Pics from the road...

Putting my BOB together at the airport. The flight was a little hope over the Pacific Ocean from Fiji. I'm still in awe that the airport has a place set aside to build your bike...and free computers with internet access...what?!


Leaving the airport - on my way to my warmshowers hosts just a few kilometres away for day 1.
Playing a conquer Europe with trains game with Belinda, Marcus, Liam and Roland...Belinda and Roland recently finished a 1.5 year tour on a tandem riding from Alaska to Patagonia! Wow!


Belinda snapped this pic of me officially heading off...to who knows where :)
My first home. Topopokanga Regional Park (the following three photos below).
I stayed in Katikati two nights after some gastro issues. hm. But the small town is dotted with murals - painted in the 90's and early 2000's to try and boost tourism. This is just one mural of probably 30 throughout the town. Apparently, it's working. A lot of people come to this town/area to find work picking fruit.
Beach just east of Katikati - shoreline covered with shells!

Ancient imprints? They looked pretty cool. These are platered (naturally) on some rocks at Mt. Mauranganui near the city of Tauranga.

Me on top of Mt Maunganui. Just to the left of this pic is where the giant oil spill occured not too long ago and there are still massive efforts to clean up the beaches. Swimming was not recommended and in fact, several of the less populated beached further south were closed entirely. So sad...this dependence of oil.



My first made in NZ earrings - and the shells were found on the very beach I made them on...cool, huh?
I am almost to Rotorua!


more pics to come...trying to keep in a theme-y...maybe "Super-Macro NZ" will be next!

A few pics to start off...

Barely missed getting dumped with hail! Enjoy the pics... (going backwards)


I finally made it to Kuirau Park just outside the city center of Rotorua where bubbling thermal pools and steam vents dot the park. You don't wanna fall into one of these suckers. Most people really don't enjoy the eggy sulphur smell, but I find that I really don't mind it.


I'm staying in a neighborhood in Rotorua just next to the Redwood Park that has over 100 km of mt bike trails. Cassandra (left), Isabel (middle) - both from Germany and also on Working Holiday, and I spent a couple hours riding in the park. They were also staying at the same house for almost a week and were able to give me the lowdown of the wonders of this place. I'm so excited to explore more of these trails because we only rode not even a handful of what is offered...It's such an extensive network of trails and each one is marked beginner/intermediate/difficult, much like a ski area. And there are dedicated mtb trails and walking trails. Perfect!




K, I'll try to load more cause this is just from the past couple of days.

Aloha!

Home sweet temporary home...

My new home base for the next two months to live/work/play smells like rotten eggs. Mmmm hmmm, that's right...like the kind that go bad. It's all g, though, y'all cause it's not real eggs stinkin up the place.. Yucky egg smell often indicates sulphur is lurking in the air - and this town has lots of it...geothermal vent style steaming from inside the earth to grace us humans with it's eggy presence. Fascinating. I love the fact that very active and live earth is just beneath my feet!

Not only is this area volcanically active, but -oh my gosh- it has such a gigantic system of dedicated mountain bike trails. Seriously, I have a different sort of paradise in my backyard for the next several weeks. St. Louis, I love you and will forever be grateful for your existence to introduce me to my first, and thus far only, true love of mountain biking.

But this trail system is like St. Louis on some serious steroids- the trail network spans over 100km of varying difficulty and then you mix in baby redwoods (though ginormous, they are quite small by california's standards), crystal clear streams and lakes, super fresh air, palm tree looking ferns, Maori carvings, pure beauty...really I never knew such a place existed.

Also class V rapids to 'float' and plenty of rocks to climb and Maori culture to discover and trails to run and lakes to swim in...

I've just seen the tip of the iceberg of what this wondrous country has to offer...

And now the job hunt begins so I can enjoy these fun ventures to the max :)

6 days down...359 to go!

Tomorrow will complete my first New Zealand week. I currently reside in the town of Katikati for two nights while my insides heal. Since my arrival, I have ridden through lovely pastures, rolling hills, quiet shorelines, the outskirts of Auckland, rails to trails of the Karangahake Gorge, tiny towns, the birthplace of lemon and paeoria soda (world famous in NZ)...through sunny skies and chilly enough rain for me to pull out my ski pants.

Advised by incredibly wonderful warmshowers hosts, Belinda and Roland, I stayed my first night at a beach named Topopokanga Regional Park. Only three other campervans, along with me-my-bike-and-my-trailer resided at this gorgeous site for the night...towering orange cliffs, a crystal clear bay with the very green and mountainous coromandel peninsula in the distance, and glorious load of new types of sea shells for me to sift through...and I was greeted by a pasture of 100's of recently sheered sheep who seemed to be curiously wondering and yet obviously avoiding my slightly overpacked trailer.

This would be my third night in the country. I was walking back to my tent on the deserted beach at sunset when an older gentleman approaches me asking what I know about RV's being allowed at this site. They weren't allowed, but we talked a bit more and I said maybe twice that I had just arrived in town a couple days earlier so I really didn't know the rules. Then I mentioned I was on a bike- the pedaling kind...and then you could see a light bulb go off in this guys head.

We had an encounter, though brief, at the airport a few days prior. He's a taxi driver for the executive types so he was in a fancy uniform...which is why I didn't recognize him at the beach. He questioned what I was doing as I was building my bike and trailer and when he found out why (to ride around the country- from the airport) the two simple words he uttered were "you're crazy!". Haha, more than likely true.

I figure running into him at the beach was a fun chance encounter and let's me know I am starting my kiwi experience in the right direction...because i do believe in that sort of thing. After I finally could pinpoint which stranger he was to approach me at the bike building area of the airport, I went to his parked for the night RV and met his wife, Sally...he told her the story and brought me along so she would believe him...

Did I mention how beautiful this beach is...and the shells! Oh my...I so look forward to making my first set of NZ made earrings :) I'll mail a pair to the first person who responds (if you want a pair).

Next stop: Tauranga

Big aloha!

The joys of being poisoned :) <--- sarcastic smile

My first rest day since being on the bike. I had a bit of an issue, gastrointestinally, due to ingestion of Milo... Which I had believed to be a chocolatey drink. Though the terrain was relatively easy and distance not very far, I arrived into Katikati purely fatigued and utterly exhausted. Strength thrown out the window. If it were up to me I would have hopped off my bike and slept for ten days in the open grassy fields - perhaps even curled next to sheep doo doo. Not an option.

Though my intent was to push on a bit and pitch the tent somewhere, I was incredibly grateful for the hostel in town. And the laundry machines.

A very short and exhausting meandering through town had me bypass a department store with a large can of Milo advertised through the window. Curious as to what the chocolately ingredients were, I tried to eye the listing only to find the giant words "MALTED BARLEY" screaming back at me. Oh sh*t. Damnit, steph, when are you gonna learn to triple check any unknown food to prevent essentially poisoning your body.

Today I am eating nothing but whole foods and am gradually getting my strength and clarity back. The sinus pressure is slowly dissapating, too, as is the other yucky gastrointestinal stuff...live and learn, Steph. Life is much to precious to live life the way I've felt the past two days. I guess I'm just surprised how it has yet to hit me 100% how much gluten rips apart my insides quite literally...and prob figuratively... and how much it deteriorates my quality of life. Not worth it.

Happy to get back on the bike tomorrow...with a healthier mind body and spirit :)

Fannie's in Auckland!

Ohhhh myyyy, how happy am I! I spent four wonderful days on the island of Fiji. Thank you Iva, Mili (x2), Seni, Orisi, Seru, Fulori, Isei, Bandi, and Manu for your wonderful hospitality and showing me what Fiji is all about. I really can't express my gratitude. And oohhh my, the food was wonderful. Fijian grown veges and meats cooked in simple yet delightful ways. Midi (raw coconut mile with diced onions and tomatoes), mmmmm mmmmm good. And thank you, Seni, for showing me around Sigatoka and Suva. I love you all! Vinaka!!!

I've since flown into Auckland. Built my bike and trailer at the airport (where they have a bike building area, and free internet kiosks!), and rode into Manurewa (just a few miles from the airport) where I am staying now with fellow tourist Belinda and Roland (they rode from Alaska to Argentina) and their family. So far, New Zealand is so lovely and I'm so happy and grateful to be here. I'm just gonna get my bearings a little bit more, pop into a bike shop, get some contact solution, repack my trailer and take off tomorrow towards Rotorua, I think :)

Let the adventures begin!

What I Learned in School

Well my attempt for returning to school was a fail. Or perhaps I will chalk it up at a learning experience. Which it was, really. I learned how to decipher my vision - as in what 20/750 really means...yes, I am blind without some artificial vision device. I learned about the wondrous world of the super duper tiny things in life - microbiology is truly fascinating stuff. In fact, I learned I would rather be a microbiologist that a nurse. But I really don't want to be either. I learned that, too.

The most significant thing I learned in my university quest is that I should embrace my wonderful skills and talent for wanderlust. I'm good at it. I certainly have a knack for it. So I will pursue it!! YES, I've finally figured out my life - HA, not. Ever-changing and lifelong - this thing we call figuring out life.

That being said, I have a one way flight booked for New Zealand for the end of October with a 1 year work visa. Wow, it feels good to have a new goal. Another thru-hike is in the works. The Te Araroa trail combines both the North and South Islands of New Zealand and covers 1800 miles. My heart craves that simplistic, living out of what's on your back lifestyle. That will be five-ish months. After that I will work wherever I can (probably a ski town in the service industry), and also work on getting a TEFL (Teacher of English as a Foreign Language) certification so I can continue to better my wanderlust skills in other lands.

Long story short, I'm ready ready ready. Ready to see my family in October, too. It's been long overdue and I miss them tremendously.