Trip to Auckland
Apr. 16th, 2011 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogerdogerfinally took my trip up to Auckland. I didn't see immigration though. Didn't seem like much point, and it makes me nervous to see them and then maybe they ask for my name and then it makes them more aware of me. I've changed my flight out to Australia, so now I leave at the very end of May, this brings me to a day within the 6 months allowed on my visitors visa. If i decide to come back to NZ for the winter, i wonder if they will finally ask about all my stays here.
Yes there is a chance i could stay here for the winter. some time ago I made contact with a woman in Auckland who was on the HelpX website. She lives round the corner from my journalist friend in that awesome neighborhood Ponsonby. She is also a graphic designer and I'd been having a few emails with her about trading my construction work out for her help with the maps. I met with her and she is a nice enough woman, lives on a great street and has a neighbor who is a builder that she mentioned may need help from time to time. i could also see myself getting into handyman work in that neighborhood. Its a lot of turn of the century houses, some rentals, some young first time owners, all of which usually need help on small projects.
So there's another opportunity. stay with this woman, she has a 10 year old son and a roommate and a short term tenant that lives in a caravan in her yard! He is supposedly leaving at the end of May. Benefits for me would be not having to deal with all my stuff here. it would give me more time to get my stuff organized, or finally sold. I'd also hopefully get to learn graphic design and figure out the ad lay ups for the maps too. I could conceivably still produce the Rotorua map too. Concerns, would be actually having to spend a winter in NZ. Spending more money than I make and ending up very broke. Sharing a house with too many people and only one bathroom.
also while in Auckland I met up with graham the tri guy that lent me his wetsuit. We met to talk about my bicycle idea. I'm not sure what his angle is, we talked about him drafting a few things out and working on ideas for production. The main idea here is to get it to a stage that it could be passed off to a manufacturer to produce and I'd just sell the copyright to a bike company. i have a feeling Graham is going to hit me up for prototype costs, but maybe not. Kiwi's can be very helpful and generous sometimes too. We did talk about if i got it sold id cut him in on the profit.
next up. the ckicki that i met at the campsite in rotorua, who has the yoga studio in auckland also surprisingly in ponsonby. She after a couple of txt's she asked me to come to a class. i was hesitant as i always feel inflexible these days and even more so after the race. but I went and it was awesome. There seemed to be a renewed connection with us too. She was leaving for Australia the next day, so we didn't get to see each other again, but she said she hoped i made it back up to Auckland before i left. I wonder what she will say if I tell her I'm moving to Auckland!
I have to say, every time i go to auckland i really like it. From the city center you can be at deserted beaches within less than 30 mins. this one is on the north in a national park and a nudist one!
To get to the nudist part of the beach you can either walk along the beach line, but only at low tide, or take the walking track over the cliffs, which also continues on to a river estuary and a couple of other bays. i went to this beach 3 times and did some great barefoot runs up and down this rolling cliffs. I love running barefoot, it makes y naturally run on the balls of your feet which is how you should be running. but wow it gives your calves such a work out. mine are still sore now. But after a few days rest from the race, i felt so much power in my run and was flying up the hills.
Its a great beach and at last a place I could actually swim at, with no crazy huge waves.
On the west coast traveling from auckland over scenic mountains you come to Piha still only 50 mins away and so totally different from the east coast.
the campsite in Piha is run by yet another Kiwi who sort of lacks communication skills and is just a little odd. It was dark when i came over the mountains and rolled into the tiny village of Piha, but as small as it was i could'nt find the campsite. after studying my map I turned around only to find i was right next to it! When i went to check in i tell Lance who manages the place, "might be a good idea to put a sign up for the campground, so people can find it"
"oh yeah, well there is a sign in the middle of the campground, but you can't see it from the street"
Then he asks me with a big smile, "do you swim?"
"Yes, why is it good swimming here?"
"yes you can swim here, but people die all the time, the rips are really dangerous, swimming here is really dangerous"
Yes there is a chance i could stay here for the winter. some time ago I made contact with a woman in Auckland who was on the HelpX website. She lives round the corner from my journalist friend in that awesome neighborhood Ponsonby. She is also a graphic designer and I'd been having a few emails with her about trading my construction work out for her help with the maps. I met with her and she is a nice enough woman, lives on a great street and has a neighbor who is a builder that she mentioned may need help from time to time. i could also see myself getting into handyman work in that neighborhood. Its a lot of turn of the century houses, some rentals, some young first time owners, all of which usually need help on small projects.
So there's another opportunity. stay with this woman, she has a 10 year old son and a roommate and a short term tenant that lives in a caravan in her yard! He is supposedly leaving at the end of May. Benefits for me would be not having to deal with all my stuff here. it would give me more time to get my stuff organized, or finally sold. I'd also hopefully get to learn graphic design and figure out the ad lay ups for the maps too. I could conceivably still produce the Rotorua map too. Concerns, would be actually having to spend a winter in NZ. Spending more money than I make and ending up very broke. Sharing a house with too many people and only one bathroom.
also while in Auckland I met up with graham the tri guy that lent me his wetsuit. We met to talk about my bicycle idea. I'm not sure what his angle is, we talked about him drafting a few things out and working on ideas for production. The main idea here is to get it to a stage that it could be passed off to a manufacturer to produce and I'd just sell the copyright to a bike company. i have a feeling Graham is going to hit me up for prototype costs, but maybe not. Kiwi's can be very helpful and generous sometimes too. We did talk about if i got it sold id cut him in on the profit.
next up. the ckicki that i met at the campsite in rotorua, who has the yoga studio in auckland also surprisingly in ponsonby. She after a couple of txt's she asked me to come to a class. i was hesitant as i always feel inflexible these days and even more so after the race. but I went and it was awesome. There seemed to be a renewed connection with us too. She was leaving for Australia the next day, so we didn't get to see each other again, but she said she hoped i made it back up to Auckland before i left. I wonder what she will say if I tell her I'm moving to Auckland!
I have to say, every time i go to auckland i really like it. From the city center you can be at deserted beaches within less than 30 mins. this one is on the north in a national park and a nudist one!
To get to the nudist part of the beach you can either walk along the beach line, but only at low tide, or take the walking track over the cliffs, which also continues on to a river estuary and a couple of other bays. i went to this beach 3 times and did some great barefoot runs up and down this rolling cliffs. I love running barefoot, it makes y naturally run on the balls of your feet which is how you should be running. but wow it gives your calves such a work out. mine are still sore now. But after a few days rest from the race, i felt so much power in my run and was flying up the hills.
Its a great beach and at last a place I could actually swim at, with no crazy huge waves.
On the west coast traveling from auckland over scenic mountains you come to Piha still only 50 mins away and so totally different from the east coast.
the campsite in Piha is run by yet another Kiwi who sort of lacks communication skills and is just a little odd. It was dark when i came over the mountains and rolled into the tiny village of Piha, but as small as it was i could'nt find the campsite. after studying my map I turned around only to find i was right next to it! When i went to check in i tell Lance who manages the place, "might be a good idea to put a sign up for the campground, so people can find it"
"oh yeah, well there is a sign in the middle of the campground, but you can't see it from the street"
Then he asks me with a big smile, "do you swim?"
"Yes, why is it good swimming here?"
"yes you can swim here, but people die all the time, the rips are really dangerous, swimming here is really dangerous"
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no subject
Date: 2011-04-16 11:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-17 09:08 am (UTC)Yeah there is a path that can get you to the top, but it was a choice of the trail I did to take the picture or the trail up the rock. didnt have time for both.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-19 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-09 09:38 am (UTC)Of course, thats why you are on my friends list!