G'Day Everybody!

At the moment I am almost a week at the farm course and it has been almost 2 weeks since my last blog update. So this it what has happened during that time. Wednesday 19 November I checked out at YHA Central Sydney with Lindsay, a Canadian girl with whom I would relacate a camper van from Sydney to Melbourne. It was an Apollo camper van with a maximum capacity of 2 adults and a child. Because of it being a relacation Apollo paid for all of the fuel (if we did not exceed the amount of kms it took to get from Sydney to Melbourne). On top of this we would get 100 dollars for the service. After picking up the van and paying for some insurance, etc. we would actually break even. This was really nice as we had to drive through an awesome scenery. We got 2 days for a +/- 1000 km trip which was off course more than enough in order to be able to do something on the road. Wednesday we decided to drive most of the trip so we would not have to drive a lot on Thursday which would give us the opportunity to do something.
We decided to go canoeing in Albury, a city located 300 kms from Melbourne. The night from Wednesday upon Thursday we spent on a rest area next to the highway. It was a really nice spot. We drank a few beers, made dinner (beans), saw a movie (Tucker and Dale versus Evil) and went to sleep. The next morning we had to drive +/- 120 kms to Albury where we would meet up with a rep of the canoe company in a park with a very difficult name at 10:30 am. We took 4 beers per person and embarked on a 3-4 hour canoe trip. It only should have taken a little bit more than 2 hours but the weather was really good so we took our time. We chilled on the water, drank our beers and stopped a few times to swim a bit. It was a really nice canoe trip. After the canoeing we went to the supermarket and got 22 sausages (deal 22 for 7 dollars) and thought we would be able to finish them all which, of course, we didn't. After this we made dinner on one of the free BBQ spots in the park, which are actually really well organized in Australia. Hands down for that! We finished our 24 pack of beers, watched a movie (Little Fockers) and went to bed. The next day we just drove the last 300 kms to Melbourne and delivered the van. In the city we met up with George and Alex, two other Canadians we met in Sydney. I checked in in my hostel (United Backpackers) which was actually a really nice hostel located in the center. After this we went to Nandos restaurant for dinner and I had a Surpreme Burger which was beyond good. The next day (Saturday) we did some sightseeing in Melbourne. I dicovered that Melbourne is a lot quiter than Sydney, more easy going and just 'nicer'. There is a very different vibe in Melbourne which made that I liked it more than Sydney. At 7 pm I took the FlyExpress bus back to Sydney in order to be Monday in Sydney to get to the Farm Course. Sunday I arrived in Sydney at 6:20 am. I spent some time in the central station for its free wifi. I decided to rent a locker in the YHA Central for a few hours just to be able to get rid of all my luggage for a while (More than 30 kgs starts to get heavy after a while). Sunday I wanted to use to get some things for the farm course. I needed a very cheap pair of pants and a shirt. After a few hours of walking around I finally found a hideous shirt for 10 dollars and a pair of jeans for the same amount of money. I knew I would buy them for farm work so they didn't have to be fancy. At night I checked in at the Red Star Backpackers hostel. In the morning I found out my train got replaced by a bus due to mechanical failure. In the bus I met 3 other people who would go to the farm course: Carolin and Alex(andra), german girls (who would have guessed) and a dutch guy named Gys but during the course people would refer to him as Mike as Gys is very difficult to pronounce when you are not dutch. Sometimes he even got called Norman of Rosco, which was actually an act of teasing. Halfway 2 other germans got on the bus (Alex and Till). I knew these guys already from my first week in Australia during the Ultimate OZ week. The 3 remaining people I would meet in Quirindi. These people were: Ruth, a british girl (Manchester); Edward, a guy from Belgium (Brussels) and Jet, a girl from the Netherlands (Groningen). Eventhough there were 2 persons who spoke perfect dutch, so far we have not spoken Dutch to eachother (even if its would be a conversation between just the 2 of us). I didn't come here to speak Dutch and I have no intention to do so. This works really well for the Dutch guys and me. We try to encourage everybody to speak English all the time as it is kind of not sociable if you speak a language that others persons in the group do not understand. Other than this issue the group atmosphere is really good. The course itself is awesome! Real value for money. The 2000 dollars I spent for these 4 weeks have been really worth it so far. John, the CEO of Total Care Farming, is a really passionate man whos objective is very nobel. He wants to create a farming process which is sustainable and good for the well fare of the animal (sheep). His goal is to bring meat (e.g. lamb) on the market which is accessible to people who nowadays can't afford to buy this kind of meat. All of this with the well being of the animal in mind. To achieve this he tries to adapt his farming methods. For exemple: he tries to get the amount of stress sheep experience during being moved as low as possible by using Lifestock Mental Manipulation. These methods he teaches us (his students) because he believes this is the futur of farming. His second goal is to train people to a stage where they are able to run a farm. A lot of farmers struggle to be profitable. He wants to open a respite center for farmers who are in trouble. In this respite center he wants to reach out to them and teach them how to do things better without forcing anything. Where do we come in (students)? It is almost impossible for a farmer to leave his or her farm for a few weeks in a row. John wants to train people (us - but in a more elaborate course) to be able to care for these farms while their farmers are in the respite center. I think these are two very nobel goals and actually I would be able to see myself participating in such an intensive farm course. Making the world a better place is the nobelest thing you can do in my opinion. Respect for John, his wife Martine and everybody else involved (especially Al and Kate who are really involved in the schooling program). During the first week we already learned a lot of things. Tuesday we got explained the filosophy of the farm and some rules. We had a BBQ for lunch at a hill top overlooking the farm. I felt like being in the Lion King. Being high overlooking the farm and learning where the borders of the farm were located. It was very impressive. If you would walk across the borders of the farm it would take approximately 24 hours to get to the starting point again. After lunch we got a tour around the farm in a 4x4 drive which was necessary. John told us a lot about the farm and his vision for the farm. I learned a lot on my first day. Wednesday we got a Livestock Reproduction Training from Martine and after 'Smokey' (morning tea time) we got a course of Livestock Mental Manipulation from John which was very interesting. In the afternoon we guided as a group a mob of sheep from a yard to one of the paddocks. This was an awesome experience. I learned a lot. Thursday we got a first aid training from kate and afterwards we got a course of vehicle maintenance and basic driving. Friday we learned basic fencing and next week we will be fencing for most of the time as this is one of the most important skills you need to work on a farm. Yesterday we did 2 awesome walks in the middle of nowhere. The landscape was stunning. In the evening we went to a pub to have a few drinks and dinner. Now it is Sunday. Today I will be doing my laundry and relax a bit I guess. I am really loving being here and as I said before: It is really value for money + you live with wild kangaroos etc. + you develop a wide range of skills. I recommend this course to anyone!!! You won't regret it. Sign up for a Total Care Farming course! So this was my blog for now! See you in a few weeks! See yah mates ;)

Cheers,

Thomas           

Hi everyone,

This will be my first blog message written on Australian soil. I have been here now for over 2 weeks. Currently I'm staying in Sydney, or as I now mostly call it 'Shitney'. Not because I don't like the city, but because I'm not fond of cities in general. This is also why I'm looking to only working on farms or anywhere as long it is outside a city. Ideal would be close to a city as it is convenient having a city in the neighbourhood. But I wouldn't mind being somewhere on a farm in the outback surrounded by nothing but nature. Anyway, currently I'm still in Sydney. I'll start from the beginning. On arrival in Australia I was a little bit sad because I had to say goodbye to New Zealand and some awesome people. My shuttle was late and I stuggled locating him. My paper said I had to go to entrance D, which didn't exist anymore at that time. I decided to call the shuttle service and then after half an hour looking around I finally found the shuttle driver. On arrival at the hostel I was placed into a 6-bed dorm. And guess what... there were 3 other Flemish people staying there (a guy from Limburg and a couple from Leuven). It felt strange to me as I met only 2 Flemish people in my entire stay in New Zealand. At that moment there were apparently more than 10 Flemish people staying. Do you think I went to them to hook up? Of course not! I didn't travel to the other side of the world to meet Flemish people. Monday morning I met the group and the Ultimate OZ representatives, Heather and Dan. They took us to the office and after giving us a SIM card we headed out on a walk to Darling Harbour where I would see the georgous Botanic Gardens, the famous Opera House and Darling Bridge. Right at that moment I felt like Sydney wasn't really a city where I could stay too much time. It was just 'too busy'. It was impressive though. I met a lot of people who absolutely loved Sydney and people who had been on a Working Holiday visa and so far hadn't left Sydney,even if they had been there for months. But that just isn't me. During  the day I talked with a lot of people: Candadians, Brits, an American, ... A lot of different nationalities. A got along with everybody, but there were a few people I would not talk with more than once as they just weren't interesting to me. Actually I didn't really connect with someone and haven't so far here in Australia to be honest. The people I hung out with the most were Georges (a French Canadian), Lindsay (a English speaking Canadian) and Andreas (a Deen). On Tuesday Ultimate OZ sceduled a harbour cruise for us, but the boat broke down so we went laser tagging and bowling instead which was pretty funny. They propmised to reschedule the harbour cruise, but they never did unfortunately. Wednesday we went to a hostel near Newcastle (north of Sydney) for 'base camp' which was awesome. We stayed there till Friday. On base camp we went sandboarding, we walked to the summit of Mount John to enjoy the panoramic views, I participated in a surf lesson and we went on a dolphin cruise. Besides the activities a    lot of alcohol would be consumed, most of it 'goon' which is actually a very cheap version of white and red wine. It is the only alcohol in Australia that is cheap. It is famous for the hangovers and memory loss you get out of it. I drunk the cheapest beer as I didn't really like the goon. The two nights we spent at base camp were awesome. Saturday we did a 2km walk to Bondi Beach, one of Sydney's most famous beaches. It was a very beautiful walk. But because of the enormous amount of people doing the walk that day we hadn't any time to enjoy Bondi Beach as we had to be back in the Wake Up hostel in time for the goodbye dinner. After dinner we went to a few clubs. In the Home bar in Darling Harbour (the last club we did and the biggest of all) I lost my group and walked all the way back to the hostel by myself. It was an 'ok' night. Sunday would become my unluckiest day so far in New Zealand and Australia combined. A money transfer didn't come through which was a problem as I was unable to pay for a farm     course I signed up for. Secondly a malfunction in my new charger destroyed my Nokia phone which held my Australian SIM card. My Samsung had to be unlocked to be able to accept the Australian SIM card which was quite expensive. I didn't want to pay that. Normally that would not drive me that crazy but I had a few phone calls to make Monday morning. But I left Monday morning on a Surf camp where I would not be able to make phonecalls. This combined with a few other things made Sunday a real 'hate' day. But then I thought: Tomorrow can only be better. And it was!!! From Monday to Friday I went to a Surf Camp which is the best and most painfull experience in Australia so far. The surf camp was located in a Holiday Park at Seven Mile Beach south of Sydney. There were around 90 people in surf camp, divided over 2 groups (which were each again devided into 3 groups). Every group got 2 sessions of surf lessons each day with a duration of 2 hours each. I would find out it would be the maximum you could do in 5
straight days. In total everyone could participate in 8 sessions. I learned very fast but as the week progressed I got some rashes on my right ankle and the backs of my knees. This was the result of putting on and taking off the 'wet' wetsuit twice a day. The rashes on my ankle become so severe that they became wounds. This was the work of the ankle leash which is attached to the surf board. The wound are still healing. But I thought during surf camp and I still do now: If a sport takes that amount of effort (putting on and taking off a wet wetsuit, collecting boards in trailer and walking a km to and from the beach twice a day) and pain (wounds because of rashes and painfull arms and legs because of the intensity of the sport and the lessons) and you still love every minute of it, it has to be awesome... And it really was!!! I am planning on buying a surf board when I will be travelling the East Coast in a few months after my farm work. It is just an amazing sport. I booked cheaper hostels for the rest of my time in Sydney. Friday after surf camp I checked in into Nomads Westend. I got a bed in a 32-bed dorm. Try to have a good night sleep after 5 exhausting days of surfing. Saturday I went to do some shopping with a few of my 'friends' or people I met. In the evening I checked in into a hostel called 'Red Star Backpackers' which was a really good hostel. It was smaller so the kind I like. It's more personal. You have more conversations in a smaller hostel than in a big hostel. I guess it is for a lot of people psychological. In a big hostel they know it is likely they will never see the same person twice. In a smaller hostel you bump in to eachother a few times a day so it would be weird if you didn't talk to eachother. During my times in hostels (16 so far in New Zealand and Australia combined) I learned that people are more sociable in smaller hostels. It is also better to travel by yourself. A very annoying thing about people travelling in group is that they don't 'want' interaction with other people. They feel like they don't 'have to'. It has happened a few times that I tried to talk to someone who belonged to a group (French, Belgians, ... I actually have the worst experience with a group of Flemish people - Why are we so cold???) and they answer in a way that says: 'Why are you talking to me? You just pulled me out of my comfort zone.' People... LIFE BEGINS WHERE YOUR COMFORT ZONE ENDS!!! Why are you doing this if you are scared of interaction with people you don't know? I do not understand it, even as I am not in every situation the most sociable person. Anyway, when I arrived at Red Star Backpackers I got invited to play some drinking games on the roof of the hostel. So we played a few games with an amazing view over Sydneys' skyline and I met some cool people. I talked a while with a girl from Chili, partially in English and partially in Spanish. My Spanish is still at 90 % of the level I had in Lanzarote which was quite surprising. It was nice. Sunday I went to Manly Beach with Andreas and Lindsay. We had to take a ferry to get there (only 2 dollars 50 which is really cheap for Sydney). Manly is a very nice and beautiful coastal town, though tourist infested. Yesterday (Monday) I checked out at Red Star Backpackers and made my way back into the city where I would stay for two days in the YHA Central Sydney, a hostel next to the central station. I'm staying there now (I'm even writing my blog now in the YHA) because tomorrow (Wednesday) I will be taking a train with Lindsay to the airport where we will pick up a camper van which we have to drive to Melbourne. The van has to be delivered there Friday afternoon which gives us some time to do some sightseeing on the road as Melbourne is only 900 kms from Sydney. It almost doesn't cost us anything and we have accommodation with us. Saturday night I will take a night bus back to Sydney from where I will depart on a 4-week farm course on Monday. Yesterday was a lazy day. Lindsay, Andreas and myself had a BBQ on the roof of the hostel at night which was nice. For today I haven't planned anything. This gave me the perfect opportunity to write my blog and charge all of my devices. Maybe I will do some laundry but I guess I'll wait a few days as I still have a few things to put on. So this is my story so far. It is possible that on the farm course I will not have that many opportunities to connect to the internet. In general, I'm having a great time and I'm excited about the future. Hear y'all later! ;)

Greetings

Thomas     

Just to start: I had... an amazing time (wink Simon Cowell). So amazing thinking about it (+ lack of sleep) gets me emotional.
What were the best moments? Depends what you are referring to. Talking about nature and the sightseeing that I did I would say
that my top 4 would be (all shared first places actually):
1) Waiheke (Island east of Auckland - stunning landscape, sunsets, ... the complete package for a nature lover)
1) Tangoriro Alpine Crossing - Hiking through the land of Mordor for 8 hours, enjoying the most breathtaking landscapes, realizing
you are standing on an active volcano that erupted just a few years earlier (2012), passing Mt Doom, ... Got no words for it!
1) Milford Sound - a fjord in the south of the South Island - you see it and your heart skips a beat. I guess I haven't said
anaything during the entire trip just because there was so much beauty to take in.
1) Coastal routes from Blenheim to Kaikoura on the east coast of the South Island and from Westport to Greymouth on the west coast -
both sides vary so much but are equally stunning.

If we are talking about staying in hostels, people, everything else than nature I would say:
In (almost) every hostel I met some new people from all over the world. It was awesome to listen where everybody comes from and what
their intentions are. With some people there would never be that 'click' but with others you would even go on a trip the day after you
met them. So a very nice experience.

About people... I've met the most wonderful people, most of them on the conservation project. It are all people from all over (Germany,
Switzerland, the british girl and the french girl (most of them from Germany -.-) but all people with different backgrounds and that is
what makes it very interesting. Of course there are some people you feel more comfortable with than others, but I've got to say: it went
really well from the start. After a while you tent to go more to certain people just because you feel a click, a connection. Sometimes
that connection comes so fast and grows at the speed of sound that you think: hejla howla this seems like something more special and this
is worth holding on to! Had this with a few individuals.

So am I happy to be in Australia at the moment? Yes, but I would have liked to have stayed in New Zealand just a little bit longer. I was
not ready to go yet although everything comes to an end and for leaving 'new', 'fresh' friendships there will never be a good time I guess.
I will keep in touch and we'll see eachother soon. The ones I'm referring to will know I'm talking to them.

Aight, New Zealand was an AWESOME (eeh wink ;) ) experience, but I'll face Australia head on. Wanna dance? Bring it on I'm ready for you!

See you guys! Greetings,

Thomas (Tight :D )

Hi guys,

I'm finding myself a the moment in a library in Christchurch (South Island - New Zealand). Tonight (Friday) I will be flying from here to Auckland where I will stay till Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening I will be arriving in Sydney and then my adventure in the country of the Kiwis will be over and my journey in the Aussies' country will begin.

In this piece of my blog I will cover my 2 week trip through the North- and South Island of New Zealand. The journey started 18th October 2014. I just spent a night in the Newton Lodge Hostel in Auckland. In this hostel I will never stay again. It is a good hostel in essence. The atmosphere is just 'wrong'. People don't talk to eachother. If you say something like 'Good morning' you are lucky if the person just gives you a look. Saturday morning I went to the airport to pick up my Toyota Corolla Sedan. I was surprised to get a car this new and fancy. It was a good car. It only consumed too much fuel. With a full tank I good drive (with luck) about 600 kms. But ok during my trip I never experienced any difficulties with the car so I kept my mouth shut. I discovered today that having a car at your disposal is very easy as I now have been wandering around for 3 hours with all of my Luggage and I can tell you.... I am starting to feel my back. But it is just for a little while, so I don't complain. Anywho, my journey started on Saturday 18th. I drove 3 hours to Rotorua, a town east of Auckland. On arrival at the Base Hostel in Rotorua I was quite dissapointed at first as it looked a little bit old and dirty. The room, however, was very nice. I shared a room with 6 others: 3 German girls, 2 British guys and one Danish girl. 2 of the German girls and the Danish girl (don't remember the names) bought me that night a Dominos Pizza (feel like singing the slogan). I was very happy and of course refused to take the pizza for a full 6 seconds period. In the evening we all went (Germans, Danish girl, Britains) to a pub just next to the hostel where we had a few beers (I had just 2 because they were sooooo expensive). I had a little discussion with one of the British guys because he preferred Heineken instead of Stella and I was like: WHAT?! Ironically I would drink that night a Heineken because a drunk guy offered me one. Anyway a few of us got quite drunk and we had a really good time talking and dancing. Unfortunately the second DJ wasn't as good as the first DJ so after an hour in his turn I called it a night and went to bed. The next day we all went to see the Geysers and the hot pools near Rotorua. The things that I will Always remember is the rotten-egg-smell. It did NOT smell good there but it was very impressive. In the afternoon we went to a hot water creek and had a swim. This was really awesome because I never experienced anything like that before. The water got heated by the soil in the creek which was really hot. You could walk on it, but if you burried your foot it would become a little bit too hot after a while. Of course I tried this. Hey, what did you expect? :p After this we said our goodbyes and split up. I went to the Redwoods, which is a forest with enormous trees. I really wanted to hug one. I wanted to hike for 2-3 hours through the forest. Boy was that a bad idea. A half an hour after I started my walk it started to rain heavily. I had put on a rain jacket of course, thanks mom for convincing me to take 'the North Face', otherwise I would not have a camera anymore and my wallet would be soaked. These were the items I had with me and because everything else, except what was underneath the rain coat, was wet. It took my boots 2 days to dry. After my hike I drove to Taupo. On the road I saw some awesome cloud formations. The hostel in Taupo was a dream. Everything looked new and the atmosphere was awesome. I shared a room with a German couple. They were not so happy to see me at first (wonder why :p). They were very easy going but nice. At night I went to the TV room to browse a little bit on the internet. There was, however, a dvd that caught my eye called 'Monuments man' and I thaught: screw browsing, I'm watching this movie tonight. But after 15 minutes a German girl entered and started a conversation with me (grrrr). We talked for 20 minutes and after that I was tired and went to bed. The following day I went to the top of a hill near Taupo to enjoy a 360 degree view of the city. It was very cool. In the afternoon I went on a cruise (sail ship) on Lake Taupo. And guess who was there, the German girl. There was a lot of wind which made it a little bit cold. We saw some Maori (native inhabitants of New Zealand) art, got a cup of tea and after that we went into a bay and the skipper asked: would anyone like to go for a swim? I replied: 'f course! I went all by myself in the lake which was just a tiny bit colder than I expected. I didn't stay in for more than 5 minutes. It was just that cold. After the cruise I drove to Turangi on the other side of the lake where I would just spend the night. The hostel where I stayed was a hippie style hostel where you could get a late check-out if you paid either 10 dollars extra or 'painted' something. Really strange. I met a few French people there. The day after this I got up at 5 am because I wanted to do the Tangariro Alpine Crossing in the Tangariro National Park (hiking) and I would go there by shuttle which departed from the National Park Village but to get there I had to drive an hour. The shuttle would depart at 7 am. The hike was magnificent. I got to see mount Doom (Mt. Ngaurohoe) and the scenery was just stunning. It was the most beautiful walked I've ever done. After the hike I decided to drive all the way to Wellington in the far south of the North Island because the next day I would take a ferry from Wellington to Picton on the South Island. The drive took me 5 hours as I stopped a few times to eat or take pictures. This night I slept in the car which was not that comfortable. The next day I first did some sightseeing bacause my ferry departed in the afternoon. During the three hours on the ferry I took some very nice pictures. On arrival in Picton I went straight to the hostel I booked. When I walked in I immediately noticed the noice coming from the kitchen. When I entered the kitchen there was a group of over 30 Chinese people cooking and 5-6 others. It was overwhelming and a little bit too much for me. The next day (Thursday) I decided to just start to drive in the direction of my next hostel which was located in Hamner Springs, a small Spa oriented city. On the road I stopped in Blenheim to visit Sir Peter Jacksons' personal collection of First World War airplanes. It was very impressive. I also went to a classic car museum next doors, but was dissapointed to find out they didn't have one Ford Mustang. I could not believe it. Over 150 classic cars and no Mustang nor Camaro. About my next part of the trip I was very excited. The coastal road from Blenheim to Kaikoura is supposed to be one of the most beautiful of the world. And it really was. It was magnificent. On arrival in Kaikoura I did some sightseeing, saw some seals and went up a hill for a 360 degree view of the mountains on one side of Kaikoura and the Pacific Ocean on the other side. In between those two there were amazing Cliffs which provided these awesome views. That night I went to have some beere and play some pool with a Belgian guy called Jonas. It was a good night. The next day I had to drive 400 kms to the Fox Glacier. I first drove to Westport which is kind of a detour but I had read that the coastal drive from Westport to Greymouth was one of the top 10 coastal routes in the world by Lonely Planet so I just had to do it. The scenery was unimaginably beautiful. I also got to see the Pancake rocks. For photos - see Facebook. That night I got talking with a Spanish woman in the hostel. I heared her talking Spanish on the Phone and after her Phone call I started a conversation. I hadn't spoken Spanish for over two months, but surprisingly I still had most of my vocabular and fluency. The next day (Saturday) I first went to a lake in the neighbourhood of the Fox Glacier and afterwards I did three different walks (all to get the Glacier from a different angle and perspective). After this I went as fast as I could and was legally permitted to Queenstown. From 6 pm a part of the road to Queenstown would be closed till 7 am so I had to pass this part before 6 pm. Luckily I succeeded in doing so and I arrived that night in Queenstown where I would spend 3 nights in the Pinewood Lodge hostel. It was just that weekend Labour Day weekend (so everybody had Monday off). The hostel was full of people whose goal it was to get as drunk as possible. The first question they asked me was: Do you want to get drunk with us? I replied: Euuuuhh.... maybe later... I didn't. Sunday I did some sightseeing in and around Christchurch. Monday would be the top day in my two-week trip. I would go to Milford Sound which is a Fiord in the south of the South Island. It is an amazing place. We made a cruise and I took an enormous amount of pictures. There was also a whale around but I failed to spot him (or her). New Zealand is such an amazing place. The South Island is even more beautidful than the North Island. I spent one more night in Queenstown. Tuesday morning I headed for Mount Cook, the highest mountain of New Zealand. I got some awesome pictures of this beauty. I went to do a hike to the Hooker Glacier. During my walk the weather changed and when I just started to come back it started to rain. The way back to the car park should take an hour and a half. I did it in 45 minutes. It rained all afternoon so I stayed in the hostel as there was nothing else you could to there than walking. At night the weather cleared and I went for a short walk to the Tasman Glacier. Wednesday I left Mt Cook Village for Lake Tekapo. In Lake Tekapo I went up Mt John from where you have a 360 degree look over the area surrounding Lake Tekapo. During the nights the main activity in Lake Tekapo is stargazing. They told me that it is the best place in New Zealand to go to if you want to look at the stars. So I did it at night. They were right. The sky was lit with stars and shooting stars. Unfortunately there was also a moon which made the sky look slightly less impressive. On my last day on the South Island I went horseback riding in Rubicon Valley in Springfield. It was awesome. The scenery was amazing, the horse was nice and the guy, Chris, told me a would be able to learn very fast how to ride a horse as I apparently have rithm and balance. We did some walking and slow running. It was great. I could only recommend Rubicon Valley. Chris is a great teacher and a wonderful person. My last night I spent in a hostel in Christchurch which was all right. And Friday (today) I did some sightseeing, went to have some falafel and now I'm sitting in the library. To summarize: I've had an amazing time exploring New Zealand, both the North Island and the South Island. If you add my two weeks as a conservation voluteer to this you can say I had a fantastic time in New Zealand. I'm really sad that I have to leave so soon, but I'm also excited. One chapter ends and another one begins. Woohooow. And I'm sure I will return to New Zealand because there is so much I wish I could have done but so far haven't. I say this a lot but this time I mean it: I WILL RETURN! :D

Hi guys,

Since my last message almost 3 weeks have past and so many awesome things have happened. I am so happy that I decided to participate as a conservation volunteer. The first week we worked near a skate park. Our job was to level the soil and prevent dangerous chemicals (which came from construction sites nearby) from entering into the river. The work itself was not so interesting as it was not what I expected, but I got the point and worked enthusiastic anyway. Thursday and Friday we planted some plants and provided them with wood mulch ('food'). This work gave me more satisfaction because I had the feeling of planting something that 'grows', an awesome feeling. Except for the work was the work environment just stunning. I just can't believe how beautiful New Zealand actually is. As Catherine, one of my fellow volunteers and an awesome girl from the UK with whom I had some great talks, pointed out: "You can show people pictures of New Zealand, but actually it is nearly impossible to capture the beauty with a camera. You'll never believe it until you've been there yourself and seen it with your own eyes."

The second week we spent on an island called 'Waiheke', east of Auckland. Here our tasks were mainly destroying weeds growing on precious, native trees and tracking. During the week we stayed in a house on the island. There was, however, not enough space in the house to provide for everybody a sleeping space. Because of this the guys, 4 in total, camped in the same amount of tents in the garden. I was fine with this from the start. This gave me the chance of sleeping on my new, very expensive thermarest air bed. A bonus was that my alarm in the morning were exotic birds and when I went to sleep I was able to enjoy a sky lit with stars.

 
The group is fantastic. During the 2 weeks of volunteering I have established a certain role. I was the funny, dry guy. The one who always provided music (sometimes unwanted) during, eg, the dishes, the one who always said the strangest things on unpredictable moments, the one that was always singing in the shower and then forgot his underwear and the one who established the role of being 'the funny guy'. Somebody told me that the group would not be the same without me and that, of course, made me blush. It was a hugh compliment. I've already fallen in love with New Zealand, its inhabitants, who are all so nice, and the conservation volunteers program. At the end of the first week Kai and Daniel, 2 awesome German guys, left and 2 new people arrived (there are always 10 volunteers staying in the volunteer house in Auckland). One of them was another German guy, Alex (short for Alexander xp) and the other one was a 25-year old French girl called 'Tif'. It took me two days before I knew that Tif was short for Tiphaine which I would prenounce till the second but last day as 'Tifan'. I would say most of the time: "Ehhj! French girl!" We got along really well from the start. I would be the start of a hate-love friendship. The hate part was mostly due to my constant teasing and as everybody knows I often cross boundries as it comes to teasing. So often I had to take it easy for a few hours. It's sad that I only had the short amount of time to get to know her but I loved every minute of it. Shhht don't tell her that. 
New Zealand is a magical place. When walking trough nature you are able to see so many things that you can only find in New Zealand. As the land separated itself millions of years ago from the super continent it is home to numerous kinds of plants and animals that can only be found in New Zealand. It is such a beautiful country. As you may see in my pictures: the grass is so green here! Unimaginable! I already decided that I will certainly return in a few years. It is a heaven on earth. It is a precious country and because of that I'm very proud to be able to call myself a conservation volunteer.

WAT IS CONCREET DE BEDOELING??
De bedoeling is dat u op regelmatige basis een bericht toevoegt op uw blog. U kan hierin zetten wat u zelf wenst.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u heeft een blog gemaakt voor gedichten. Dan kan u bvb. elke dag een gedicht toevoegen op uw blog. U geeft de titel in van het gedicht en daaronder in het bericht het gedicht zelf. Zo kunnen uw bezoekers dagelijks terugkomen om uw laatste nieuw gedicht te lezen. Indien u meerdere gedichten wenst toe te voegen op eenzelfde dag, voegt u deze toe als afzonderlijke berichten, dus niet in één bericht.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken over de actualiteit. Dan kan u bvb. dagelijks een bericht plaatsen met uw mening over iets uit de actualiteit. Bvb. over een bepaalde ramp, ongeval, uitspraak, voorval,... U geeft bvb. in de titel het onderwerp waarover u het gaat hebben en in het bericht plaatst u uw mening over dat onderwerp. Zo kan u bvb. meedelen dat de media voor de zoveelste keer het fout heeft, of waarom ze nu dat weer in de actualiteit brengen,... Of u kan ook meer diepgaande artikels plaatsen en meer informatie over een bepaald onderwerp opzoeken en dit op uw blog plaatsen. Indien u over meerdere zaken iets wil zeggen op die dag, plaatst u deze als afzonderlijke berichten, zo is dit het meest duidelijk voor uw bezoekers.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken als dagboek. Dagelijks maakt u een bericht aan met wat u er wenst in te plaatsen, zoals u anders in een dagboek zou plaatsen. Dit kan zijn over wat u vandaag hebt gedaan, wat u vandaag heeft gehoord, wat u van plan bent, enz. Maak een titel en typ het bericht. Zo kunnen bezoekers dagelijks naar uw blog komen om uw laatste nieuwe bericht te lezen en mee uw dagboek te lezen.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken met plaatselijk nieuws. Met uw eigen blog kan u zo zelfs journalist zijn. U kan op uw blog het plaatselijk nieuws vertellen. Telkens u iets nieuw hebt, plaats u een bericht: u geeft een titel op en typt wat u weet over het nieuws. Dit kan zijn over een feest in de buurt, een verkeersongeval in de streek, een nieuwe baan die men gaat aanleggen, een nieuwe regeling, verkiezingen, een staking, een nieuwe winkel, enz. Afhankelijk van het nieuws plaatst u iedere keer een nieuw bericht. Indien u veel nieuws heeft, kan u zo dagelijks vele berichten plaatsen met wat u te weten bent gekomen over uw regio. Zorg ervoor dat u telkens een nieuw bericht ingeeft per onderwerp, en niet zaken samen plaatst. Indien u wat minder nieuws kan bijeen sprokkelen is uiteraard 1 bericht per dag of 2 berichten per week ook goed. Probeer op een regelmatige basis een berichtje te plaatsen, zo komen uw bezoekers telkens terug.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken met een reisverslag. U kan een bericht aanmaken per dag van uw reis. Zo kan u in de titel opgeven over welke dag u het gaat hebben, en in het bericht plaatst u dan het verslag van die dag. Zo komen alle berichten onder elkaar te staan, netjes gescheiden per dag. U kan dus op éénzelfde dag meerdere berichten ingeven van uw reisverslag.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken met tips op. Dan maakt u telkens u een tip heeft een nieuw bericht aan. In de titel zet u waarover uw tip zal gaan. In het bericht geeft u dan de hele tip in. Probeer zo op regelmatige basis nieuwe tips toe te voegen, zodat bezoekers telkens terug komen naar uw blog. Probeer bvb. 1 keer per dag, of 2 keer per week een nieuwe tip zo toe te voegen. Indien u heel enthousiast bent, kan u natuurlijk ook meerdere tips op een dag ingeven. Let er dan op dat het meest duidelijk is indien u pér tip een nieuw bericht aanmaakt. Zo kan u dus bvb. wel 20 berichten aanmaken op een dag indien u 20 tips heeft voor uw bezoekers.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken dat uw activiteiten weerspiegelt. U bent bvb. actief in een bedrijf, vereniging of organisatie en maakt elke dag wel eens iets mee. Dan kan je al deze belevenissen op uw blog plaatsen. Het komt dan neer op een soort van dagboek. Dan kan u dagelijks, of eventueel meerdere keren per dag, een bericht plaatsen op uw blog om uw belevenissen te vertellen. Geef een titel op dat zeer kort uw belevenis beschrijft en typ daarna alles in wat u maar wenst in het bericht. Zo kunnen bezoekers dagelijks of meermaals per dag terugkomen naar uw blog om uw laatste belevenissen te lezen.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken uw hobby. U kan dan op regelmatige basis, bvb. dagelijks, een bericht toevoegen op uw blog over uw hobby. Dit kan gaan dat u vandaag een nieuwe postzegel bij uw verzameling heeft, een nieuwe bierkaart, een grote vis heeft gevangen, enz. Vertel erover en misschien kan je er zelfs een foto bij plaatsen. Zo kunnen anderen die ook dezelfde hobby hebben dagelijks mee lezen. Als u bvb. zeer actief bent in uw hobby, kan u dagelijks uiteraard meerdere berichtjes plaatsen, met bvb. de laatste nieuwtjes. Zo trek je veel bezoekers aan.

WAT ZIJN DIE "REACTIES"?
Een bezoeker kan op een bericht van u een reactie plaatsen. Een bezoeker kan dus zelf géén bericht plaatsen op uw blog zelf, wel een reactie. Het verschil is dat de reactie niet komt op de beginpagina, maar enkel bij een bericht hoort. Het is dus zo dat een reactie enkel gaat over een reactie bij een bericht. Indien u bvb. een gedicht heeft geschreven, kan een reactie van een bezoeker zijn dat deze het heel mooi vond. Of bvb. indien u plaatselijk nieuws brengt, kan een reactie van een bezoeker zijn dat deze nog iets meer over de feiten weet (bvb. exacte uur van het ongeval, het juiste locatie van het evenement,...). Of bvb. indien uw blog een dagboek is, kan men reageren op het bericht van die dag, zo kan men meeleven met u, u een vraag stellen, enz. Deze functie kan u uitschakelen via "Instellingen" indien u dit niet graag heeft.

WAT IS DE "WAARDERING"?
Een bezoeker kan een bepaald bericht een waardering geven. Dit is om aan te geven of men dit bericht goed vindt of niet. Het kan bvb. gaan over een bericht, hoe goed men dat vond. Het kan ook gaan over een ander bericht, bvb. een tip, die men wel of niet bruikbaar vond. Deze functie kan u uitschakelen via "Instellingen" indien u dit niet graag heeft.


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