Papua 742

 

New Zealand 9 Most Expensive Meat In The World

For lunch we all came together again and everybody cooked something for himself. Afterwards we still sat together for a little, before Sol finally told me that my bag has finally arrived. 

So I went to get my bag and took a shower in one of the outside showers at the van park and got on some new clothes.
Later that day we were just hanging around, while some of us got to go dolphin swimming.
Manuel had that brilliant idea that we could make a pizza party tonight , so we started preparing for everything.
Leslie, the girl from America wanted to make mozzarella cheese, so we helped her and had a good laugh, because the water she had to stretch the cheese in was boiling hot and she just couldn't make it longer than 5 seconds.
While we had some spare time I taught Sol some Austrian Card Games exchange I got thought how to play chess.
After fooling around a little bit, Manu and me were responsible for the pizza dough. After getting around 10 doughs ready we could finally start with the toppings.
One of the toppings was one of the most expensive meat in the world, which you can get here by diving up the shell that has that meat in it.
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Akaroa

Akaroa, New Zealand; My trip around the World 8

The scenery here is gorgeous, it is its own little paradise and I am more than happy to be here.
Also I already got to know Goosey the Goose, which is apparently scared of brooms and rakes, so she is hissing at them like a cat.
In the afternoon I had to do a little bit of work and afterwards everybody cooked at the outdoor kitchen and we all ate together and had some fun.
As soon as it got dark, we went inside the reception and all watched a movie together, where I fell asleep because I was so tired.
They woke me up when the movie ended and I went to my van at the van park, where I will sleep for the next 2 weeks. Also Sol got me a mouse trap for the van, because they have some problems with mice sometimes... 

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Life starts now

For some reason I already woke up at 6:30am, but since I didn’t really feel that tired I decided to get up. Opening the door, I saw that a chicken with her little baby came to say good morning.
It was a wonderful sunny morning and I was up way too early so I woked out a little and listened to music while I layed on the bench starring at the clouds.
At 9am Manuel, the Woofer from Germany picked me up to feed the pidgeons and afterwards we went up to the reception where we all had breakfast together.
Sol told Manuel to instruct me in what I have to do the next couple weeks. It is basically just taking care of the van park and to look that it is clean. My working time is from 10am - 1pm.
If we don't stop working at 1am, Sol would come and tell us to stop, he is just a really nice guy.

My trip around the World 7 New Zealand

I got out at the 4 square supermarket and bought some food for my stay at the Onuku Farm Hostel. After a while I saw a car driving to the parking spot with an Onuku sign on it and figured that these would be the people that are going to pick me up. 

Two guys were in the car, one of them introduced himself as Sol and the other one as Mustafa. Sol turned out to be the manager, a really strict and straightforward guy. Mustafa was pretty chilled and just made fun of Sol all the time while smoking an e-cigarette.
Later on Mustafa told me that the work is really hard and that Sol can be a real asshole, but shortly before we arrived they told me that they were just making fun of me and Mustafa turned out to be the real Sol, while the other guy was Manuel from Germany.
It was funny from the beginning, there are 6 'woofers' and a couple of guests here. Everybody is super friendly and courteous. Sol is making jokes all the time and everybody here is having a great time.
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My trip around the World 6 - There Is A Tsunami Coming Our Way

After realizing that I wasn't drunk, I noticed that the room is still moving. Soon after, I figured that it has to be an earthquake, but since I wasn't really prepared for that, I just stayed in my room.

Right after I fell asleep again, a staff member knocked on my door and told me that we are all meeting outside, because of the earthquake.

It took a little until the manager told us that it is safe to go inside again. Later that night I found out that there is also a huge Tsunami coming our way.

Because the aftershocks woke me up a couple of times, I decided to just stay awake and start my 2nd day in New Zealand...
..at 2am.

Onuku Akaroa, New Zealand, 11/14/2016
After showering I got ready for checking out and had a quick breakfast before I got on the bus to Akaroa, the place where my first host family told me to come to.
Traveldiariesapp (to be continued)

My Trip Around The World 5 My Room Is Shaking

Christchurch, New Zealand, 

Three hours later, I stood in Christchurch and was ready to get my bag and find a Hotel. So I waited an hour on my bag before I got told that it was left in Sydney. However, after another 1,5 hours at the customer service I was finally able to get out of the airport. After booking for a night in a hostel and getting a prepaid card for my phone, I bought myself a bus ticket to the city center and looked out for my stay for the night. 

Shortly after I found the hostel, checked in and could finally sleep.... 

+

All of a sudden I woke up when my room was shaking. 

"What Kind of fuckup up hangover is that?"
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My trip around the World 4 The other end of the World

Christchurch, New Zealand, 

Arrived in Dubai, I had to wait 4 hours to hop on the other plane, where a flight three times as long as the one before waited on me. And of course, I had no legroom again.

I mainly watched shows again and talked to my lovely plain neigbour durring the flight. Funny was that I got breakfast on the plane for 3 times withing 24hours because of the time differences. Later on I got to see another beautiful sunrise, this time over Australia.

After another really long flight and without any sleep, I arrived in Sydney, where they had to refuel the plane, which meant more waiting time for me. Another 1,5 hours past by, before I was allowed to bored for the last time on the way to New Zealand.
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My trip around the World 3 Two days on a plane

A couple thousand feet over the ocean, 11/12/2016

In the hope of getting a seat with enough legroom I finally got on the plane. Of course there wasn't enough space for my long legs, so I just tried to fit somehow in my seat, which got even harder when the person infront of me went to sleep and leaned back with his seat.

I mostly watched TV- Shows on the plane to Dubai, which was my first stop. I also tried to sleep for a bit, which worked out at the end, but unfortunately it was 15 minutes before the plane started to land. I don't regret that I didn't sleep, because in that way I could experience a stunning sunrise over Dubai.

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My trip around the World 2 The very last Goodbye

Munich, Germany, 11/11/2016

It was a really busy and hard day, getting everything done in time and saying goodbye to my family.
We went to get the last couple of things from the shopping mall and fixed the Problems with my insurance. Afterwards I had to buy my ticket to Osaka (Japan) already, because of New Zealand visa purposes. In that way they can be sure that I won't be there longer than 3 months.
Later that day my mom picked me up to go get 'lunch' with her and to wish me all the best.
I got back, packed the last pieces up and was ready to go. We loaded everything in the car and visited my grandma really quick before my dad drove me to the airport in Munich.
As we arrived at the airport at around 8pm, my dad and me already had to say farewell, due to the long line that was ahead of me. Of course I was a little bit sad, but also excited, because I knew that my journey begins now.... 

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My trip around the World 1 New Zealand

Getting nervous and excited
Seeham, Austria, 11/10.
My family threw me a big surprise farewell-party today and I absolutely loved it, having everyone around me for one last time before my adventure starts, but also I started to realise that it is getting pretty serious now.
It is one day before my flight to New Zealand and I am still trying to fit everything in my backpack and hope that i won't forget anything. The excitement is growing, but also I am getting really nervous about being on myself for such a long time. It is really early in the morning and I am still up, trying to install and download everything for my new phone and tablet, making sure that i won't get too bored on the flight since it is 25 hours on the plane, with stops in Dubai and Sydney before I finally arrive in Christchurch, NZ.
On the evening that day some friends came over to say goodbye for one last time and to wish me all the best on my adventure. We had lots of fun, even though it got a little emotional in the end.
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Papua Highlands 11 Boy could he scream!!

 Then the path we were on headed down slowly to the riverside for some time. We got to another bridge, except this one was much better built with proper supports. We crossed and found ourselves on the road again.

We headed back to the place with the bemo. We caught a bemo and on the bus there was a boy, about 4 years old. It was his first time in a vehicle, nevermind a crowded bemo.
Boy could he scream. He clearly was rattled by the whole experience and for the next 20 hours (at least that's what it felt like) he screamed on and on, with only a 1-2 second respite to get more breath. At first it was all rather funny, and the whole bemo was laughing as the kid threw tantrum after tantrum while his parents tried to calm him amid their laughing. But after over an hour of this, everyone was tired of it to say the least and the other small children were on the verge of crying over the rather traumatic experience.
Finally we got to  Wamena (longest short ride I've ever taken). My ears were still ringing. We headed back to town, I bought a mask and a traditional stone axe (still used to get sago). Penius joked that the next party in Canada I shoud go wearing nothing but the koteka, mask and holding the axe.
I got my stuff from the hotel, had a much needed shower, checked into the airport and managed to get on an earlier flight.

Ralf Kreuze

Papua Highlands 10 They Were Up To No Good

I had left a lot of my stuff in Wamena, including my antihistimines as I wasn't expecting to need them. Boy I was wrong. My allergies were kicking in full force and I didn't bring enough tissues to deal with the river coming from my nose. It was a very unpleasant part of the 3 days. When I was moving it wasnt bad but sitting still for any length and it got unbearable. (Not conducive to Penius' trekking style). Presumably it is adrenaline that is responsible for the suppression of the allergic response. 

After Penius cooked dinner and we ate, we headed to bed.
The next morning, I had tea and biscuits, and we headed off fairly early to ensure I would catch my afternoon flight.
We walked at some length along a path. For some time 3 teenage boys followed us. We would let them pass, but then they'd stop only to follow us again. Clearly they were intentionally following us. Penius picked up on this and told them to go ahead of us. He said they were up to no good. Penius showed me what a local grave was like. The hillsides are quite rocky 

and they have put the bodies inside rocky sides of hills partially protected, but nonetheless exposed. Ralf Kreuze

(to be continued)