NZ The movie
Here is a compilation (5 minutes) of pictures and films taken during my trip, gives a fair understanding of what you can expect to see on trip to NZ
11/12 Auckland to Stockholm
And so the end is here! My last day in NZ. Yesterday evening I went out and had a dinner at Crab Shack, took both a starter as well as a main course, and had some good white wine to go with that!
This morning I had breakfast with an American couple, an Australian/Irish couple and then an NZ couple. Instead of having different small tables, this B&B has one big table so it’s impossible not to speak with everyone else. Quite a good way to get people to get to know each other. Anyway, had some heavy packing to do, and I threw away as much as I could. According to my scale, I’m just above 30 kg now (yes again, we are talking about my suitcases). After packing I went for a stroll in the city and went to the Maritime museum. It was pretty okay, a lot about their racing in the Americas Cup and so on. It is a sailing nation, that’s for sure. Had my final lunch in a Irish pub, Sunday Roast and a pint of Murphys Red (or maybe two), before I went back to the B&B. Looked through my work email, taken care of the most urgent things, and will soon order a taxi to the airport.
Since the interest for the blogg goes from tiny to minimal once I stop posting pictures I will sort of end this trip with this post. The rest is just two flights, one stopover in Dubai for a couple of hours, and then back in Stockholm embracing the winter again!
I hope you enjoyed this NZ blogg, for me anyway it’s a good way to write a diary, just to remember my trips.
What is you next trip, someone might ask? Really don’t know! London – Beijing is tempting but there are two factors that will put an end to that. Money and time. So I might do something less exotic in 2017 and then go for something epic in 2018. I haven’t done a trip up north in Sweden/Norway, that might be something, and I have heard rumors about some relatives of mine going on a trip down to Spain next summer! I do hope they have good bikes and driving licenses when the time comes!
Thanks for following me on this trip! See you soon!!
Below are all pictures published here from my NZ trip
10/12 Turangi to Auckland
Maybe I’ll let Frankie boy summarize:
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I’ve traveled each and every highway
But more, much more than this
I did it my way
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
I left the hostel just after 8. Had a quick breakfast and a chat with the guy from Alaska. He was going home in a couple of months, mill up some trees they took down some years ago, build himself a cabin, work, save money and go on his next trip (Iceland). Meanwhile, he would go salmon fishing, shooting some deer and just enjoy the wilderness in Alaska with his rod and his rifle. Funny how different life we humans can live and enjoy for that matter.
The trip to Auckland was not very spectacular, nothing much to report. However, I was very careful to keep the speed limit at all times.
Bike is now returned, no scratches, no damages! I drove totally 4 980 kilometers, and that’s an average of 330 km per day. But time wise per day it’s similar to some 500 km in Europe.
Some 10 minutes after I arrived in Auckland the sky opened up and it has been pouring down since then. I had to half days with rain, that’s pretty much it!
The guy that has been helping me with the bike asked if I wanted to join on a trip from London to Beijing next april. Hmm, better start counting number of vacation days left…..
My flight back to Stockholm is tomorrow evening from Auckland, so I guess I’ll save my packing until tomorrow. Probably need to throw some things in order to get the weight down. I think I’m 6 kilos above:-( (and I meant luggage, not me personally, even if that might be true as well)
9/12 Glenhope to Mordor
Final day on South Island! Got up at a quarter to seven, and was ready to go at a quarter to eight. Weather was pretty okay, and I started my two hours drive to Picton and the ferry. With some 40 minutes left I met a police car that suddenly put on all his lights and turned around after me, so I had to pull over. First he asked if I was on my way to the ferry, and said that it was delayed. However, that was not the ferry company that I was booked on. Then he told me that I had been driving at 109 km/h. Wanted to see my license, wanted my home address and so on. When I told him that this was my first ever speeding ticket, he told me that I would only get a warning (in a letter sent to Sweden). That was pretty okay, but I made certain that I didn’t drive above speed limits for the rest of the day.
Got on the ferry, had a meal and a quick nap. Once in Wellington I had some four hours drive to do, before I would get to Turangi and the hostel The Lazy Dog!
Little did I know that I would end up in Mordor (LOTR) and Mount Doom. Suddenly it appeared in front of me! Unfortunately the focus on my camera had slipped into Manual, so it wasn’t the best picture. But I felt is was pretty okay that my two weeks of traveling around ended up with me finding Mt Doom. I just have the epilogue left and to get myself home to my own Shire.
The hostel was pretty ”simple” but I had a good night with a lot of youngsters. Today the countries represented were; Holland, England, USA (Alaska), Hungary, France and of course myself representing Sweden. Learnt that the cider they drink here (and in England) is Kopparberg and Rekorderlig (not sure the latter really is Swedish).
Tomorrow I have a five hours drive to Auckland, not in a great hurry, will try keep myself within speeding limits
8/12 Akaroa to Glenhope
Had an unusual morning, but still very nice. I’m normally not the talkative person in the morning, but today I spoke a lot with a Dutch girl that was on a NZ tour before starting her work as a psychiatrist (after 11 years of study), then I helped a Chinese girl where to go next in NZ and finally speaking to an Australian family on Christmas leave.
Unfortunately, it was raining and the temperature was 12 degrees. So rain clothes on again an then I was off towards Glenhope. Got off at 8.30 and very soon it became really foggy when I crossed over the mountains next to Akaroa. Then my visor started getting foggy, even though I have some extra glass to minimize that problem. Had to stop a numerous times to wipe it off. It was pretty cold driving, and I had to put on the handle heater. It looked really nice on the road from Christchurch going on road no 7 towards northwest. It was a lot of traffic though, since the main road going north (No 1) was closed due to the earthquake. But on a clear day, and with less traffic, it probable would have been a great trip.
Once I passed over the Lewis pass, it stopped raining, and the temperature went up to 23 degrees. So a quick stop, rain clothes off, brewed myself a cup of coffee and life was getting better again.
Made it to Glenhope and the B&B at 15.30. So far I’m the only guest, and my dinner is pre booked, homemade dish with venison. Got some wine left, so I’ll enjoy the dinner with a good glass of wine. Tomorrow I’m off at 7.45 to be at the ferry in Picton at 9.45. Then 3-4 hours of drive on the North Island for my last hostel stop on this trip.
The trip isn’t over yet, but I thought I’s summarize my ”lessons learned” from this trip:
- If you have a chance, GO to NZ! Amazing country
- Focus on the landscape and nature, put less effort in visiting cities.
- Accommodation is expensive here, but use hostels or B&B. Look for the hostels with few beds. Avoid large hostels in cities, but as I said, avoid the cities anyway
- First half of December seems to be a good time to come here, just before the Christmas holidays starts here
- If you intend to rent a Camper van, hire a van that is self contained. A lot more places to free camp if you have one of those.
- Staying for long period, rent a car with high milage. Three months rental is approximately € 1.000
- Almost all parts are beautiful, but the west side of the South Island is great. South east side of South Island is less exciting. On the North Island i really liked the East cost (up north), and there are hardly any tourists there.
- Length of stay? Three weeks is probably perfect
- Driving a motorbike! Excellent country to drive in. But a lot of the things you want to see is 10-30 minutes walk from the parking. So stay in one place for a couple of days, make day trips so you don’t have valuable luggage with you and that you can change into more hiking friendly clothes
- If you can, start in Auckland and fly out again from Christchurch. I’m spending too much time just traveling back to Auckland.
Sorry, no pictures today:-(
7/12 Akaroa, where Frank has moved after his retirement
Sorry, Frank is a very Swedish internal joke, especially for those in the family that works in the telecom business:-)
Anyway, hope you enjoy meeting Frank’s relatives, I sure did!
7/12 Dunedin to Akaroa
Went out for dinner last night, went to the more or less only restaurant open in the neighborhood, an Italian restaurant. To be honest, it looked more like KTF. But the food and the beer was good. Only problem is the size of the food here. The small version is far to little, and the medium is way too much. But I went for the medium pizza, and luckily I could get a doggy bag.
Had some work and some calls to the office after that, and went to bed at around 11ish. Woke up at 7 am, and it was pouring down outside. But a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do, so I put on all my rain clothes and took off towards Christchurch. I was recommended by Katarina Larsson (former colleague) that Akaroa was a nice place to go to, so I had myself a room there at a hostel.
It was a five hours drive to Akaroa, and it was most likely the most boring daytrip so far. A lot of traffic, nothing to look at (when it comes to scenery) so I was rather disappointed. But when I got close to Christchurch I was directed off the main highway. And now, suddenly the world changed. Again I could see the lovely landscape of NZ, with green hills everywhere. What I didn’t understood before was that Akaroa was more than an hour east of Christchurch. That’s okay today, but that will extend my journey tomorrow with an hour in comparison to my previous calculation. So I will have a very long day tomorrow in order to reach Glenhope.
But going back to today. I came to the little town of Akaroa and it looked beautiful. One side is French, the other one is English, and there were many small and nice looking restaurants. Finally I thought, I booked myself in a nice spot. But unfortunately the GPS hade misled me. So my hostel was some 8 km going back in the middle of the countryside:-(! But what a nice hostel, run by a Dutch couple. If you don’t meet them in Germany, you meet them in NZ:-) The owner showed me a scenic road he recommended me to take. And I did, and it was amazing. Took some pictures, but this time I hope my GoPro did his work. Will try and edit a short movie later.
Conclusion, if you’re in NZ, avoid the main road from Dunedin to Christchurch, but definitely go to Akaroa. Or even more, avoid the road from Invercargill all the way up to Christchurch. But when in Akaroa, be bold and book yourself in the actual village.
Early bird tomorrow morning, need to figure out what roads to take, but that’s a mission for tonight
6/12 Dunedin and Otaga Peninsula
The drive to Dunedin took only about 2 hours and 45 minutes. I’m staying at a B&B on top of a high hill, quite far from the real city. So since it’s a B&B I can’t make my own dinner tonight, so I guess I’ll have to take a walk:-)
The trip today was nothing extraordinary, perhaps one of the less scenic travels I’ve done here. But then I skipped the coastal road and went for the Highway 1. Checked in at the B&B and then took off to Otaga Peninsula. It’s a place where you can see penguins, albatross and seals. I went all the way out to the far end of the peninsula, where the Albatross museum is located. You could wander on some paths there and you could probably spend the whole day looking for albatrosses. But I only saw seagulls and one seal in the ocean. Took some pictures, but I can’t see the reason for publishing those, seals and seagulls we have plenty of at home. Then you could take a gravel road some 5 km to a place where you might be able to see penguins, but that was not an option for me. Not because of the gravel road, more the fact that I would probably not see any penguins.
Don’t know if I’m getting “full” with impressions and have a hard time taking in anything more, or if the fact is that I’ve seen the best parts of NZ already. I honestly believe that the latter is the truth. But still, I’m mentally on my way back now, two more nights on the South Island and then one stop on the North Island before coming back to Auckland
6/12 Towards Dunedin
Going to Dunedin today, hope to have some time to go out on the peninsula outside Dunedin, maybe see some albatross!
Then a tribute to my most faithful/fastest viewers, and it works like a clock every day. Same order, always!
No 1, and winner: HH from Norway. Awake or maybe not asleep many hours before anyone else
No 2: GB from Sweden. Much earlier than anyone in Sweden, but it runs in the family:-)
No 3: B&B in Germany. Always on third place, but wakeup hours are slightly later at the B&B
5/12 Invercargill
Left Te Anau at around 9, and headed towards Invercargill. I managed to check in at the motel at 11, so I could head out towards Catlin Forest Park. On the way down there I found a Coastal road that I took instead of the one suggested by the GPS. It turned out to be a gravel road. Normally, that’s fine but when they recently have put tons of new gravel on the road, it’s almost impossible to steer. And then you are a bit more worried when it’s not your own bike. After a while, I saw a sign leading to Slope Point. I didn’t know what it was, but had my guesses. And I was right, it’s the most southern part of South Island. Next land after that is the South Pole. So I guess I did a PB (Personal Best), this is the furthest south I’ve ever been.
After that I continued towards Catlin Forest Park. The landscape was just beautiful the rest of the journey. However, no good spots to stop at. I had my GoPro running though, but later I found yet another mosquito that decided to end his/her life on my lens. I’ll check it out later.
Went to the trail that leads to a waterfall in Catlin Forest, and yet again I’m amazed by the forest/jungle. But I heard yesterday that it rains 200 days per year (at least in Doubtful Sound), so I guess it’s no wonder they do have rainforests. Lucky me, no rain so far!
The waterfall was nice, but that you can see in many places around the world. Drove back, bought some dinner, and will soon start cooking. Tomorrow is not yet decided, have to fix that soon as well. And again, no alterations on the photos, it was as blue as it looks!
4/12 Doubtful Sound
Doubtful Sound. So, this was my touristic day, driven around with loads of other tourists:-)
When you’re in the Fjordland in NZ, the most famous place to go to is Milford Sound, but Anders & Eva recommended Doubtful Sound instead. And I’m pretty sure that was the correct decision to go for their recommendation.
Doubtful Sound is note a lake, it’s part of the Tasman Sea. According to the guide, it’s named by James Cook that came here in 1770 something. However, he was not to happy to enter into the fjords since he was afraid that he would be stuck there as long as the wind was coming from the west. So he called it ”Doubtful harbor”. Hence the name!
First you take bus to Lake Manapouri, a boat trip across the lake, and then a bus across to Deep Cove where another boat is ready to take you out on Doubtful Sound. What I didn’t realize before is that the terrain here is absolutely impossible walk in. It is a compact rainforest. There is no soil, instead moss that could be up to one meter thick. Sometimes when it rains or if there is an earthquake, they get tree avalanches here. Whole part of the mountain is swiped down and leave a clean rock. But it’s hard to understand this ”jungle” being in a temperature zone like this one. It was only a one week ago it snowed here.
The trip was nice, well organized and the scenery was really nice. Once again I took a lot of pictures of snow covered mountains and water, but I’ll spare you most of them now. Kinda feel like I’ve done my share of mountain pictures for this trip. Internet is crappy as always, so I have reduced the quality in the pictures.
What’s happening next? I have now booked ferry going back to North Island on Friday morning, then travel some 300 km so I have a pretty short travel on Saturday before I return the bike. Need to finalize my accommodations for the rest of the week today, overall plan is to go down to Catlin Forest Park, then up to Dunedin, then Akoroa (outside Christchurch) and finally stop in Glenhope (farm B&B where I stayed my first night on the South Island). Due to the damaged roads after the earthquake, I can’t go up on the east coast, and I need to avoid the alternative roads that trucks are using right now.
2/12 Glenorchy
Could feel the long trip from the day before in my body when I woke up. But no point in thinking about that, on the move again! Took the scenic road to Queenstown from Wanaka, and as always it was a beautiful landscape. Got to Queenstown, and I was quite happy that I didn’t stay there. Loads and loads of tourists everywhere. I continued towards Glenorchy, a small village to the far north end of Lake Wakatipu. The road and the scenery to Glenorchy was absolute stunning. Especially the blue/green colour of the lake. I must say I was lucky with absolute perfect weather conditions. I guess it’s not as awesome in rain!
Went all the way to Glenorchy where I stopped for lunch at a café, before I started my journey back. As with many scenic places here, the road you’re traveling on eventually stops. So I had to go back the same way as I came, but I didn’t mind that at all. It was equally beautiful driving in the other direction.
Felt quite pleased with the day and headed back home to the motel. Since I’m home quite early, I might try and put together a video (no mosquitos on the lens this time). And yes I did!! Below the photos you will find a very short video, mainly to give you a feeling for what’s it like driving around here, and this time with a focus on Lake Wakatipu
Btw, no filters or alterations on the photos, it really looks like this!
1/12 Glenhope to Wanaka
Woke up reasonably early, and was ready to go around 8 o’clock. I had a reservation in Wanaka, and the owners of the B&B told me it was a nine hours drive. If I took the road via Pancake Rocks I would add another hours to that. So I skipped Pancake Rocks and headed south. I was extremely happy the first part of the day. The landscape was nice, but not spectacular, so I didn’t have to worry about finding good photo stops. But it wouldn’t be NZ if that didn’t change. So half way things got totally out of hand. One magnificent view after the other. I think my ETA to Wanaka increased by two hours during the trip.
I took a stop at Franz Josef glacier, almost a must if you’re in NZ. Wasn’t that spectacular if you ask me. But what I didn’t expect and certainly didn’t see coming was that you walk through the jungle to get to a viewing point of a glacier. It may not be a tropical jungle, but it was certainly a jungle. After that I ended up on a beach with some driftwood (seems to be on every beach here). Then the road took me up in the mountain towards Wanaka. I made several stops, but at one point I decided to just continue, regardless of the view. Otherwise I probably would be too late for checkin. But I must say, today was the best day of all, and I was lucky with clear weather towards the evening. Finally made my way to Wanaka and Lake Wanaka (a place for many scenes from the LOTR). Checked in at the motel and got a very spacious room/cabin. Plan is to go to Queenstown and check out the surroundings there, but without all my luggage, and with alternative clothes ready, and spend another night here in Wanaka.
Went out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant and had a very good Chicken Teriyaki. And I also managed to do some laundry here, ran out of underwear today, but now I’m back on track:-)
Another reflection of the day, everyone seems very British but everything unfortunately looks very American. All villages/towns looks like any small town in Trumpland, and the motel I’m staying at could definitely be the one run by Alan Bates.
Finally, I thought I’d show a magic film with all the nice scenery, but a couple of mosquitos decided to end their life on my lens. Shit happens!
1/12 Wanaka
NO working internet today! Be back in like 8-10 hours. Stay tuned…
30/11 South Island part II
Time to leave the North Island. Slept well all night and was ready for breakfast at 07.00! The drive to the ferry only took five minutes, and as usual when you come with a motorbike, you end up in the ”fast lane”! Had a coffee and a sandwich. The ferry takes 3,5 hours and during the last 1,5 hour you are passing through sounds in the South Island. Took a lot of pictures, some of them will show up here later. Not sure yet if the internet has the capacity to upload my pictures, but I’ll give it a try.
As I guessed in my previous text, I skipped Takaka, instead I took the slow road down and it was very beautiful. Saw in the map right now that I probably took pictures of Mt Owen, and also according to the map that area was used during the filming of the LOTR.
Got to the Farmhouse hostel, and currently I’m the only guest. It’s a lovely place, located in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere on their website they stated that you could buy food here to make your own dinner, but that was not the case today. But I will be fed with a vegetarian lasagne soon (already half an hour late:-(). Tomorrow I will drive out to the west coast, go to Pancake Rocks and maybe all the way down to Franz Josef Glacier, but it depends on where I will book myself for the night.
Now I’m really getting hungry……
30/11 South Island
On my way on the ferry now! Start feeling better. Have booked a farm B&B in Glenhope! If weather and traffic is okey I will try a short visit to Takaka, but it’s not very likely that I will make it. In my original plan I was supposed to drive down on the east coast but due to the earthquake the roads are closed on that side (north of Christchurch). Shame, won’t be able to go whale watching.
So, sitting here on the ferry gives you some time to reflect. A new experience for me is staying at hostels. If you’re in a city, they are bigger and a lot of the people staying there stay there for a long time, and normally have a job or two. Most of them are young, between 19 and 25. The hostels vary when it comes to standard, how clean they are and so on. Most of the young guests are shy, but if you start talking to them they are very talkative. It’s definitely a very price worthy alternative to see a country without spending a fortune on accommodation and food! Have had excellent dinner with good wine for a very low cost!
29/11 Wellington
Nope, not a good day! Had a terrible cough all night, and a headache in the morning! Took off at 9 and had a plan to go to a National Park, but I abandoned that plan immediately! My focus was only to get to Wellington! But it was close that I went back to Napier, the wind today was horrible! I had a hard time to stay on the road, and I had to take frequent stops just to have the strength to continue. But after six hours I made it. But no interest what so ever to take pictures today, and I’m sorry to say that I won’t be checking out Wellington. I’m checking the status of the pillow! Ferry to South Island at 9 tomorrow morning
28/11 Napier
Really early start this morning. Woke up at 5 am, and realized that I had a chance to see the sun coming up. East coast of New Zealand is the place where the sun ”goes up” first of all. But only in spring and summer, otherwise it’s Samoa. But I got a chance to see and take pictures of the very first daylight on the 28th of November 2016 at 05.38 am! No point in getting to bed again, so I was ready to go at 8 o’clock. So my objective of the day was to go to Napier, but try to drive on smaller roads, with less traffic and better views. And so I did! At the end of the day I stopped looking around, and concentrated on my driving. It’s such a beautiful countryside up here. Kind of romantic, everything looks handmade to really look nice. Not driving on the main roads also gave me an opportunity to see some cows in action (see movie below).
Checked in at the hostel in Napier, much bigger than the previous ones I stayed at. I will probably go out for a meal today. Tomorrow I will go down to Wellington, and the day after hopefully take the ferry to the South Island
Internet is not working most of the times, but now suddenly there was a window of opportunity to be online. Have to upload pictures later. Anyway, went out for a dinner tonight, not feeling too good due to the cold. No energy at all once I’d arrived:-)
28/11 The birth of a new day for the entire world
“during New Zealand’s summer and spring months, it is the first country to see the sunrise. The first city to get is Gisborne”
And then a short film from my trip from Opotoki, not any real great scenery but still….
27/11 North Island
Early bird as usual, unfortunately this time due to the cold that is slowly getting hold of me.
Got off at 9ish from the hostel, and started my journey up to the northeast corner of the North Island. It turned out to be a very nice drive, with lovely roads and a lot of bends. It was a bit windy but still warm (22 degrees). Same as yesterday, you see a lot of nice sights, but there is no way you can stop and take photos. Filmed quite a lot, will try and make a movie if the cold doesn’t get me first.
Came to Tokoma Bay at 14.00 and went directly to the hostel. A much nicer hostel than the previous, and with a lovey view. Thanks once again Anders & Eva, that stayed here 10 years ago and recommended it. New owners since then, but still a very nice place. I got a cabin of my own, or maybe I should say a bed of my own. The cabin has exactly the same size as the bed:-), but the view is fantastic.
Went to the not very big supermarket and bought dinner and now I’m just relaxing and of course updating the blog.
Tomorrow is Napier, heard both plus and minuses of that city. Have to make a judgement myself!
26/11 North Island
An early start, woke up at 5ish and breakfast was to be served at 08.00:-(
Still I survived, and had a breakfast with a guy working for Apple, working with the processor inside Iphone. He just got his first Iphone, he preferred Android:-). We agreed that Apple now is just another company, they have lost some of their glow when Steve Jobs passed away.
I was picked up at 09.00 and was driven to the BMW dealer to get my bike. It’s a 2015 1200 GS, so I need to make sure I fill it up from time to time (smaller fuel tank). Made it back to the B&B and packed my stuff on the bike. Left the suitcase and two bags with the landlord. He will move it to the other place I’m staying in on my return to Auckland.
Today my target was Opotiki where I had a reservation at a hostel. First part of the drive was pretty boring, mostly towns and suburbs. But once I got closer to the coast, that changed. I wasn’t able to get any pictures (speed 100 k on the road and no way to stop by the road)), but a lot of the places really looked very similar to the Shire from the LOTR. Hilly landscape with trees here and there and so green. I managed to take some pictures though, but I hope for better luck tomorrow.
The hostel is just by the beach, very simple but will do it’s job. Had a barbecue (yes, lamb!) and it was excellent. Also enjoying a NZ wine while some Chinese girls have prepared their dinner for close to two hours now. But I guess it will taste lovely!
And just now we could feel a small earthquake! But looking at the building, I assume that one would survive even if the house fell on you:-)
25/11 Auckland
An early start in the morning, taxi at 5.30 am. Unfortunately my suitcase was broken from my last flight, but I didn’t realize that until I had left the airport. So I had to make that complaint before I could check in. But everything went smoothly, and I even got an upgrade to Business Class. And Business class on a Airbus A380 is pretty okey:-). I only wish I could get that on my way home.
A three hours flight, and customs and everything went real quick. A shuttle to the B&B (it was so long ago that I booked, so I didn’t even remember if it was a hotel or B&B). But it was a nice place, located centrally in Auckland. Went out for a beer and bite to eat, and found a nice bar/pub near the harbour. It’s amazing that you can be on the opposite side of the globe, and still you think you are in bar in England, especially when they show this funny game called cricket on the telly.
The plan from the rental company was that I should have received my bike on the 25th, and they should have brought it to the B&B. But due to the earthquake, they had some logistic problems, and I now have to collect it from the BMW dealer directly but not until the 26th. So in 2,5 hours I’ll be on my way to collect the bike, and then head back to the B&B to start packing. Tonight I will stay in Opotoki, on the north shore of the North Island. Hopefully you will be able to follow me on the map now. But to avoid high roaming cost, it will probably not be any realtime updates as I go along
24/11 Melbourne
The day before ended with a visit to Lui bar, on the 55th floor in one of the skyscrapers in Melbourne, and after that we went to a food market where you could buy food from different countries. However, it got pretty cold and we went home and finished the day with a game of cards. I also booked myself on a tour along Grand Ocean Road on the day after. One of the ”must see” places when you’re in Melbourne.
It was an early start the day after, we had a pickup by the bus at 7.35 am. Anna and Signe (that share the apartment with Madde) also came along. After some problems finding the pickup address we got on the bus. The Grand Ocean Road was built after WW1 with labour from the returning soldiers. It goes along the coast with some spectacular views. We made several stops, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. We returned back to Melbourne at 9.30 pm, and when we got home an excellent dinner was waiting for us. Danny and Emma had prepared some fantastic burgers that we enjoyed with some wine. Quite spectacular having a dinner overlooking the city center of Melbourne.
Booked a taxi to pick me up at 5.30 am and got some four hours of sleep. Next stop New Zealand!
23/11 Melbourne
Had plenty of time at the airport, and had time to improve how the images are showed on my blog. Managed to change my seating so I got three seats for myself. After a quick dinner I laid down and fell asleep. Apparently I slept so hard that they couldn’t wake me up for breakfast. But it was quite okay to wake up 45 minutes before landing:-) Took a taxi from the airport to Madde’s apartment. They live five persons in a three bedroom apartment very close to downtown Melbourne. Unfortunately it’s raining here today, so I had to skip walking around in Melbourne. However, tomorrow I will take a full day Ocean road tour, and hopefully after that I will have some pictures from Australia.
22/11 Singapore lazy day
A really lazy day, took my time to pack and then went out for a coffee. Found a place called Fika, with Swedish bakery etc. Run by a Swede, but it was more of a restaurant than a Swedish café. But I sat there with an Ice latte for a couple of hours and finally had to try their Pytt i panna. Was okay, but the beetroots wasn’t exactly Swedish in its taste.
Sat opposite to a café called Sexy coffee, and I just love their advertising on their marquee (see pictures below). Then I had a stop at a bar on Haji Lane in the Kampong Glam neighborhood with a very colorful exterior as well as interior.
During the day I’ve been reading Kepler’s last book, seems okay, but not as good as some of the previous ones. Soon I’m off to the airport, and hope to get some sleep on the plane to Melbourne.
Final judgement on Singapore, definitely 8 or 9 out of 10 (for cities). A bit expensive, or should I say prices are similar to the Nordic countries, with one huge difference, going by taxi is very cheap! Oh yes, another good thing, you are not expected to give tip all the time!
21/11 Singapore Sentosa Island
First some thoughts about yesterday. Took a walk to an area of Singapore that is called ”Little India”. For me it felt like ”Big India”! Huge area and very few non indians. But it was crowded and plenty of shops and restaurants. I found a restaurant and had a chicken dish (can’t remember the name, but the sauce was based on cashew nuts, really good! But what made me very sad sitting there was that I hardly could see any women out. It was 99 % men, and that was so strange to me. Haven’t been anywhere in the world where I have experienced the same. How far are we from equality between the sexes? I hope the women feel that just hanging on the street is not a very productive way of spending the evening, but still. Or maybe I’m just being totally naive, thinking that equality is progressing in the world. I wish we had more matriarchate societies in the world, it would certainly be a better place to live.
Woke up early this morning (4 am). Checked out what’s on svtplay and found ”Vi kallas tiggare” (We are called beggars), it was not restricted to only watch from Sweden. Really good program, definitely worth watching (in Swedish only though). Got some more sleep before I went to Sentosa Island using the Cable Car. However, the rain was pouring down, so the fantastic view from the Cable Car was not there. Went to the SEE Aquarium (thanks Anders S!) it it was fantastic. Once again a lot of pictures of colorful objects, but this time living objects. Went down to the war museum and fort that was used to defend Singapore during WW 2, and I was pretty alone there.
Ended the day tour with a client meeting (they have their office in the same house that the Cable Car stops in. Have to think about dinner, but today I’ll skip Little India. Tomorrow evening I’m off to Melbourne
20/11 Singapore Botanic Garden
Had a good night sleep, from 23.00 to 07.00! The dinner last night was a bit strange, took a burger at a local restaurant. The bread was black, as in really black! The taste was good, but I do believe that there also was some liver in the burger. Well, stomach is fine so it all went well.
Took a taxi this morning to the Botanic Garden. Amazing place, especially the orchid garden. I’m not a “flower guy” but this was really worth a visit. Spent some five hours there, and I guess I could have spent another five easily. So if you ever go to Singapore, don’t miss out on this! Below are some of the pictures I took.
18-19/11 Stockholm-Singapore
So, day 1,5 of my trip has passed. Had to take a meeting at work before I went to the airport. A long line at checkin, but luckily the desk for online checked in passengers was empty:-). Had the time to buy plenty of snus before I went and had a glass of wine and a sandwich. My plan on seating worked out well, a pretty fully booked flight, but I had a window seat where the aisle seat was taken, and no one took the seat in between. Flying Emirates is always very nice. Really good entertainment system, really good food and a plenty of choices on both whisky as well as wine. During the first flight the plan was to stay awake and sleep some hours on the flight from Dubai to Singapore. My headset that reduces noice is awesome and I enjoyed watching Captain Fantastic on the first flight.
The stop in Dubai was some 3,5 hours before I got on the plane to Singapore. My strategy on seating worked this time as well. Went to sleep directly after takeoff, and got some four hours of sleep before breakfast was served. Got an excellent breakfast (scrambled eggs, beans etc) and it wasn’t long before we landed in Singapore. Immigration, luggage and everything worked really smoothly, and I was soon on my way in a taxi to town. Hotel is really good (for the price) and is located fairly central in Singapore. Took a walk in the afternoon, went to some old parts of the town, full of shops and crowded with people. Passed by Raffles hotel, but didn’t stop for a drink (not yet). Then I went to a mall close by, and the malls in Asia are unbelievable! They are so big, and you are guaranteed to get lost. Took a taxi back home (taxi is really cheap here) and had a pit stop at the local bar for a beer. Now I’m doing what I can to stay awake, before I go out and have a dinner and then try to get some seven hours of sleep.
Tomorrow I probably……. I really don’t know! Planned to go to Sentosa Island but I guess it’s less crowded on a working day so I might save that
Somehow it’s going to work
Hopefully it will fit in the bags😊! Leaving at 13:30 tomorrow!
Next stop New Zeeland
On the 18th of November I’ll leave Sweden. First stop is Singapore, second stop is Melbourne and finally on the 25th of November I’ll arrive in Auckland, NZ. Rented a bike (BMW 1200GS) and will start on the North Island and then cover South Island. Flying back to Sweden on the 13th of December. More to come….
Btw, due to a back injury I didn’t make it to Morocco. Hopefully there will be a second chance!
Travel diary 