Canada Week One – Cars and Taxes

For all those that don't know me or are not close to me at home, I have just left for Canada on a two year working holiday visa (IEC). Originally the visa had been granted back in October of 2019 and my scheduled flight was leaving in June (or July, can't remember) of 2020. But with the outbreak of the Corona Pandemic, pretty much all flights into Canada were stopped, so I waited in Germany and earned some money to spend later.

One year, many visa extensions and a fun year working on our local Zipline later, I left for Canada on the 2nd of October 2021. My flight was mainly uneventful, but I do have to thank Lufthansa and Air Canada for getting all of my skiing gear over without any problems. I'm a skier and the Canadian winter and snow are world known, so I had to bring my skis with me. Also I'll be working on the snow fields come the winter season, but more on that in another blog.

Anyways, checked in my luggage no problem, as the teller at first seemed rather apprehensive of me leaving for Canada (there are a lot of regulations in place for entering the country) but once she found out I was doing a stop over in London Heathrow she was quite relieved as, in her words “they will take you apart there when you get on board the Air Canada flight” (as in they would check every single document I have). Flight was uneventful and the dreaded check wasn't too bad, as I'd had more than a year's worth of preparation to get all things sorted out. Second flight was also good, as I shared the row with another guy and we had the middle seat free for whatever stuff we had brought along. I've been really lucky on all my long haul flights so far. Landed in Vancouver after a nearly ten hour flight and then sat in immigration for another two hours waiting for my work permit to get granted. It was without any fuss, apart from the previously mentioned waiting time. Then the sky train into Vancouver central and a short walk to the hostel with a backpack on my back, a rucksack on my front, a ski bag in my right hand and a bag with ski boots in my left. What an image that must have been. The first night was rather interesting after that. Met two British brothers who have done the exact same traveling as I have and then had to somehow sleep through the night with an American trying to keep us awake with his snoring and taking a piss in the corner (he was extremely drunk).

Sunday was then spent trying to get my bearings in Vancouver and just getting over jetlag a bit. Not much really happened on that day. Just walking around the city.

Monday was when things then got interesting. In Canada you have to apply for a SIN (Social Insurance Number) to work and the waiting time was three hours when I got there. I could have done it online, but then I would have had to wait for two weeks, so three hours wasn't too bad. A bit later the waiting time had gone up to five hours, so I'd gotten in quite nicely. After the SIN was granted (once again with no hassle, as I had all documents prepared) it was off to the bank. That took a while, too, as that was the day all the Facebook servers went down and some banks also had issues on that day. So instead of a 30 minute procedure it took three times as long. Not all that was the bank's fault, as I did have a lot of questions to ask. Canada (like the US) seems to run on Credit Cards, and I have never owned one in my life before (only Debit so far). As I don't really want to go into debt and potentially pay 20% interest I was quite thorough in my questions. Once that had all been sorted out (thanks Mehrnatz) I took a stroll through town to a Koodo outlet. Koodo is a mobile network provider and I'd been annoyed at not having internet for a day already (no Google Maps or books whilst waiting for three hours) so that was the next thing on the line. Luke (a friend from Revelstoke) had mentioned Koodo as being one of the best providers as they have good coverage in Canada and decent prices (meaning expensive in the rest of the world). Getting a bank card had been the right move before that, as they needed a card as verification. Once that had been gotten and mobile internet back on my phone I went back to the hostel, ate something and slept. Busy day.

Tuesday dawned and with it the next documents. If you spend more than six months in BC (the other states are less) then you are no longer allowed to drive with your non-BC drivers licence (yes, drivers licences are state governed here, not country). Internations licences also aren’t valid after this any more. So you have to change your licence to a BC one, and by doing that you have to get rid of all your other ones. So once I'd reached ICBC (the BC organisation concerning driving) I had to hand in my German and NZ licence (I'd foolishly tried to keep my German one by just giving them my NZ one, but they thought something was fishy when my visa papers came out) and got an interim licence until my card can be sent to me. All in all a relatively painless and not too costly procedure (but I had to give away my licences to be destroyed!) and it was done in a fast time. Next I wanted to know what insurance rates I could get on a car. ICBC is the only insurer here, so they have a monopoly and can decide the prices. Fortunately I lucked out and due to my eleven years of driving I get a good rate if I do get a car, which...

... was on the agenda for pretty much the rest of the week. Using Craigslist I followed car sales around the Vancouver area. The car specifications I would like are quite tight, so when a car pops up I try to be on it immediately. Unfortunately so are all the dealer shops around town and they will often time snatch away a car and then sell it for quite a bit more. Had a look at two cars, but one was pretty much a walking building site and the other nearly poisoned me with a broken catalytic converter. Now for everyone outside Canada wondering why it seems so hard to get a car here is the explanation. Canada (or better said British Columbia) doesn't have anything like the German TÜV or British Warrant of Fitness. So on the roads here there can be some horrors driving around. Mark used those exact words. He's a guy I worked with in New Zealand but he's been over in Canada for three years now. I met up with him during the week for some lunch and it was good to see each other again. He's been quite the help in a lot of things relating to Canada for me. Hope to see him a few times in winter, too.

Anyways, after having a really good car snatched from under my eyes on Saturday I was fed up with looking for cars at the moment and on Sunday did a small hike into the mountains with Kjell, a fellow German staying in my room at the hostel. It was nice to actually get out and see a bit of the nature around Vancouver instead of just a concrete city for once. Didn't see any bears, though. Unsure if that is a good or a bad thing.

For the next week I hope my car search goes successful and I can leave Vancouver behind me to see more of the surrounding area.

My impression of Canada so far? A bit strange to be honest. Australia and New Zealand appear closer to our European values and culture than Canada is. Canada seems more related to the US in that regard. Big cities, big cars, banking systems, etc. Also the individual states of Canada are a lot more autonomous than back at home. Probably comes with the size. Each state seems to pretty much govern themselves in a lot of things. 

Vilser Alm

Got off work today. Wolfgang is having a holiday, so this week is a bit more relaxed. Still have to work later, but not today. Nico had said he would be free on Monday after working the whole weekend and I should be prepared to be shown up by him biking up the Breitenberg. Couldn't let that happen, so I asked him if we should bike up to the Vilser Alm instead.

Set off at just past half past nine with the sun up and blue sky. A few people here and there on our way to Pfronten, but as it was Monday and most states in Germany have finished their holidays, not to much is going on. Nico had a quick call out to a cat in Rebichel, but the cats there don't seem to like him much (was completely ignored again). Further on we tried going around a building site to get to the Vils, but that way was blocked. We ended up biking around the back way of the local supermarket and were back on our track towards the river. Along the river there is a really nice trail to follow, but obviously it is currently down for repairs. Hrmpf, carried on a few hundred metres and then took another bridge back over to the side we wanted to get on.

No signs here and the track following the Vils was brilliant and scenic as always. Reached Vils after crossing the new not-any-more-hanging bridge and started our uphill climb. Nico left me in the dust pretty much immediately (probably the extra 30kg I'm carrying around with me) but waited at a spot. In my memory the first uphill bit was really steep, but I seem to have it in my head wrong. Yes, it's steeper than the rest, but not that bad. Had a sudden call from two meters behind me and before I could do anything, two e-bikers zoomed past left and right of me. Not used to that yet, as even a fit, normal biker would have been heard panting a few metres behind. Passed a clear, tiny lake before we pretty much got to the top and ordered a shandy and bacon sandwich.

After lunch back on to the bikes and down we went. Stopped at the small lake for Nico to freeze his toes off, but it's supposed to be healthy. A husky came up and had a dip, but decided it was to cold, too. Back in the saddle and we zoomed downhill, overtaking people everywhere. Reached the bottom and took the main road pathway back towards Pfronten. Once there we had to pass by DMG (largest firm in the area) to get back on track and then it was a quick run through Rebichel again to Nesselwang.

Track at AllTrails and pictures at GooglePhotos.

Vilstal Sunny Saturday

When Nico and me biked last, the original plan had been to bike along the Vils in to Austria, behind the Alpspitze and Buron and come back to Nesselwang via Wertach. As that idea had failed due to us not being early enough and the days getting shorter rapidly, we took a different route (as mentioned in the last blog). But I had downloaded the track in preparation and was actually really looking forwards to it. So today I decided to do it (alone, as Nico is working). Had the track, as I need them now. Four years away has sort of made me forget a lot of the back-way paths, but going in to my biking history on GPSies, I have them all documented.

Set of after buying a spare tube from Jon (just in case) and headed for Kappel. A nice, sunny, warm day, so there were a lot of other people out and about, too. After Kappel on to Röfleuten and then up a mini steep hill there. Overtook some e-bikers just before and joked with them that they would come past me going uphill anyway. Didn't happen in the end, actually, as they had two “normal” MTBs with them. Up the Vils valley I ended up overtaking two more e-bikes (woho), but they didn't look like serious bikers.

Turned off the main road going up the valley after a while and stuck to a trail on the other side of the river. Way more fun, even if it does take longer. Back on to the main route near the Kalbelehof (where I got a really mystical looking picture a few years ago) and towards Rehbach. Now, to get to Rehbach you have to take a rather steep uphill route, as the valley seems to peter out near there. Going up I was in Zone 5 on my heart rate watch the entire time and once I reached the top I was rather winded and had to take a short break. Still a bit more uphill, but not as steep. The sun was out in full blast though and I was sweating buckets at that point. 

Back on the main road to Jungholz and towards the Sorgalm. AllgäuDSL has a mast standing there which I hadn't seen yet and a few things about the hut itself have changed. They now have a petting zoo with goats and a lot more kids toys about. Hans has grown a beard since I last saw him, too, and now looks like a picture book Alm owner. Had a water and biked on to Wertach. Once in Wertach I still felt rather fit so biked up the Elleg and surprised the Smiths during their lunch. All of them were there now, as Jessica has just come back from a few months backpacking in Australia. Swapped a few stories and hid away in the house from the flies and some rain which came with the evening thunderstorms. Once I said goodbye it was still dry, so I biked to the top of the Elleg and then down in to Faistenoy and Haslach where it dripped a bit. On to Nesselwang, a shower, some shopping and dinner.

Track at AllTracks and some pictures at GooglePhotos.

Mishmash Backwards Seven Lakes Adventure

Had a relatively short day at work today, but for some reason it felt like it had dragged on. I was back at home early at three in the afternoon and just as I had sat down, Nico texted if I wanted to go for a bike ride. At first I declined, as I still had some stuff to do in Kempten, but after receiving a sad smile face I relented (more or less thought “screw it, biking will help today”).

So after Kempten and pre-cooking dinner Nico showed up just after six. The weather was a bit weird, with clouds hanging around the whole day, looking like it was going to pour down any moment. But it had held the whole day, so I didn't have the rain gear on immediately. The next problem we faced was where to go. Originally Nico suggested up the Vilstal to Jungholz and back through Wertach. But considering the weather and the time of day it was, we judged that we would be back in the dark again, so we ended up doing a mish-mash, backwards seven lakes tour. Passed through Rebichel first of, where Nico tried to pet an (uncooperative) cat. Next, I really wanted to see the Schlossweiher but after that Nico pretty much had the say on where to go. Tried nudging him along somewhere else a few times, but he won out in the end (only cause I lost at a game of rock, papers, scissors whilst we were on the road).

Biked past the Schwaltenweiher and I pet a few calf's, before a donkey eaad so loud somewhere that Nico nearly fell off the bike.

Back to Nesselwang via the Atlesee and in to a hot shower.

Track at AllTracks and pictures at Google Pictures.

Falkenstein Mates Biking

After nearly five years, Nico and me managed a good old evening bike tour together. Last time I reckon we had biked to Venice. Nothing as long today, as we started relatively late and the days are getting shorter. After getting ready and the heart-watch up and running I waited a while for Nico to show up. He took a bit longer this time, as his bike hadn't been used in a while and needed the tires inflated once again (and a few other things). The original plan had been to bike to the Alatsee (and maybe swim) but as the sun was already starting to go down and we hadn't even left yet we decided on the Falkenstein instead.

Of to Pfronten some how, as in the past years I have forgotten all the back tracks. Was noticeable, as we took a weird way through Pfronten. I knew that there was a way to get from down town Pfronten up to the Falkenstein past the swimming pool somewhere. I had biked it with the group at some point (yea, yea, was probably six years ago or something like that). Managed to get up via a staircase next to the swimming pool and then followed the road up to the old castle and hotel near to it. Took a while getting up, but it was at a nice pace and the both of us could have a bit of a chat.

Reached the top and got our warm things on nearly instantly. The sun had gone down and it was cooling down rapidly. After a picture and some food, back down in the dusk. Reached the bottom and with Nico's bike armed with a light we navigated through Pfronten to Rebichel and the fog covered fields back to Nesselwang, where a warm shower was waiting. Nico still had the steep hill up to Maria Rain to look forwards to, though.

Track at GPSies.

Five Year Alpspitze Interlude

So today I tackled a worrying aspect that has been bugging me for a while. In the last four years I haven't biked uphill for any prolonged time, so I'm a bit terrified that I can't really do any more “proper” mountain biking. So to see how things are I planned to ride up the Alpspitze. The day was perfect for it. Blue skies and a slight breeze now and then.

After having breakfast with Mum, Daniel and Annalena I went back home and got changed. On the bike and up along the stream that comes down past Maria Trost. As I'm still using the Polar Computer to measure my pulse I was a bit downtrodden to see it shoot straight up to zone four, but I didn't feel to different to what I remember how it felt like biking up the Alpspitze. So I just carried on and tried to keep the heart rate as low as I could. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I wasn't running out of steam immediately at the bottom, but I still stopped for a drink just as the forest finished. Back in the saddle and then came the section that, in the biker group, used to be refereed to as heart-brake hill. Still deserves that name, as I shot up to zone five (which you shouldn't really do outside marathons) but as the hill isn't to long I was only in that zone for 30 seconds. Felt it in my legs and the rest of the body, though. Then along the nice straight bit halfway up the mountain.

As the day was such a nice one and it was the weekend, I wasn't surprised to see a lot of other people out and about. Mostly walkers, but a few bikers, too. Wasn't overtaken by any, so my ego wasn't damaged. Met a few coming down and most of them had e-bikes. Only two others that whole day were on “old” bikes. 

After the forest came the more open area. Last time I had been there was in winter taking my best group of ski students down. Happy I can bike up it now, but there is still some snow on the side of the paths. Biking uphill was accompanied by the odd shriek in the distant, as the zip-line from the top is running at capacity (I think). Reached the Kappler Alm turn of which I wanted to continue down along, but decided that the short bit up to Sportheim Böck could still be managed. Reached it shortly after and had a small chat with some tourists who thought it was madness that I had biked up the Alpspitze (just the Alpspitze! Imagine if they'd seen what I biked a few years ago ^^).

Then the more fun part, going downhill. The Kappler Alm track is still as dodgy as ever, but no flat tires or flips this time. Then down, down, down past the Hündelskopfhütte and in to Kappel. The tree climbing spot was flooded with people (as was Sportheim Böck before) but the Kappler Alm seemed rather relaxed on people. In Kappel I decided I still didn't have enough and was ecstatic that the Alpspitze hadn't beat me and I could still do it, so I headed out to Pfronten Roffleuten. Turned off wrong in a field and slogged through half a meter of grass after which I checked if there were any ticks on my legs. None there so on past the Kögelweiher crossing and back past the deer farm to Nesselwang.

Really happy that I can still call myself a mountain biker and just have to get a bit of stamina back again.

Track at GPSies and some pictures at Google.

Cloudy Hängesteeg

Today saw a bit of a convoluted sort of plan. About one and a half weeks ago I started my new job for the summer (more or less a glorified lawnmower, but pay is good) and have been rather knackered after every day. I had told myself over and over again the last few weeks that I have to get back in to biking and looking at a few of the old blog entries, I was hyping up my motivation (and depression) about how much I had biked five years ago. So yesterday I agreed to bike to Brian for a cuppa with mum later in the day. Waking up in the morning the sky was overcast and I wasn't to sure if it would hold until the evening. And as biking up the Elleg usually isn't to much off a workout I decided to go biking in the morning and then in the afternoon to Brian's with mum.

So, got the bike and me ready and then it was off to the Hängesteeg. Haven't been there in years (duh!) and remember it being a rather nice bike with lots of different views (and I don't think I'll manage the Alpspitze yet). About a kilometre down the road I stopped and put on my warm jumper as the wind was proving rather chilly and it was only going to get colder in Wertachtal. Along the Wertach jumping over puddles and splashing through mud and towards the Bischhofstein. The actual path along the Wertach at the Stich turn-off had been “closed” (one, not official looking sign) to the public because of a landslide, but I carried on anyway. Further along I found out that the landslide had been cleared.

At the Bischhofstein I then turned up towards Wildberg and was in for the longest climb. Didn't turn out to bad as I still was fresh and zoomed up before biking through the hills around Wildberg to the Hängesteeg. Getting down to the Hängesteeg was interesting, though, as the metal ramps were extremely slippery. Managed with only a small slide here and there and carried on up to the main road towards Rückholz, getting cheered on by a family walking along the same track.

Once at the main road I followed a short detour to Rückholz that usually takes you on the Sieben Seen tour and after that through Hirschbühl around the back of the Rückholzer Steig and over the motorway. Back in to Nesselwang through Schneidbach and happy to be home as the last five kilometres had my legs and stamina slowly going down.

In the evening the weather still didn't look to much better and I had come down with a slight cough, so I asked mum if we could drive instead of biking.

Track at GPSies and some pictures at Google.

First Time Biking after Four Years

So after a Winter of ski instructing, spring has shown up again (sort of, snow is predicted for later tonight again). This means the bikes can come out again and this year I have another piece of technology I want to test out. It is by no means new, but I've never used one before. I'm talking about a heart rate monitor that you can wear whilst doing sport. Rather a lot of people around tend to use them and mum had one lying around she hasn't used in years. Not for lack of sport on her part though, it's just the watch is a technological difficult thing to use it would seem (took me a few hours to get it sorted out) and it does to much of which she doesn't need.

Anyway, bike out and ready. Long things on straight from the start. The warm weather from the sun over the past few days has passed and the condition has swung around to being overcast and three degrees. Originally I had wanted to bike around the Grüntensee, but a short run on an open flat section changed my plan to biking along the wind protected Wertachtal. Heart rate monitor working fine, not uncomfortable or anything and it is really interesting to see what your heart is doing. According to all the graphs and tests I'd done before, I'm a rather healthy individual, although I don't feel like it. Once up and out of the valley the temperature dropped due to the wind blowing occasional. In Stich I turned of to Maria Rain and planned to go back down in to Wertachtal, but that way is closed due to logging as I found out at the church. Carried on along the main road over open field with every part of me getting colder. Crossed the Wertachtal bridge with not to much traffic going on and returned home to get all the data out of the computer to see how I did.

Track at GPSies.

Gore Bay & Paua Hunting

In the last week I have been moved from Kaikoura to a small beach town south of most of the road sites. A place called Gore Bay, with it's main town being Cheviot. Well, “main” may be a bit of a far stretch. Cheviot probably has 300 people living it at most. The switch in location was due to the way to work taking ages. Cheviot and Kaikoura are about the same distance to the job, but not passing through all the roadworks means we save a lot of time. What sometimes took two and a half hours now can be done in a consistent half an hour. The new place is really good, too.
Anyway, in Gore Bay I now had entire free day this weekend, after spending yesterday shopping in Christchurch for groceries and watching a movie. Managing to pry myself out of the comfy bed in the morning and after some breakfast and exercise I set of on a walk to explore the surrounding area. There is a track leading up in to the limestone hills surrounding Gore Bay (forgot the name of the trail) and I decided to have a bit of an explore. The sign pointing out the track mentioned that the walk would take two hours, so I had all the food and water with me for a lunch at the top. A lot of the trail seems to be in dire need for repairs, as some of the pathways close to the stream running through look to be in threat of collapsing in to the stream bed. But they held me so they can probably hold nearly anybody. Hiking along the bottom area of the track I came to a section which took me through the stream, but it had fanned out and created a kind of swampy area overgrown by high grass. Initial thought was that this could be a risky area to traverse, but then I reconsidered my instincts from Australia that there would be no such things as snakes in there (snakes love those conditions, perfect for hunting amphibians). Climbing up I got to the top in approx. half an hour. 

At the top with the view overlooking Gore Bay and the hills towards the inland I meet two Kiwis who were in Gore Bay for a short weekend vacation. Had a bit of a chat to them, mainly about the work going on on the roads and rails to Kaikoura. Not much later back down, which was a lot faster than going up. All in all the two hour return trail took about 45 min. Not satisfied yet, I headed to the beach and along that. Seeing as the tide was out about three dozen people were on and around the beach, clambering over rocks and out in the shallows with wetsuits on. Pretty obvious what they were after, the New Zealand renown paua. Gore bay seems to have pretty large specimens of them, according to all the ones on display throughout the beach town. Shoes and socks of I decided to try my luck, too, but at the end of it all (after clambering over rocks and kelp) my search was rewarded with a moderate sized shell of a paua. No food inside it, though, so I'll have to try another day.

Once the tide started coming back in again I was back to the house for a bit of a read and writing the blog.

Length: 6.5km

Time: 1 hour 45 min.  

Kaikoura Peninsula Walk

Well, today’s plan was another walk. This time I didn't want to send my poor car through the gruelling track to the bottom of Mt. Fyffe. To much of that and it won't have any shock absorbers left to carry on driving.

So today I decided to do the Kaikoura Peninsula walk. Last time I was here I also did that, but today promised to be much nicer weather (again). Setting off, it was actually a bit to hot for my liking, as I started sweating straight away. But, well, summer isn't like winter. If it's to hot you just have to suck it up, as there comes a point were you can just not take any clothes of any more (especially in public).

The walk to the start of the Peninsula track took me through a bit of the town, past some historical sites and a roadside shop selling cooked crayfish. Might have to try that at some point, never had crayfish before. The beginning of the actual walk is where a decent amount of seals come to laze around on the rocks in the sun, so on good days there are a lot of other people there taking pictures of them. As I've already seen a fair share of seals I skipped that part and carried on straight to the walking track. 

Up on the hills you walk along a mowed grass track taking you to different points explaining different things about the history and environment. Down bellow I could hear seals calling out and I think most of them would have been the young ones from what I know and could catch from the sounds. There are some tracks down closer to the colonies, but I decide to carry on and after an hours walk ended up in the South Bay of Kaikoura. The town has also expanded in to here and today it was especially busy, due to a horse race being on. With my unpredictable allergic reactions to horses (seems to only happen in spring around said animal) I stayed clear of that and went back up the hills to get to the town centre and the accommodation I have there. Quick two hour walk with a lunch break in between, a lot of black birds hanging around and not to many people.

Distance: 10.5km

Time: 2 hours

Mount Fyffe, Kaikoura

Quite a bit has happened since the last blog update. So much for keeping things updated more regularly...

All throughout September we worked at the ski field, with not as many closed days as at the start of the season. Had some fun times on and of the field with most of the staff, be it skiing or hanging out.

Then came October, with the last week of the season being the holidays of New Zealand. Considering that the holidays were in full swing, the weather did not really cooperate. We had one really nice day on a Saturday and the rest of the week was a mess of cloud and rain, even a bit of snow at some points. The last day was one of the most interesting by far. Standard procedure every year at Porters is, that at the end of the last day all the staff help pack up the area. This means that all the fences, all the spring boxes of the Tow-bars and all the crash mats get tidied up. We finished all that at about six o'clock in the evening, after having closed down the lifts at about two PM. Mark and me had some of the best jobs, as we were on T2 and T3. The weather was absolutely horrific at the bottom and at the top it was blowing a snowstorm. So much in fact that the Tow-bars had to be closed to the public, so ski patrol could do avalanche work. Means Mark and me got a few free runs in on the safe stretches and it was really good snow. A nice finish for the end. Later whilst packing up the spring boxes at T3 one of the ski patrols released a small avalanche, which, had it carried on to far, might have gotten us whilst we were working.

The next day we had the end of season party. After the whole staff devoured and entire lamb on a spit we had a bit of a party at the Longframe (workers hut) up on the mountain.

A few days later the whole Benmore crew went for a last day in Christchurch. Thanks to Nicks organisation in Sheffield we ended up doing some climbing in a forest where they had set up routes through the trees. Doing that I noticed how unfit I have become. Either the ones in Pfronten are easier or I just haven't kept up my exercise (I reckon later). Concluding that we (after some heavy debating) went and had an all you can eat meal in one of the restaurants around the town, before heading out to Hanses parents place for a last few drinks. After the goodbyes, Mark and me returned to Benmore, and so ended a fun few months at Porters. 

A week later I got a call from Dean (my boss at a hay contracting job) if I was available (yes) and if I wanted to go work up near Kaikoura. The town had suffered a severe earthquake about a year ago, and the recovery works are still under way and will be so for a long time. As I am still saving up money to go sailing with Dad once he sets of, I agreed and later the next day saw me driving a tractor up to Kaikoura to help with transporting stuff in a trailer where trucks can't go. The first three weeks was pretty much just work and getting stuff sorted out (inductions, picking up my car from Sheffield, etc.) but today was the first day I actually managed to go out and do something.

Last time I had been to Kaikoura I'd done a walk up one of the mountains, called Mt. Fyffe. The weather was not the best that time and I was also battling a cold, but needed something to do.

So here I was again, this time felling healthy and a nice day out and about (also testing out a new calorie tracker). The drive there went across some gravel roads which I don't think my car enjoys to much and after having a fast change of clothes at the bottom in the car park I started walking up. Man, am I out of shape, but I still managed to get further than last time. I had lunch at a lookout point a fair way up and then continued further up for another 20 minutes to see the other side of the mountain. Going all the way up is slightly out of area of comfort right now, as the top turns in to rather alpine terrain. About three hours from the bottom there is a hut you can stay in and the top is about five hours from the bottom up. So after snapping a few pictures just after the lookout point I turned round and went back down. This is the part where I miss having a bike, but the gradient is rather step in the first half. Still, my legs noticed the downwards walk more than usual.

Once back in the car and heading for Kaikoura I met James on the way (a work colleague) and had a wee chat.  

Craigieburn Skiing

Sitting down and thinking on it for a while I can think of a reason why most people, including me, seem to not be able to keep their blogs updated after a few months of travelling. As I have travelled for the last two and a half years, it has become a normal state for me now. I no longer have a constant place I live at or extraordinary things happening in the area I'm settled in, as I tend to travel and stay at those places that many take of work for to visit and spend a lot of their earnings on. For me this has all become semi-normal, so not something I would write in a blog which I reserve for special occasions.

Thinking about this, I will tray and get in to writing more often again, as in the years to come where ever I may settle down, I will most likely regret not writing about all the things I did whilst younger.

On to the happenings then...

A week ago my flatmate Mark said he wanted to go to Craigieburn for a ski. A bit of back-story on Craigieburn is in order I think. Most places in the world you here about skiing are giant ski fields, owned and operated by corporates that have a lot of money and tourism interest in their areas. Hidden away in the Southern Alps of New Zealand you'll occasionally find another type of field, the ski club fields. These are small, sometimes family run businesses that have not got large developed infrastructure or even good access roads, but they are what New Zealand skiers like and love. On busy days you'll find even these small fields won't have a lot going on. Craigieburn is somewhat famous from what I have heard. Our neighbour and work college, Luke, mentioned that he even heard stories about that club field as far as Canada. A quick video look on YouTube found some people saying it can be the poor man's heli-skiing. So being only a few kilometres from Porters we had to check it out at some point.

The day Mark and me picked to go was probably the worst day for weather, but it was the only day we had and we took it. Driving there we passed the Porters turn of and carried on through Castle Hill, a village rather popular with climbers due to the boulders placed around the area by glaciers that have now receded. Even to a non climber like me it still looked like one of those typical New Zealand pictures and I'll have to get back there with my camera some time in the next few months.

After passing the club fields of Cheeseman and Broken River we turned of at Craigieburn and took a drive up through the native forest underneath the club field. Something nearly all ski areas in New Zealand miss is forests. Not that this is necessary a bad thing, but my personal taste rather enjoys trees and woodlands to go down through. Most likely a preference from my years growing up in Nesselwang.

After leaving the car in it's designated place near a shed with a generator running for the accommodations and a tractor with a snow plough parked out the front, Mark and me went to get our tickets (at a slight discount due to working on another field) and then returned with our gear, all set and ready to go. The next stage at Craigieburn was to work out how rope tows work. Rope tows are the lifts most club fields use, they are cheaper to operate than T-bars and Chairlifts, but it requires more skill on side of the customer to use. Both of us were Newbies in that area, so we had a ski patrol/instructor show us how things are done. I won't explain the full workings behind the rope tows, as you can most likely find videos on the internet showing what they are. To round things up, it took me three tries to get going, but the experience of being challenged by a new lift after skiing for twenty years was refreshing. 

Finishing the lifts both of us where buffed by winds blowing through the rocky spires of the top, all alone on the ski field. Talking to the ski patrol lower down, we had found out that at that point we were the only people on the mountain, apart from staff. The first run down promised to be an interesting day, as the conditions were so bad and challenging that it was funny. Heavy snow that barely let you turn, an unknown ski terrain, strong and gusty winds and an ever changing weather pattern (sun, cloud, rain, fog, snow, etc. We had it all) ensured that the day was an interesting one. The stops in the upper lodge of the mountain were a must and a nice dry spot to get ready for another excursion out in the elements. Over the day we were joined by a few other people, but all in all the total amount of customers on the mountain could be counted on two hands. Later on in the day, after skiing through chutes and staying just above the rocks buried in the snow, conditions got even more interesting. The top 50 metres were awesome skiing, underneath that line the fall of heavy snow ensured that the slope turned to glue, stopping even the most die hard attempts at picking up speed downhill. Still, everyone was laughing and having a great time. Mark torpedoed the snow at one point and later on in the day we got close to being blown of the top. We didn't manage to walk where we intended to go, but waited things out, as the wind was so strong we could not go against it.

Once the late afternoon pulled in we called it quits, with a long last run down a chute on the side of the mountain to get us down back to the car. Whilst returning our gear we also had a quick drink at the bar and talked to some of the employees there. Most where Canadian and American, something which is in stark contrast to Australia. Most Northern Americans seem to prefer New Zealand (similar climate?).

After a drink it was back home to get all our gear dried out for work again, but I could feel the onset of a flue getting to me.  

Porters Powder & Lake Ohau Skiing

Once again a long time without writing anything in my blog. The last few weeks have seen me working the most time, but also getting a lot of time off, as the ski field was often closed due to bad weather. Most of the time this was due to wind, but we have also had a lot of snow over the last few weeks which is pretty unusual for New Zealand, apparently. Working has been rather interesting, actually. It seems we liftys have on of the best jobs on the mountain, as we can see a lot of funny stuff happening to the customers and we are outside a lot. What some people walk away from is surprising (collision with a lift tower, face plant in to a wooden fence, etc.) but sometime things don't work out well. We've had a few helicopter calls going through, but that is the case with a ski field. There are a lot of people I try to stay well away from, and even as an employee the mountain can be an unsafe place. One lifty had a border slip down the lift and hit him in the side of his knee and today another one got his shoe sliced up by a renegade snowboard. Anyway, so far all of us have survived (for the most part, but that story has nothing to do with the operations on the mountain).

Last Tuesday we had a powder day and I fortunately had the day of, so I hired a pair of skies from the rentals which were built for powder skiing and went out for the day with Hans mostly, but also a quick ride with Nick, Logan (NMIT guy), Chris and Flo. The best run of the day I had was coming down Bluff Face, with an unbroken powder line, being the fifth one down. The unusual circumstances with the snow is that New Zealand doesn't normally have this much. Last year quite a few runs were closed the whole season, where as this year everything has been open on a nearly consistent rate. Still, even this amount of snow isn't really enough for me, I'll have to keep my eyes on Canada in a few years time. 

Yesterday was kind of a hard choice where to go. Nick, Hans and Celine (ticket office Kiwi) were heading for Queenstown, skiing in Ohau yesterday and heading for Cardrona today. I really wanted to get to Cardrona, just because of the size of it. But they weren’t heading there until today, on which I am working. In the morning I was still undecided if I should go to Porters for the day or head down to Ohau with them. The journey to Ohau is four hours long. So I'd be driving for four hours, skiing for four and the driving back again. In the morning it was raining here at Porters and the top T-Bars seemed closed in the morning (in the end they were closed the entire day) so I headed south for four hours with the others. We passed Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki before we got to Lake Ohau. The journey up to the ski field had to be done in Celines car, as mine is only two wheel drive and I have no chains. That's the interesting part about New Zealand, too. No ski field has a town at the base of it. All of the ski field have a track to drive up. Probably due to the snow line being so high up.

The first hour at Ohau was mediocre at best. The clouds clung to the mountains, so we had nearly no view what so ever. After the first hour of exploring in fog the clouds broke up and we ended up having a nice view down to Lake Ohau with the barren mountains of the Southern Alps around us. At one point they even opened the ridge line which we hiked up to, and had a stunning view of the surrounding area. Throughout the rest of the day we continued to explore the small family run mountain, which according to the staff was a fairly busy day. Compared to Porters there was next to nothing going on.

At the end of the day we headed back down and I said goodbye for now to the other three. They headed down to Queenstown and I drove back up to Springfield. Along the way I rang Grandma, Mum and Lesley to wish Grandma a Happy Birthday and to chat a bit of the drive away. Back at Springfield I popped in to the pub, were most of the Porter workers were having an evening drink to say hi before heading home to get some well earned sleep.  

Skiing Mt. Hutt

The ski season is finally upon us and we had the staff training on the mountain at Porters the past weekend. All in all the entire experience was actually rather fun, considering that training is mostly boring in nearly ever job. But this one saw us meting pretty much the entire crew on the mountain and getting out on the mountain to have a look at how the lifts operate. At the end of the three days all of us had a good idea of what to expect and what is expected.

The next week saw us settling in to our house at Benmore station and meeting all the others that I'd be living with in that time, too. We have Mark, an English guy I have stayed with at the hostel before, Nick (American from California), Lena (German), Flo (German), Chris (German), Gershon (err, don't really know, lot's of places), Hans (Kiwi) and me. The house we are in is really good to. We had a fire and TV installed whilst we were there and the heat the fire puts out is just ridiculous. The owners are also friendly, all being farming kiwis and looks like we got a good deal here (plus we are on the way to the Porters ski field and don't need to use our own cars).

Between going to Christchurch rather regularly and buying shopping and other gear a few of us managed to get a bit of skiing in on the our neighbouring mountain of Mt. Hutt. Due to location reasons they already have enough snow to open, but not enough for all runs. Most of the others managed to go to the mountain fairly soon, but the day all of them went my ski gear had not yet arrived from Germany (thanks to mum for that). They arrived the day they were all gone, and after a few parties to meet up with our other colleagues and a Rugby game between the All Blacks (NZ) and The Lions (UK), Hans, Lena and me managed to get a ski in to Mt. Hutt.

Awesome day to start of with it, too. Most of the Canterbury Plains was covered in a thick layer of clouds and Mt Hutt was sticking out of it. So for the better part of the day we skied above the clouds. Well “skied”. I'm the only one of the group that skied that day, as Hans and Lena both snowboard. But after some awesome views and fun carving the day was coming to an end.

Back at the house most of the others left for a party again (bit to soon for me and I was knackered from skiing) and Nick and me were the only ones left at the place. Shortly after it was bed for me, but a brilliant first skiing in New Zealand.  

Taylors Mistake

Another day, another walk. This time to the outer end of the mountain range I have been hiking on so far. Izzy left for a road trip by bus today. As it left from the airport early in the morning I offered to drive her. No bus ran to the airport at that time and as I do have a vehicle now it was no problem. Also the airport isn't to far away either.

After dropping her of and returning to the hostel I had some breakfast and then got a few things sorted out on the laptop. The weather had been predicted to lighten up in the afternoon. It wasn't raining, but the clouds were thick with little wind. Means that the temperatures were also higher then yesterday.

The clouds still hadn't lifted once I had finished lunch, so I packed a snack and set of towards Taylors Mistake. The small holiday town is situated at the inlet for the Lyttelton harbour, so it was a bit of a drive. In the end I had to cross a part of the small range near to the coast to get to the start of the hike on the other side. Driving up I noticed the rather heavy weight of my car, but it got me over no problem. At the top I had a pretty good view in to Christchurch, so I parked the car and set up my camera in a small park. After the time lapse had finished I packed up and carried on to Taylors Mistake. 

Once arrived in the town I set of along the coastline. To be honest, most of the track didn't feel very New Zealandish, it looked very much like Scotland. Probably the reason a lot of English settled here in the first place. The trail was nice, a well gravelled stretch and I didn't meet to many other people (Tuesday). Saw more sheep than other people. At the tip of the of the hill range a few fortifications had been set up in world war two to deter the Germans from getting close. No idea what interest they had in New Zealand nearly 80 years ago. Even if the Germans lost then, New Zealand (and by extension Australia) is/are now overrun by young Germans anyway.

Walked around the hill and got back on to Summit road which runs all along the top. On all the walk I have done so far, I've had to cross it. Once I reached the Taylors Mistake again I had to go back down to the beach to get to my car. A bit of a steep walk, but nothing to bad. Some surfers were trying their best in the waves washing on to the black beach of the town and a few did manage to catch some waves.

Back at the car I headed of towards the hostel again, but stopped along the way for another time lapse and some photo shots of the sunset lighting up the sky.  

Witch Hill

Last night when I came back, Shane and me had a new room mate. Izzy, a young woman from England. We got talking a bit and found out that both of us had nothing planned for today, so we decided to do a hike together. Most of the others in the hostel had to work as it was Monday, so in the morning after breakfast and making some sandwiches for lunch, the both of us headed out towards the mountains on the other side of Christchurch.

I've sort of come to not liking Christchurch that much. I'm sure it is an interesting city for people who like bar crawls and history of earth quake stricken city's, but for one as me that enjoys the rural areas more, it just isn't my sort of thing. A few days to view a couple of things, but not weeks. So the past few days have seen me increasingly driving to the foothills and beaches to get away from the town. Today was no different and once the car had been parked Izzy and me set of up through a valley to the top of one of the hills. The valley turned out to be a lot nicer than I had anticipated. Before leaving I'd done a short look at the semi-planned route from a satellite picture which showed no features what so ever, just shrubs and rocks. At the bottom of the valley we encountered an older women on a bike clearing the path from a tree that had fallen over and gave her a hand until the bulk of it had been taken of the track. Walking up we got our shoes and trousers muddy, as the rain and cold of the past few days had not helped in keeping/getting the track dry. To both our advantage it meant that the track was closed for mountain bikers, as that took a bit of the watchfulness out of walking. Still, paying attention was a must, as the same reason it was closed for the bikers meant that we were slipping and sliding across the tracks at occasions.

Further up we were meet by some sheep (what were we to expect, it is NZ after all) and saw some fellow hikers and bikers on the tarmac road running along the top of the ridge. The same one I had traversed the day prior. Once we reached that it was a short walk further before we got of the road again to hike up a hill known as Witch Hill. Getting up was a short but exhausting experience. I thought that Izzy was up behind me the entire way as I couldn't hear her huffing as much as I was, but it turned out (rather funnily) that she was thinking the exact same thing. Reached the top and had a brilliant view of the Canterbury Plains, Christchurch underneath us and the Southern Alps in the distance.

Short note: It is really weird for me to say that any other mountain range in the world is the Alps, coming from the original, but that's what they are called.

Once pictures had been taken and warm clothes put on, back down it went. The day was a lot better than the previous one, with not a cloud in site and the wind had slightly died down, but the air was still chilly. Had a quick stop for lunch once we got in to a wind sheltered area along the Summit Road again and then proceeded to walk down a bike track back in to the valley. Looking at some of the trails there, I had to think how much skill you need to come down there. Some of the tracks I would not touch with my mountain bike, but then again it's probably built more for downhill biking. Going down on foot was interesting enough, as the wet earth and pine needles were a challenge to manoeuvre. We reached a walk able track once we got down in to the valleys again and carried on until we got back in to town. Then it was only about half an hours walk to the car. On the way we got ambushed by a cat that wanted some cuddles, weird behaviour for a feline.

Back at the car, back to the hostel with a quick stop for some shopping and then to put the legs up. A really nice walk with some good scenery on a day just made for being outside.  

Christchurch

Christchurch has been a rather dreary, but nonetheless an, experience. First of my primary reason to travel to the “capital” of the South Island was to have an interview with a prospective job at one of the ski fields. So far the only one that has offered me such, two others wrote back in that time saying they were unfortunately fully staffed already (sort of surprising, since I had written to them in February).

On the way to Christchurch I passed some of the iconic scenes of the South Island of New Zealand. No use what so ever, as the complete days travel we had a heavy fog. The bus drivers talked of the grand view over Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo to the mountain range in which Mount Cook is located. Didn't see a thing.

Once in Christchurch I got to the hostel I had booked in and I reckon I got a fairly good choice. Not a raving party hostel, as my money is slowly going down and I want to be able to sleep at night, but close enough to the city centre. The only down side is that the nearest cheap supermarket is about 30 minutes walk away. Bit more exercise then.

The day of the interview came and I thought I had stuffed it up completely. The boss interviewing me is from exactly the same place in Germany I am from. Füssen to be precise and he knows my ski instructor boss at home (Hanse) personally (or did a few years ago). Half the interview was about the actual job and half was about how things are at home.

Shortly after the interview I got an email asking if I wanted the job and that I could have it. Without much mucking around I accepted and am looking forwards to working on the snow fields for four months. 

After getting the job situation sorted out I was a bit more relaxed about my financial situation, but one thing I was sorely missing was a car. Spending a couple of months in Australia with one showed me what sort of freedom you can get with only an own vehicle. Expenses, too, mind you. A rough calculation of my old car in Oz got me to a five digit sum over the course of the entire time I had spent there. But I wouldn't have traded what sort of things I managed to do with it. So the week after the interview I had a look around cars. In the beginning I just went to dealers, but after viewing a few cars that backpackers had I expanded in to that seller field, too. Turned out it was good that I did, as a lot of backpackers are currently fleeing the cold and winter of the South Island to go back home in to summer in the Northern Hemisphere or the tropics. Absolute buyers market at the moment, which reflected in the prices. Also I had driven a few cars of dealers and the last one I looked at was a piece of garbage. Mind you, he only wanted 1700$ for it, but that probably reflects the condition of the thing. In the end I purchased a Honda Odyssey 2003 Model from two German backpackers. All is already set up for camping and I can sleep the nights away in the back. Once purchased I got a check on it done and only needed to repair things worth 200$. 

Once those days had passed I wanted to get out and explore the surrounding are of Christchurch a bit more. I was getting sick of the interior city and needed to see a bit more. Unfortunately the days following saw a lot of rain and cold weather come in, not the ideal conditions for hiking. The Southern Lights were showing up again, too, but no luck with the clouds hanging above. Once a day with a bit of sunshine arrived I took a quick drive to the beach and had a walk there. The next day I popped by a lake south of Christchurch, Lake Ellesmere. The weather was biting cold and the wind was pushing the car around, so after a very short walk I hopped back in and drove back to Christchurch and the warm hostel.

The next day I was starting to get fed up, so I packed all the warm clothes I could fit in to my bag and headed of to the gondola on the other side of Christchurch. Didn't take that, but walked up next to it, safe in the knowledge that should it start to pour down I had a fast way of getting down. The weather held, but it was still freezing in the wind. The Southern Alps are covered in snow, which is hopefully a good indication of the season to come, and even the hills near to Christchurch that I was walking around on had a light covering of snow. After getting to cold I walked back down, hopped in to the car and decided to finally update the blog again.

Currently in a nice warm room in the hostel felling good at having gotten some exercise done.  

Queenstown Hill

Over the past couple of days I have started getting a bit nervous. My bank card hadn't shown up yet and I'm leaving the hostel on Sunday to travel to Christchurch for a job interview on one of the potential sky field. Having the post chase me around is not what I had in mind with something as sensitive as a bank card.

But today all got good. I found the awaited letter in the letter box of the hostel and contained was my bank card. Got all the first steps sorted out and found out that my first superannuation payment has come through from Australia. The sky was blue, the day was warm and so far I had only had good news. So in the afternoon I decided to do the Queenstown Hill, the hill I had to stop at last time due to my cold.

Set of after having a lunch of fried vegetables and walked up the hill for a good one hour. The closest thing I can compare it to is the walk to the middle station of the Alspitze, both length and gradient wise. The were a lot of other people on the way up and down as well, so I wasn't the only one using the blue sky of the day to take a walk. The first part of the walk is to actually get to the start of the walk at the top of Queenstown. Queenstown is a city built on the side of a mountain/hill leading down to the water and I had to reach to top of the town first. That was the shortest part, after that the longest one goes through a pine forest with a few deciduous trees in their autumn colours here and there. After the walk through the forest you reach the top of the tree line, which seems to happen rather sudden here in NZ. Then it's more shrubs and rocks everywhere, but the scenery just gets better and better. Underneath one, Queenstown is nestled in the gorges with Lake Wakatipu stretching out in the deeper parts of the valley. At the top you are treated with a stunning view of the Remarkables (a mountain range with a sky field in them) stretching along the other side of the lake. The pictures I've put on here hopefully serve it justice. 

Spent a short while at the top having a drink and just enjoying the scenery of snow capped mountains and blue lakes in the valley before heading back down again. On the way I had a chat to a guy from Hong Kong who was flying his drone around (a Mavic Pro, one I have been looking at) and then raced down at a fast walk through the dark pine forest.

Time: aprox. 1.5 hours.

First Week Queenstown

You'd think that being in a new country for a week would have seen me post things regularly on new and exciting experienced I did in that time. Unfortunately, this last week was not the norm in that regard. For starters, I got sick. Badly. A cold which a few others in the hostel also caught. The first day with it, I had committed two others taking a walk with me up a hill behind Queenstown to have a look down. A short way up I had to stop, as I noticed that the exercise was not doing me any favours what so ever. From that point on Emma (Aussie) and Adam (UK) carried on alone and I just wanted to walk back and get in to bed. Unfortunately that would have meant I would have been out of food, which is probably not the best thing to be when sick in bed. Swung by the supermarket and bought a few things before getting back to the hostel and bed. I slept for a good portion of the day, but as a result my jet lag (still I reckon) came in to play and I couldn't sleep the rest of the night.

Due to bad luck I had to take an hour bus trip to the next town the following day, reason being to open a bank account. Now, opening a bank account seemed like such a simple thing. At least it was in Australia. On my second day here I walked off all the banks in Queenstown and the results weren't promising. Westpac had declined straight away. Company policy dictated that I couldn't open a bank account before having a job (along that line) and, well, it's extraordinary difficult to get a job without a bank account. Ergo, problem?! The next largest bank, the ANZ, didn't have a spot free to open an account until three weeks later, which is a very long time to go with pulling funds from over seas. The other bank, a bit smaller, Kiwibank couldn't give me an appointment for a similar long time. In the end I organised an appointment in the next town in Cromwell, where I could go and get everything done four days later. The bank problem seems to be a Queenstown exclusive, as stories I've heard from backpackers in Auckland say that they got in when they walked in to the banks.

Anyways, in the end I went to Cromwell with a cold to open a bank account. There are two buses, one in the morning going there and one in the evening coming back. End of line. Brilliant for when one is not felling to well (sarcasm). What was nice about the journey, though, was that we had a funny and talkative bus driver, which in my situation was really a relief. Also the scenery along the route was stunning. We passed wine fields and bungee drops over clear rivers where rafting and kajaking is possible. All surrounded by the South Islands mountains. I can't wait to travel in an own vehicle again. 

In Cromwell I actually managed to get a bit more than the bank account done. As if to make up for all the bad felling from being ill, I got a lot of good new that day. I'd found out I could get a bit more money from Oz than originally anticipated, due to superannuation I was never going to need. I got my tax file number sorted out, which was made a lot easier with me just having been in the bank and I re-read a job interview invitation I have for a ski field I applied for. Once back I then just dropped in to bed again.

The next few days saw me recuperating and generally not doing a lot past sleeping, reading and watching videos. Most of my survival in that time was in tea, honey and raw lemons, but as of today I feel a lot better.

The past days have been cooling off and just today we have had the first bit of snow on the mountains. Here is to hope to a good season, and quite a few other backpackers are also getting a bit hyped up due to the snow. A lot of people are itching to get on to the snow fields.