around with dinosaur tails. Booze snoozing. Aussie bar fights, small town incidents.

Next morning the owner caught us and charged 3 people for 20 AUCH, luckily they didn't see all of us. We met the Frencies and Belgian on the road. 1^st stop a rainforest walk at Maits Rest, hugging furry trees and crawling in the ancient giants. 2^nd stop at Castle Cove (both are in Otway National Park) for a lookout. Alex and I decided to do a steep and slippery climb through the bushes and rocks down to the beach. Everything is accessible if you want J The rest of our explorer's team joined us. Nobody was hurt, only some dirty asses and itchy hair (that what you get when you put loads of sea weed on you head). 3 stop the 12 Apostles, I've seen it so many times now so what do you do? Something different, climb over the fence at the second lookout, jump over some cracks and you are in maybe the next Apostle? Dell and Antoine were the other 2 thrillseekers. Marvelous views from here and we climbed in this rock, yeah there were some holes in this pinnacle. Being adventurous gives you so much more. Must say it was dangerous, slipped at one of the holes and you just don't wanna fall down! Fergelicious, Captain Intensity and our seaweed monster took the chopper to fly over the coastline. Hardcore power at Loch Ard Gorge, amazing waves and freezing cold; Antoine and me took our clothes off and jumped in the rough cold Great Ocean for some bodysurfing! Again hundreds of tourists were watching us...'What the hell are those crazy bastards doing?!' Haha, it's all about crossing boundaries! After half an hour got out f the water and found out that our car left to the next town. Freezing times at the parking area, sand everywhere on your body and no sun anywhere. Hitchhiking half naked? No, they came back and we went to the Sherbrook Track for the Blowhole (and it wasn't blowing). Just take the illegal way through the bushes and OMG, amazing places you will find! Purple skies and a beautiful rough coastal landscape. This day was better organized, stayed in the town of Port Campbell, a great hostel (the only one). We got our own party dorm and balcony. Be nice to the Adventure Tours guides and you get shitloads of free food! Drinking till you drop, everything closed in town, beach walk in the dark, getting wet feet in the river, cliff walking in darkness without torches. And after listening to??? We ended up on the Great Ocean Road, walking and get lost for 2 hours. Walking the Great Ocean Road with all these weird animal sounds, drinking beers and boxes of shitty wine. Rocking at the hostel with guitar and bongo. Cpt. Intensity was so annoying with taking all these pictures, it ended up in a destroyed camera. It seems that we are the only party group in this place, besides the Kiwi boyband wannabees.

Sunday morning wake-up call, heavy shit. No more road tripping and no Grampians, one of the guys had to be back in Melbourne at 2pm, why did we rent the cars for another day?! 3 guys in the back of the car banging their comatose heads. In the afternoon shopping and bartime @ Brunswick. New shoes and why not bargaining like in Asia? And it works J Almost forgot that The Netherlands had to beat Denmark 2day. Dutchies have their own Dutch Soccer House in Melbourne; The Prahan Station Hotel, 20 minutes walking from the Ghetto (Inkerman St.). Went to the hostel to pick up some Dutchies, we left with a huge group of orange dressed up backpackers. Damn, they don't know how to organize a Dutch party; broodje kroket sold out in half an hour (380 is not enough guys!) and the place was shit. At least we had loads of fun. Denmark, thanks for your present ;-)

GOR, different, unforgettable and amazing every time. When is the next one? J

Tasmania rocks! Devils, wicked nights in Hobart, Spirit(s) of Tasmania, cliffhanging, frozen in snow and ice, closed hostels, free tours...too much to mention

Last days in Melbourne; working working working, another dinner at Lentil with Roos and Wendy, meeting loads of nice people, shopping at DFO, Stefan making tasty cocktails with his new ice crusher. And WTF, again some mistakes in planning at PDC, they send me home Monday morning, luckily they had to pay me 4 hours minimum...relax! My Friday night out with the shared house was not that special, they had some wicked party on Saturday which I missed out. Acid party, hmmm...well they came back late the next day and some of them had wounds and they couldn't even remember what happened. Happy that I was not there on Saturday. Lee on Tuesday morning; 'Vince wake up, you had to check out a long time ago' Damn, I just enjoyed my 5 hours of sleep. Spend the rest of the day with Roos, with some delicious warm muffins at the beach in the hanging chairs. Bye bye friends, bye bye Melbourne.

Can it get any better?...YES!!! Just got a 6 day trip (840 AUD) for free! Just have to do a famil and make a report of the tour. And Sylvia gave me a voucher for a free Bungyjump and a free Canyon Swing in New Zealand. Many thanks to all of you ;-)

In a bus with granny's to Tullamarine Airport, 1 hour driving. Flight with Tiger was delayed and the security at the airport had some arguments and started threatening me with all sorts of stuff, what did I do wrong? Never mind. At 19:00 at Hobart airport, no 10 AUD Airport Shuttle so I spend 17 AUD for a 15 minute drive. They even charge you 4 AUD for a luggage trolley in Australia. I almost managed to jump in a bus with disabled people to Hobart, the girls wanted to take me with them but it was not allowed. Together with 2 Canadian girls (Rachel and Angela) I arrived at the hostel. I got a free night and a double room, what a surprisingly good day! Food from the 24-hour Bakery at Salamanca Square. They hostel is soooo boring, nothing going on, maybe 10 backpackers and they're all watching Australia Got Talent.

Wednesday morning walk. Sunny Hobart, temperature in the morning 0 degrees?! Doesn't feel that cold. The city is small and boring. Chocolate Factory is closed. Sandy Bay and Battery Point have some good views. And just go to Service Tasmania if you want free internet, this is a Government shop that's open till 5pm. The hostel charges 7 AUD for an hour WTF?! Everything is on walking distance. Wednesday night Telegraph Hotel...need I say more? Every Wednesday they have enormous pints of beer/cider for cheap prices; from 5pm it's 5 AUD, from 6pm it's 6 AUD and that goes on till 10 AUD. They have meals for 5 AUD (schnitzels, steaks whatever). So yeah, till place is packed with locals and travelers. 5 liters of Bulmers cider OMG, this night was fun! Ravi, the Nepal guy met in the hostel, was crazy. Asking girls for sex and inviting them to his room after 2 minutes whahahaaa. I met Fiona and Oliver, they recognized me from my striptease act in Habitat last week. Asley, Byron and Lena were just cool locals from Hobart. And there was Claire, I saw here earlier today jumping in the freezing water at Sandy Bay. Some other people from the airplane (Rodriguez and Louise) and many more. Good vibe! But don't tell the policewomen that she looks like a school teacher...they almost arrested us for that hahahaaa. Just around the corner we rolled down the stairs at TheLowestHouse, this was the end for me...enough drinks and time to sleep J

Thursday slept in and no hangover at all. Starting the day with a tasty Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) at The Vietnamese Kitchen in Salamanca. Waiting for the girls to show up with the car to go to Mt Wellington and some people just can't handle alcohol so they don't show up. They day was perfect for a mountain climb. Instead of that I did the Rivulet walk to the Cascade Brewery through the hill and to Sandy Bay. There was not much going on in the city tonight so spent the whole night with Nora at the hostel drinking wine.

Thank God it's Friday! Fresh morning, ready to be picked up by the bus. A 1 hour driving to Kettering for the ferry to Bruny Island. Our guide Rodd couldn't stop talking about everything! Another long bus trip on Bruny Island. Muffins for breakfast, always tasty. 11:00 the speedboat takes off, some free pills against motion sickness. Why? I just wanted to sit in front for the ‘full' experience...and that is what I got J When the sea get's rough it's just a 30 minute rollercoaster ride, COOL! And that several times. The views were absolutely stunning; cliffs from more than 200mtr high, amazing blowholes, speeding through cliffs and high pillars, heaps of wildlife like albatrosses and seals and much much more. There was 1 Kiwi guy next to me, guess what his name was? So tag team Vincent & Vincent in front of the boat. We set the tone for today when we were flying over the waves. Thanks for all the Tim Tams guys. Unfortunately no whales and dolphins today, but those 3 hours at sea were fantastic. Nice sunset between the 2 islands and no penguins, only 1 with a chopped off head... The night was one I don't forget soon. I met up with the Kiwi's and they keep giving Tequila shots and other stuff. What a night, we strolled down from one club to another. O Bar was fun, the Hip Hop party at Isobar was even better. I had to crawl up the stairs in the morning J

Saturday morning...whoooaa, still feeling drunk after this crazy night out. Maybe slept for 2 hours? Super Six Under Down Under tour, small groups the brochure says...well it definitely is! Only 2 other people joined me, Julian and Julia. The guide was quite boring in the beginning so a long snooze in the bus. He took us to the boring town of Richmond. All of a sudden I woke up, he's talking about the Dutch so I better listen. The Germans thought it was quite funny that I only woke up when he's talking about Dutchies in the past. Well I know why the Dutch liked Tasmania, it's freezing and rainy here. And where do all the stories come from that Ozzie tours are 95% girls and almost no guys? I still haven't experienced that. Many picturesque coastal views. Port Arthur is more a place for old tourists that like slow walking tours, so I just started crawling through the stones and ruins by myself. The prison was the best thing in this historical site. The boat trip was almost suicidal J The Isle of Death? The names sounds more exciting than it is...just and cemetery on an Island. SO after some rainy coastal views Tony dropped us at the supermarket and together with the Germans we made too much pasta in small hostel kitchen.

Sunday surprise surprise! We got an extra member in our team! Robert from Canada is joining us for 5 days. After a boring start in the town of Ross we drove to Freycinet National Park. A place with beautiful bays, walls of mountains, great walks and lookouts. After Coles Bay it was time to walk up to Wineglass Bay lookout. There was a mountain run (Tasmania Mystic Run) going on and because I realized halfway that I forgot my camera I was also one of the runners that day. Completely wet and exhausted I arrived at the lookout. A long walk to Wineglass Bay, the weather this week? Clouds, misty, rain and cold. Not the best time to visit all these places. Keep the positive spirit alive, those places were still amazing to see. And making this tour more adventurous with some rock climbing near the big waves. Finding our own track through the bushes. Feeding those cute Wallabies illegally with banana skins. Awesome walks around Cape Tourville. The afternoon tea with cookies at Honeymoon Bay, what a nice place! There was an optional penguin walk in the evening for 22 AUD, no way we should do that! We did our own, way more exciting penguin hunt J That was way more fun following them everywhere with a bus and torches...poor little penguins. The hostel was again soooo boring. Backpackers, why do you stay in your room the whole evening when you hear that other people are having fun?! At least Tony was happy we cooked a delicious meal for him.

Monday, Nature World. Feeding all those cute Wallabies, Kangaroos, Wombats and Tasmanian Devils! The Devils are already my favorite J Almost washed away from the rocks at the blowhole in Bechino, Tony showed us a rock where we could stand on without being washed away...don't believe hi next time J We're going to the Bay of Fires, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world (they say). The sea was so rough and it was raining most of the time, so I couldn't really say if they were right. We met this funny German with a campervan with everything you can imagine (solar panels, kayak, axes, bike, surfboard, diving gear...just unbelievable how many things he put in and on his small bus). Cheese tasting! They just don't know how to make cheese here, only the spicy stuff was good. So treat yourself on some ice creams then. And chocolate cookies with tea at the bottom of the refreshing Columba Falls is not that bad. Arriving in Launceston, dropping of the Germans and again all backpackers went to bed before 7pm WTF?! So Robert and I went to the Oak Hotel, the only good place on Monday to get tipsy...so we did. Coles Supermarket is open till midnight, so we collected some hangover snacks on the way back home.

Tuesday feeling good! Ignore the warning from your guide and take the ‘rough' tracks at the Gorge walks in Launceston, it was still easy to make it back in time. Amazing how beautiful this nature gorge walk is in the middle of a city. Sheffield, town of murals was a nice little town full with paintings everywhere (also on the buildings), a special sort of street art. We bought our ciders here for the next couple of days, because Cradle Mountain Park is expensive. Tony bought some delicious pies for us for lunch, they are so tasty together with fresh salad. Start our first walk at Dove Lake around 2pm. Because it was getting dark before 5pm it was not possible to climb all the way to the top...at least, that's the warning our guide gave us. 'Don't go further than Marion's Lookout!' Hahahaa, we were twice as fast as the signs and we didn't see a thing because of all the fog at the lookout. So run on, try to get to the top. We passed Kitchen Hut and did most of the Face Track, but not enough time to go all the way to the top. Our ‘reward' for all the effort we put in this walk; a few minutes of clear sky to see the top. The way back passed Crater Lake and Robby Creek Falls. Spot all those fat Wombats near Robby Creek and just back in time when darkness falls. A nice Tim Tam tea stop in a dark but warm picnic hut. Our good deed for today; looking for some stranded climbers that didn't make it back in time for the last shuttle bus. Or ride back was awesome, we chased all sorts of wildlife in the night; wombats, possums, wallabies, quolls and loads of other creatures. The evening in our cabin kitchen was finally a nice one. Funny chats with the crazy Taiwanese biker and the hitchhiking Japanese girl...how many times did she say 'Oh really?!' whahaa. Good times.

Wednesday fucking freezin'! Stay positive, there is still a possible sunshine today. Tony warned us again; 'Don't try to get to the top of Cradle Mountain!'. We did a walk around Dove Lake and a short steep slippery climb through a mossy forest to Lake Tilla and a small waterfall, actually it was more a creek. Robert listened to Tony, I didn't J I wanted more adventure so I started some real steep rock climbing up to the Face Track. I needed all my clothes, jacket and even gloves! It was windy and actually below zero here. I realized that I didn't have enough time to make it to the top. So rushed back down to do a 2,5 hour track within 1 hour. Tony and Robert already got worried. It was an amazing experience to do parts of The Overland Track for the last 2 days. Back on the road again for the mining and wood towns like Tullah, Roseberry and Zeehan. Henty Dunes were massive! Up to 30 meters high. Unfortunately because of the bad weather there was no quad riding today. Ending the day in Strahan, a small town which is nothing more than a touristic street and too many holiday parks. A boring evening after a special sunset at Ocean Beach (Westcoast of Tasmania).

Thursday the last day of this ‘free' trip. It was a day filled with speeding Tony. I told him to organize a tourbus rally on Tasmania. A road with more than 336 curves and he is driving around with his bus up till 140k an hour J For some people; Bring your motion sickness pills! Stops at Nelson Falls and a short jungle walk. Walk around famous Frenchman's Cap, we only walked around 30 minutes for crossing the river over the swing bridge. Dutchies like to jump and swing on these bridges to see how much they can handle J Otherwise this is a stop for kids, it's not really a thrillseeker place. 2 stops at Lake St Clair, the deepest (more than 200mtr) in Australia. The 1^st stop was the best spot after a bumpy dirt road. Another crazy race to the next spot; Mt Field National Park. Climb along Russell Falls, spot some platypus and a walk through the forest with the tallest trees of Tasmania. Tall they were, but we were not that impressed. Choice for tonight's hostel; The Pickled Frog (known as the crazy party hostel). It is one of the better places now to stay for meeting people. So I met Amy and Valerie and we gonna go to Bruny Island tomorrow!

Friday Bruny Roadtrip Day. Amy, another cool chick from Amsterdam, drove us in her car Christine to Bruny Island. At the pier I met some friends; Dutch speaking Steve from UDU and Rodd from BIC, handy to get some advice about the island. Our first walk was the 2,5 hour Fluted Cape walk. It took Amy and me ‘a little bit' longer. She had to do some penguin walks on the rocks to give all the tourists a good time on their boat cruise...so funny, people even recognized her on the ferry. On our walk we tried to make it more adventurous; climbing down the high and steep cliffs all the way down and climbing the huge pillars. Climbing the pillars was not that smart, but it was worth the fun J Because sandstone a loose rocks are not that safe. The twigs and trees that I tried to grab just broke off whahahaaa. After all that climbing we were starving for the Fudge Farm, but they closed just before we arrived. So happy that Amy brought her tuna pasta in sealed bags. Heading with the car to Cape Bruny for some nice views...not, they close that area at 4pm. On our way back Amy and me were so hungry...Domino's and McDonalds!

Saturday Salamanca Market. Already there at 08:30. Good place for nice breakfast and cool stuff, but a bit too touristic. I walked to North Hobart to taste some of the café's and bakery's. A few chats with locals and a Dutchy who was working here. I need a diet after the last few weeks! The rest of the day I spend in bed...needed some sleep after months of hard working. Woke up around 4pm with a cozy couple in the room. A night in front of the fire at Pickled Frog. There was a good concert tonight at Republic Bar, Martin (Denmark) and me went for a 20 minute walk to buy the last tickets, when we got there it was sold out! On our way back there was the funny Japanese hitchhiker again with a friend. We decided to have a good night out around Salamanca. O Bar was full with drunken high school kids, Salamanca Square had some interesting bars. Bar Celona is an absolute go! Damn what a good bar, nice atmosphere, funky tech house music, hot fire and not to forget...hot Tassie chicks all over the place! This is the most trendy place to go to I guess.

Sunday...and I woke up with sunshine indeed. Time to climb Mt Wellington. This time better prepared; enough food and clothes. There are only 2 busses (49) going up on Sunday, and the concession fare is only 3 AUD for a day! 10:45 I started on of the walks, walking around, sweating, in my t-shirt. It's going to be the naked mountain climber again J Just 100 meters before I reached the Pinnacle (the top of the mountain) it started to snow! WTF?!?!? Jacket and gloves on, the wind starts to blow and all of a sudden everything turned into ice. So weird and at the same time so awesome to see. It was a climb of 3 hours and this was the best treat you can get, what a scenery. I met another Ozzie and German backpacker and we knocked on the window of somebody's car for a lift. And they gave us a lift back to the city centre of Hobart. Official temperature was -2.0 but the wind made it much colder. Back in town the Ozzy girls Emily and Chantal wanted to go out. Why not, another night out in Hobart J Sunday is quiet, don't expect a booming nightlife scene. The Irish Pub was the best spot, with several locals doing their live thing, some of them pretty good. And I met almost everyone in the pub that I met the last couple of weeks!

Monday roadtrip from Hobart to Devonport with Amy. Took us 3.5 hours I think. At 3pm still no breakfast so we went to Amy's favorite restaurant; Maccas! (For you Dutchies that never leave the country; this means McDonalds). Time for a sunset run around Devonport after that. This town is even more boring than watching the ‘snow' screen on TV...

Tuesday and again Devonport...yeah! The Spirit of Tasmania leaves at 7.30pm so just hang around. Tuesday is cheap CineMaxday in Devonport. Went to Prince of Persia for 9.50 AUD, which is just the some sort of movie as Pirates of The Caribbean. Ow and of course I found another spot to climb down the bushes and cliff for a spectacular place in the ocean to relax. Theirs is a 2.50 AUD miniferry (Torquay Ferry) that takes you to the other side of the river, but you still have to walk a long way to the check in desk. So you can better walk all over the bridge. The cruise takes about 9-10 hours. Bars and food on the boat, but bring your credit card! J 25 AUD for this trip, it's sick sooo cheap, but thanks Spirit of Tasmania. Arriving at 06:30 in the morning at Port of Melbourne, a 2 minute walk from the tram stop. First thing I did, buying a ‘Patatje Oorlog' at Lord of The Fries J

Yellow Fever, hostel MAYhem and wonderful days in the Yarra Valley

Brrrrr, it's kind of chilly when I wake up and walk outside every day.Mondaymorning and what do you do when you have a day off and still need heaps of money? Yes, just join Jay and show up at his job on Monday morning. Tell them that you called them many times and that you heard somebody had left ast week. PDC, the company delivering the Yellow Pages. They were just too good to send me home. So I started with one of the easiest jobs in the world! You come to the warehouse at 07:00. jump in the van with 2 other persons, 1 of them is driving all the time. You get a list with addresses and just have to drop the Yellow Pages in front of the door. That's it! And if it is raining, even if it's one drip, you stay in the van. So loads of breaks and perfect to get some sleep after the night jobs. I must admit I'm the PDC-slut because I'm ina different van every day.

Tuesday and Wednesday were my last days at Harts. What ment to be a 1 week job ended up in working there more then a month. I will miss my backpacker colleagues there and some of the foremen were quite cool. But no more drill instructors, swearing and slavory from now on :-)

Thursday I woke up in the sharedhouse with a really itchy and burning feeling. What started as a few small bumps, soon became a bunch of heavy infectionsall over my body. It looked disgusting! And it felt even worse. Try to calm it down with some lavender (thanks Jason), but it wasn't working good enough. Friday it came back and it was everywere, even bigger and more burning. So yeah, it wasd hospital time again :-) Went to a medical clinic between my 2 shifts and waiting took ages. Because I don't have a Medicare Card I had to pay 60 AUD for the visit. It were definately no bed bugs but a seriously strong allergic reaction. I had to move out of my dirty shared immediately. Or am I allergic to the Yellow Pages?... :-)

The weekend was still party weekend at the shared house, so much fun. But why were so many people asking me to delete pictures from that night? Just behave yourself next time ;-) Working at Saturday for PDC was a big dissapointment; Sam should piclk me up from the trainstation, I left at 5:20 in the morning and was there at 07:30. He was not there, I called the office and he already left with 2 other guys! I had to wait for someone else to pick me up. Waited for more then an hour while it was freezing. Did some warehousework with Pete, they had to pay me at least 4 hours, which is good. Sunday was chilly, but realy nice. Get some booze, crisps and guitars. Take a walk through St Kilda and walk up the stairs of the St Kilda Seabaths. What a nice place! On the rooftop, lot's of laid back people there drinking and chilling out. Playing some music and watch the sunset of the beautiful day. Before I started to work I lost a lot of games so I was quite relaxed and warm when I started working :-)

Mondaymorning again no work at PDC for me, but I keep showing up hahahaa. So they put me in a car with Daniel. Just deliver Yellowpages to 4 addresses in Yarra Junction. This was the beginning of my Yarra Valley week. Wonderful days here. Even Tuesday, when I started with a fucked up job with bussinesses in Richmond, ended up with a call to Yarra Junction. It got even better, Brett and me found some baskets in the main street with free delicious breadrolls. After 1 PM every day! AMrk found even more free stuff, football, cricketbats and much more. This week I also joined Alex and Pierre, 2 gangsta French guys. Really cool guys, talked about our good times in Asia. Loud rap and hip hop music in the partyvan (most of it was French). Oh and more good memories when they started playing those annoying Khmer-songs from Cambodia whahahaaa...I loved it, doying those funny Asian dancemoves in the van. Passers on the road didn't had any clue what was going on...are these guys going mental?! It was fun. PDC kicked one of their friends out of the van because he told he should quit and put me in, that was not so nice but life is hard sometimes :-) The rest of the week I was constantly in this area (Cockaroo, Emerald, Healesville) with sunny weather. Spectacular views everyday, misty hills in the morningand damn some wicked houses up here, looked more like rockstar houses sometimes. Here I can live, in the middle of this amzing forrest and wildlife. Kookabura's and wombats around you, tropical birds everywere and the people here are sooo nice.

Fridaynight my last 'free' night. Marc kept trying me to take over his shift but NO WAY! Sorry Marc :-) I enjoyed the food and drinks on Acland St with Stephan, a cool German kite instructor that doesn't want to leave anymore. Later that night it wasd impossible for all the shared housemembers to get a taxi...some of them were just too drunk. They didn't get in anywere. St Kilda was boring anyway this Friday. I had to work on Saturdaymorning so went back home at some point.

Oops, almost forgot one of the most funny things last 2 weeks... It's the month of MAYhem in the hostel were I work. Wednesday was the big partynight. Heaps of free food, beers and punch. Free tours that were given away. So I joined some games. Dancing chairs with too many people. And if you were out of the game you could only stay in when you took one piece of clothes off (shoes and socksnot included). Well, I was lucky I had 3 layers of shirts on today :-) But I lost too many times, what do you expect after all these drinks. So it became more a striptease then a dancing chair game. What a laugh! Some people stopped, some didn't... Me and Sylvia lost again, I was thinking about getting my last piece (boxer) off and wrap myself in toiletpaper, but before I knew Sylvia was already dancing around naked in the middle of dozens of backpackers! Whahaha. What should the new Securityguy think, he just came in to take a look at this place. And at that moment there was also a group of schoolchildren checking in, what a timing! Molly decided to end the game, it was getting way too crazy. What do you expect when you explain these rules?!?! ;-) Unforgettable night at Habitat HQ!!!