Going south.......

The ski season has finished. Was an awesome one. I stayed couple extra days, enjoy time with Jace and Becky, did little hunting adventures(or actually big ones!) and just chilled. Bike was ready to go with all bags and little improvments, so was I.

First stop was at Masterton, where with Collets I went for A&P show. Horses, more horses and plenty of horses. On the side couple of other competitions and stands.

One night Rugby World Cup Final in local club, was quite a bit experience with bar full of Kiwi's. We've won, so it was even better :D

Wood chopping competition

Some oldies, which kiwi's really like

Horses...... there will be more of those

There are more then 36 000 000 sheeps in New Zealand, so when it comes to shearing you need to be quick. So they are quick. Shearing competition.

So, here is Mrs. Collet on 3 months broken in horse competiting :)

Let's call it a little horse

Here is sligthly bigger one 

My Kiwi Family :)

After few nights in Masterton, I paid a visit to Wellington again. This time on a bike. As a tourist, I enjoyed coffee shops, museum and just relaxed, while waiting for a ferry to the South Island.

Local art

I wasn't alone on the ferry :)

On the ferry it self, I already make friends with fellow bikers and also meet old friends from Ohakune :) 

World is not that big......

South Island welcomed me quite usual for my standards of traveling. With rain.

Thank you very much, so without wondering I shot to north end of it famous for it's beaches and always good weather. Got my self a hostel to dry my self and explore a bit more the area.

So first morning welcomed me with such a view :)

Famous Abel Tasman walk. I didn't do 4 day hike, but manage to hike for a full day.

Here is with some random fellow hikers from France(sooooooo many frenchies around.....) - because of that picture I have lost my lunch - which was stolen by bloody birds...... 

Great, no food for 12 h........

Still, place is more then likeable :)

Abel Tasman. Nothing needs to be added.

At very top of South Island - Cape Farewell

What I like the most, well. Roads :D As it will turn out months later Takaka Hill was the best piece of asphalt for me. I will have more twisty ones, better quality, stunner views but at this particular one you have a combination of everything and is wide enough to push it a little harder. My favourite, and as expected I did couple of times just to "Enjoy the Ride".

Maybe one day I will be able to post some movies from it :)

Cape Farewell has some of the most amazing beaches which I have seen. 

This spot is just stunning

Few days exploring north came to an end as I wanted to see more. One night stop at campsite close to Motueka. Can you imagine a better place to have a bath?

On my way to the west coast I came across more lovely roads. Spinning around hills, following the rivers, just beautiful. I look like old american biker....... I don't know why.

West coast welcomed me with something what I have missed for long time. Sunset over the sea. 

Life is good when you can carry home with you :)

Mamo. Tato. Przepraszam................. (Moze tato troche bardziej)

Tak. Oto moj maly projekt, ktory urzeczywistnialem przez ostatni miesiac, moze troche wiecej.

Wszystko zaczelo sie dosc niespodziewanie, przypadkiem przegladajac aukcje w internecie. Traf na GS1200SS, ktory nie wystepuje w Europie, po szlifie ok. 1,5 h od Ohakune. 

Nastpnego popoludnia smigamy na "cruise" do Whanagnui i po 15 minutach przygladania sie pakujemy, spinamy i smigamy z powrotem(co nieco polujac wracajac :P)

Szlif byl, olej wylany, nie da sie odpalic. Kciuki trzymamy mocno, ze wszystko bedzie dobrze...... Reszte sie jakos ogarnie:)

Tak byl spakowany. Czyz nie ladne dwa klasyki ?

W zwiazku z tym, ze tylko 40 sztuk bylo importowanych do NZ, naprawde ciezko znalezc czesci. Duzo telefonow, kombinacji, poszukiwan. I tydzien po tygodniu czesci splywaja. W miedzy czasie naprawy i ogarnianie tego co sie da bez czesci.

Powazniej wyglada spawanie bloku po szlifie, ale mamy magika do tego po sasiedzku, wiec nie ma stresu wielkiego.

W miedzy czasie, nie bedac do konca pewnym czy maszyna nawet odpali, zaczynam kolekcjonowac sprzet do jazdy, bo jestem przekonany ze odpali :)

Tak oto pojawia sie wiecej znanych motocyklowych marek "na mnie".

Sidi :)

Scott :)

Shoei............

Givi :D

Spidi.........

A w miedzy czasie motocykl "sie naprawia". Praktycznie kazdy wieczor spedzam w garazu dlubiac i starajac sie doprowadzic do uzywalnosci :)
Lubie takie wieczory przy piwku, zapachu benzyny, smar na rekach(ktorego nie mozna domyc przez nastepny tydzien.......) i czasem towarzystwo nawet do pomocy sie znalazlo :)

Troche ubogo wyglada, ale jest potencjal :)

Po spawaniu bloku, nastapil dlugo wyczekiwany wieczor. Aku naladowane, swiezy olej wlany...... 3 krotki proby i BBBBUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM !!!!!!

Sie znaczy, silnik nie wybuchl, tylko pusty wydech dal oznake zycia :)
Jest glosno, cala wies staje na nogi jak tylko budzi sie do zycia motocykl :)

W Polsce jest krowa(Walec), jest wariat(VFR). W Azji byl wozik(150cc).
Teraz padlo na Cafe Racer. Nie z wyboru. Czysty przypadek, ale radosc wcale nie mniejsza :D

Wiec, co z vanem? Bo w gruncie rzeczy posiadam teraz dwa pojazdy.

Van idzie na sprzedaz, choc ciezko bo naprawde dobrze trafilem i troche doinwestowalem przez zime, wiec spokojnie mozna by w nim przesmigac ten rok tutaj. 

Motocykl jest po prostu lepszy. Bedzie zimno, bedzie morko, bedzie malo ciuchow i malo rzeczy ktore bede mogl zabrac ze soba. Beda komplikacje i duzo ADRENALINY !!

1200 pojemnosc, 100 koni i ok. 220 kg wagi przy sportowym usposobieniu, zawieszeniu. ULULULULUALALALALALA !!!!!

Jest RADOSC :)

Winter, winter.......

Winter....... What can I do?

Well, I do pretty well skiing and first months in NZ are ALL about SKIING :D:D

Turoa is pretty awesome place for skiing. Plenty off piste and decent on-piste.

Everyday different skiis(almost, apart of my favourites which I used quite often).

Difficult to carry around my camera, so only shots from the phone and only on stops, but still AWESOME !!!!

A short "session" in the "cave" :)

Happy :)

Safety first..... Look after :)

Hello Bluebird day :)

Ulalalallalallalalla

Cheers Bro !!!

That's me. Ski bum.  Making the most of my time here, as we live only once.

An ordinary month................

It is time to write something. It's been 3 months since I've arrived and a little update from my side would be nice. So after sorting out first things in Auckland, setting my self up a bit I left for a little road trip. Plan was to get fast to south Island and spent some time there. Didn't work out that way in the end, but little more about that later.....

So here it is my month and some of things which I did in this time :)

In order to avoid driving on boring highway I took detour to west coast. First proper stop was in Whanganui. Nice little town with a few old buildings and river. Like it :)

Here is one of the old buildings :)

Then was Wellington, capital city. Windy as ........., but I had really good time hosted by friend of a friend of a friend :P

I even gave a hug to an old native tree :) 600 years old :D

First swim in the ocean. In the winter time.......... PRETTY COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually it was damn cold !!!!!!

After short time in Wellington I took ferry and started "roadtrippin' " on South Island.
Every single person by far was telling that North Island is nothing compare to South. Expectation pretty high though.

It has started pretty well with was some stunning roads in Milford Sounds. I've tried few roads around the world, but I must admit that landscapes here are just epic.....

Near Kaikoura I found little spot with waterfall and baby seals playing around. I could actually touch them and play a bit. That is not happening daily......

I've seen some sunsets literally out of my window :) First nights sleeping in my van as well turned out to be awesome. Every breakfast in different spot, every dinner in different place but at the same time at home ;)
Yes, hard to say and imagine it but I call a van my home already :) What's more, I like it :)

As I arrive here in the time where most of the people leave it must be a certain reason for it. It is. Winter. Couple of years brake from winter sports in a way which I used to have them, so time to change it. Priority hang around mountains and snow :D
First mountain town, Methven with Mt. Hutt. I tried to stay around and catch some job. Didn't work in the way I wanted, but nice people around and good contacts for future. Although standards are totally different from Europe, which I will hopefully explain in future....

Another "camping" spot on South Island. This time of the year offers plenty of privacy and not many people around :)
But sometimes you meet people, so it is nice to ask them for a picture :)

Hello. Slawek, the little traveler in New Zealand :)

Situations changes really fast and only after one week on South Island I got a job opportunity back on North Island. So, without hesitating for long time I drove all the way back, paid the ferry again and changed basically all plan.
Opportunity arose in Ohakune under Mt Ruapehu. Didn't consider it seriously before, but life can surprise :)
So, again in Wellington after ferry with Laura again. Another good time. I visited Te Papa Museum, feed native birds in Zelandia, went for a concert and much more......

Hello Birds !!

There was another colony of seals. This time big ones, so not much playing around with them :P
If you think that your bed is uncomfortable, try "seal" way :)

Here is Wellington from one of the hills. Isn't that a nice view?

So, Ohakune. The place where I am going to spend next couple of weeks.
I am at the moment Ski Technician at ski shop in the town. New experience and looking at skiing from different perspective. Looking forward and actually pretty excited with skiing in New Zealand :D
It started very, very active. With "Kiwi" experience full noise.

I even got to pretend a deer :D

And after butcher it :D

There was also a paintball game where I received a head shot, but I still feel that my team won the game :D

So here I am. This was more less my month in short cut. Until skiing season is finished I am going to work few hours in the shop, ski till the dark and learn about "kiwi way of living". Small town, every one knows each other, one grossery shop around, one liquor shop, few bars and restaurants for tourists.
Is it a first step before coming back to "big city life" or is it first step towards nature and stepping back from civilization? Will see, but definietly it is a good life lesson.
As the locals says: " If you can ski Ruapehu, you can ski anywhere in the world" :)

An ordinary month. Make it worth !!

Kia Ora ! - czyli Witaj po tutejszemu

Kia Ora Nowa Zelandia. Czas cos tutaj napisac, bo troche czasu minelo od mojego ostatniego posta.
Pewnie wiele rzeczy sie zdarzylo dotychczas, choc dla mnie to zupelnie inaczej wyglada.
Wiec najpierw Auckland. Najwieksze miasto i prawie polowa calej populacji tutaj mieszka. No sa wiezowce, wiele sie dopiero buduje. Blokow niewiele, za to cala masa domow. Tutaj sie wynajmuje dom na spolke, a nie mieszkanie tak jak w EU. Sa gorki wszedzie, wygasle wulkany, i duzo duzo zieleni. Starych budynkow niewiele, bo co tu moze byc stare w koncu. Transport miejski kicha. Taxi drogie, wiec kazdy ma swoj samochod i nim sie porusza. Odleglosci w samym Auckland sa duze, wiec jest to wrecz koniecznosc.
Mam to szczescie, ze znam kogos lokalnego wiec zostalem odebrany z lotniska, a wieczorem i zreszta przez caly weekend celebrowalismy przybycie tutaj oraz urodziny dobroczyncy :)
Z Kiwi sie ciezko celebruje. W ogole nie chca slyszec, ze czlowiek zmeczony, ze dlugi lot, ze godziny jakies inne tutaj maja i w sumie to teraz jest srodek nocy dla mnie i tak dalej mozna....... Nie bylo wyjscia, trzeba bylo celebrowac......... :D Tak mijaly weekendy gdy chlopaki mieli wolne, a w tygodniu ja mialem wiecej czasu dla siebie i zajmowanie sie swoimi sprawami organizacyjnymi. 

Z nie planowanych rzeczy zobaczylem nowego Mad Maxa w kinie, zapomnialem jak sie znalazlem na kanapie po ostatnim wieczorze, zatanczylem taniec z Kiwi dziewczyna, choc tez do konca nie pamietam i wygralem zaklad ale zapomnialem o co :D 

Z ciekawostek, robi sie tutaj wczesnie ciemno, wiec normalne jest chodzenie spac o 8 czy 9 wieczorem. Potem do 7 - 8 - 9 rano sie spi. Oj duzo sie tutaj spi......

Jest bardzo wilgotno, wiec chlodno. W domu powinno sie miec zainstalowany pochlaniacz wilgoci. A dodatkowo domy nie maja centralnego i zadnej izolacji(podobno nowe budownictwo ma, ale nie sprawdzone jeszcze przeze mnie), wiec jak dobrze wieje i jest chlodno, to czuc jak wiatr doslownie przewiewa przez dom....brrrr......zimno....(A GDZIE MOJ KOMINEK U AGI?!?!?!?!) 

Wszyscy na ulicy sie sobie klaniaja(praktycznie) i milo zaczynaja krotka rozmowe, a jak sobie chcesz pogadac wiecej to po prostu kontynujesz rozmowe. Bardzo przyjazni ludzie i tacy jakby wyluzowani.

Predkosc max to 100 km/h na autostradzie, ale rowniez poza terenem zabudowanym. I wszyscy mniej wiecej sie tego trzymaja. Wiec nie wiem czy mozna to nazwac autostrada w sumie, no ale powiedzmy ze sa dwa pasy w kazdym kierunku. Ciezarowki tez jada 100km/h, wiec wszyscy maja po rowno :)

Juz w pierwszy dzien aplikowalem o IRD, czyli taki lokalny NIP zeby mozna bylo legalnie pracowac i zabralem sie organizowanie swojego zycia tutaj.
W sumie spedzilem 10 dni w Auckland, troszke zwiedzajac, troszke imprezujac weekendowo i poznajac kiwi zycie :)

Pozniej cos wiecej napisze :)

Pomnik na wygaslym wulkanie. Cos na pewno symbolizowal......

                                                                                               

W ogrodzie botaniczym

A tutaj odplywam promem do Devenport. Ladna dzielnica i pare rzeczy do zobaczenia tam :)

A to taka sciezka nadmorska. W samym Auckland. I jak zielono!

To juz widok z kolejnej gorki. Mozna pochodzic tunelami z czasow wojny oraz powspinac sie na szczyt, gdzie kiedys byly dziala. Ja chcialbym zwrocic uwage na lawke. Niby niczego sobie lawka, ale porosnieta grzybem czy porostem w najwiekszym miescie NZ. Pamietac!! Oddychac pelna piersia i czyscic pluca z europejskiego brudu!!!!

Jeszcze mnie nie bylo. Wiec to ja z panorama.... Wialo jak cholera, ale co tam....

Jedna z wycieczek na wytrzezwienie. To tez jest w Auckland........

I na plazy dla ochlodzenia!

Witaj Pacyfiku :)

Czarna piaskowa wydma. A dookola zielono. I strumyk. I jeziorko. I wciaz jestesmy w Auckland :P