Kupe was the original Polynesian adventurer that decided to venture out into the wild waters of the pacific in search of a new land for himself and his family. Why did he set out on such a dangerous task? Why did he not just stay home sipping coconut water and eating fish on a tropical island? Why leave the comfort of what you know for something that no one knows and all fear?
Maybe Kupe was crazy. Or maybe he was forced to move. But what if he just wanted something new? What if his original home was beautiful and lush, but he just wanted to challenge himself? Kupe's adventure lives on in the Maori legends, talk about "having memories to tell the grandchildren about".
Traveling has been a real education to me and cannot imagine what I would be like if I hadn't of embarked on this journey. But once again I am digressing into the world of abstract pseudo-philosophy.Back to reality, shall we?
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| Lazy seal baking in the sun on a beach close to Kaikoura |
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| Taranaki! |
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| Me surfing on a small day in the shadow of Mt. Taranaki |
So I last left you in New Zealand. Haere mai, welcome to New Zealand. The fond memories of the afternoon light enveloping the patio in front of Lana and Thekla's room in Raglan will find a place in my dreams from now until the end of time. The sound of the roaring surf gently rocking me to sleep. I surfed, slept, read, ate, surfed, slept and read. I was tired of driving around the beautiful NZ countryside after the glorious road trip with Robin and Samantha. Resting and surfing. And what a place to surf. Raglan offers some of the most perfect point break waves in the world. This also means that the town has turned into a surfers town, which means that tons of very tanned young men and women sit around drinking coffee and reading surf magazines talking about waves and surfing, while many other tanned humans are busy doing the real deal in the water. I don't know how people in Raglan do it, the house prices are expensive by global standards and yet no one ever seems to work (or maybe they work at night?). Either way, the local surf community is an interesting social environment: you are either a long term resident and everyone knows you and you know everyone else, or you are just traveling through town, which means that everyone knows that you are not part of the club. It is a most unusual feeling, that I cannot explain. Boy, was a glad to have a local friend, with a connection to the Raglan surf community. Once again thank you Lana and Thekla. After ten days of resting my sore bones I felt I had overstayed my welcome (I kept on thinking "guests are like fish, they start to stink after 3 days") so I decided to head back to the Taranaki region. I spent a good two weeks camped at the beautiful sand beach of Oakura and spent my days traveling up and down the coast (the local "highway" is called Surf Highyway 45!), roaming deserted beached in search of surf, crossing farms wearing a wetsuit and carrying a surfboard. Walking on a black sand beach to a deserted left hand point break in the midday sun after trying not to disturb the cows while crossing the green green fields in the shadows of the imposing snow-capped Taranaki was a unique experience that made me feel like a bit of an adventurer in my own right. In the empty camping grounds I was adopted by the "Stanford Caravan Club" a lively group of 70+ kiwis that has been caravaning for years, they pretended to be thrilled with my ukulele playing skills and spoiled me rotten with cookies, tea and chocolates. They were wonderful to me and reminded me a lot of my gran, who I am sure was looking down and nodding in approval. This fantastic club is living proof that even as our bodies get older we can still maintain a youthful mind and have a blast. The club left and I was one of the few occupants of the camping grounds, waking up with the sight of the beautiful Oakura beach every morning and eating my oatmeal before heading out to the cow dotted fields in search of surf. After being a bit of a surf hermit I was glad to head back to Raglan for my final surfs in New Zealand. We had a great time with Lana, Thekla and friends, we enjoyed a fine bbq and great dinner. It was time to say goodbye to the surf and head back to Auckland. Entering the city after almost 2 months of nothing but fields, cows, sheep, mountains, glaciers and lakes was a bit of a shock. I hadn't planned it very well either: I ended up crossing the city South to North in the middle of Friday rush hour traffic. I arrived in North Shore, Auckland, where family friends Madeleine and Greg had been waiting for me. It had been a very long time to since we had last been together in South Africa (more or less 17 years!) and I had no idea what to expect from the reunion with Madeleine, Greg and their daughters Colette and Claire. The whole family once again spoiled me rotten! With braais (South African word for bbq), tours of the city and surrounding areas, visits to South African shops to buy biltong (SA dried meat that is way better than jerky). Catching up with the Ellison family was a real pleasure and I was honored to be their guest! I hope that they will soon visit me in Switzerland. It was also great to meet Claire's husband Simon and Colette's husband David! Thank you so much all of you for making my stay in Auckland so great!
After originally complaining about the weather in New Zealand I had a great spell of fantastic weather for the better part of my last month in the country and really got to enjoy the stunning landscapes and the friendly inhabitants of the Land of the Long White Cloud! People had raved about New Zealand in the past and I always thought, yeah, sounds like Switzerland with the sea and very very very far away. In a way it did remind me of Switzerland, but then the two islands are so diverse, the landscapes so stunning and the people so über-welcoming that I finally understood what the hype is all about: New Zealand is simply great! Sell all your belongings, pack some warm clothes (or buy the good quality local Merino stuff), a good wetsuit, buy a camper van and get lost in all the glory of this gorgeous country!
I reluctantly left New Zealand behind and flew to Sydney. I had visited Australia for a month in 2009 and had no interest in traveling around the country. However I really wanted to see my friend Stefano who is living in Sydney. It was so great to see him again! I finally got to meet his girlfriend Ganga and we managed to go surfing together! I wish there were a faster way of traveling from Europe to Down Under because I really miss Steto! The week in Sydney flew by and I feel that I had no sooner landed that I was headed for Bali.
More pictures and news soon! (or so I hope).
