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.