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◮ Arrival in Auckland ◭


Touched down in Auckland with my backpack, camping supplies, three T-shirts, two sweaters and a pair of pants. No plans, minimal research and zero expectations for how the next year will turn out. The Working Holiday VISA (WHV) was v easy to get, only setting me back $185 CAD. After submitting the forms, it only took a day or two to receive the go-ahead to fly on down to NZ. My flight was $750 from Vancouver to Los Angeles, L.A. to Fiji, Fiji to Auckland. Thankfully, I had been living in remote places over the year so I had saved up enough to cover the expenses. And so, I officially arrived November 1st and ended up staying with my friend Connor, one of my flatmates when living in Scotland. It was awesome having a no-cost home base close to the city, giving me time to recover from jet-lag while also figuring out my phone, my banking and my future plans. Overall, Auckland was okay. I spent most of my time alone in the city since Connor was working. I also had a lot of admin stuff to do. In regards to my phone, I decided to go with Spark on a $29 plan that included 4 GB of data in additional to 10 GB of ~society data~ (Facebook, Messenger, Twitter and Spotify). It’s also rollover so whatever I don’t use can be used next month. I spent the rest of the day walking into banks all over Ponsonby (a super fun area) and every bank told me that I needed an appointment. So I had to put all that on hold.

Piha Cliffs

Ended up staying in Auckland for three days, which was more than enough. New Zealand is a country full of adventure and nature but you have to leave the big city to find it. Connor and I did head to Piha one day, a 45 minute drive to the West Coast with beaches and walks. Definitely worth it if you can make your way there.

While reflecting in Connor’s basement, I developed some goals for how I wanted this journey to proceed and what I hoped to achieve. I came up with three sets of goals: general, adventure and sustainability.

 

General Goals

My first and most important goal is to travel off the beaten track. Less tour buses, less hostels; more hitchhiking, more campsites. With my backpack, water bottle and a tub full of hummus, I will jump place to place, scout tent spots on-the-go, all while exploring the beauty of NZ on the run. My other goals include:

  • Meet new, fun, adventurous people (ideally Kiwi)

  • Live in a city for at least three months

  • Read lots of books (including french books!)

  • Work outside either on an organic vegetable farm/vineyard

  • Work at a café and/or a adventure tourism company

  • Work at a hostel/lodge for accommodation

Adventure Goals

  • Embark on as many multi-day hikes as possible (i.e Great Walks)

  • Stay at as many mountain huts as possible

  • Own a surfboard and gnar waves whenever possible

  • Start a new outdoor sport: mountaineering / ice climbing / trail running

  • Take an avalanche training course and go backcountry skiing

  • Work on a ski hill on the South Island for the winter

Sustainability Goals

  • Live minimally, only relying on what I brought with me and food, mostly groceries (not fast food/restaurants)

  • Reduce my plastic footprint by shopping primarily at bulk food stores and markets for non-imported, in-season fruits and veggies

  • Continue eating vegan in an effort to reduce my environmental impact and to improve my health

  • Carry a garbage bag on camping trips and pick up non-natural garbage

If you have any other ideas for some goals/tips, give me a shout! Otherwise, until next time...

↟↟↟ Never Stop Exploring ↟↟↟ Stefan Carlberg

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