relax, unwind, rewire. @ernestosurfs-blog - Tumblr Blog

via Nils Pokel · Storify

#MWXX #MW2016 #museweb #Nils Pokel · Storify

via Nils Pokel · Storify

#MWXX #MW2016 #museweb #Nils Pokel · Storify

A Day at the Drags

A Sunday afternoon at the Drag Races When I was about 13-16 years old, one of my real passions was hot rods: oldtimers "souped-up" or modified with big V8 engines and modified bodies: chopped tops, lowered or channelled, customized paint etc..

My friends and I started off building plastic models but soon graduated to real cars even before we were old enough to legally drive. We learned by doing. The father of one of my friends had a gas staition with a shop and he soon started a major rebuild of a 1929 Ford Tudor sedan with a 289 in³ motor from a Ford Mustang in it. Later a 350 in³ motor with about 300 HP. I also had various cars I owned and worked on with friends: a '33 Ford 3-window follwed by a '51 Henry-J, followed by a '34 Ford Tudor Sedan. None of them ever got completed, but I sure had fun learning to weld and take motors apart. On the weekends we often went to the drag races out in West Hampton, L.I.. The smell of melting rubber from the burnouts

and the smell of nitromethane from the fuel dragters

with their supercharged 392 and 426 "Hemi" engines, now putting out about 1500 HP, filled the air and spurred my memory. The unbelievable sound of the dragsters when they took off. Doing the 1/4 mile (440 Meter) from a standing start in under 7 seconds, reaching speeds of over 400 km/h. Well I hadn't been to the real drags in 40 years and I wanted to revive / relive my memories and share the experience with Marlon. We arrived around 1.00 pm and the drag races had already started. My pulse increased as soon a we entered the parking field, everywhere I looked there were hot rods classics and muscle cars from the 70's. I didn't know where to look first.:

At the same time I heard the the roar of the drag racers. Marlon was amused by my excitement. We entered the raceway and went straight to the area behind the starting area.

The sound was unbelievable. I almost dropped my camera to cover my ears as a "funny" car suddenly revved up its engine and did a burn out.

That, at last impressed Marlon and he started to share my excitement and enthusiasm. Some of the visitors reminded me of the guys from ZZ Top.

We walked around looking in the pits where guys were completely disassembling and reassembling them withn 1 !/2 hours between races.

The sun beat down without mercy . We stayed about 3 1/2 hours before continuing on towards Auckland as Marlon had to go to school the next day. It had been quite a fun-packed weekend indeed.

Pure Adrenaline in Taupo

Got off to good start in the morning wanting to make sure I get to Taupo in time to meet Marlon and take care of a few things first. Of course I had to have somebody give a boost because my battery was too weak just overnight. But that is no problem here. The first person I asked came right over with his car and helped me. It's a real training's exercise for me as I don't usually like to ask people for help. It looks like it will be a beautiful day, blue skies and sunny. I soon saw Lake Taupo spreading out ahead of me.

Lake Taupo is the largest lake on the North Island and is the cauldron of one of the largest volcanoes that ever exploded. The water is quite cold being filled by streams and rivers coming out of the mountains near by. Getting into Taupo, it's immediately obvious that Taupo is a tourist center for adrenaline junkies. There are signs advertising all sorts of adventure activities from paragliding,

to jet boat rides in rivers, river rafting, skydiving, bungy

jumping, as a take off spot for the treck Tongariro Alpine Crossing which I would love to do, but don't really trust my knees to hold out, especially on the downhill part.

time. "The world famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing track is an awesome one day adventure, walking across active volcanoes, with spectacular and unique volcanic terrain". Maybe I'll dare to try another Went to the visitors center which is also where the "naked bus" company has it's stop. ( I have no idea why it's called naked bus because the people DO NOT go naked as some might infer. The Kiwis are surprisingly pretty conservative regarding public nudity at beaches etc. similar to the prudishness in the US). I still hadn't heard from Leon and his friend Falk as to whether or not they were coming to Taupo to join us for a bungy jump. I decided to book a bung jump for the afternoon and a white water rafting trip on the Tongariro River for the next day. I then went and found a campground and reserved a spot for the night. After that it was time to pick up Marlon at the bus stop. The bus arrived on time and after driving around Taupo a bit and visiting two 2nd hand shops, in one of which Marlon found some sneakers he really liked for $5.-(we later found out the same shoes cost $260.- new), we drove out to Taupo Bungy. http://www.taupobungy.co.nz/ There is a platform overlooking the Waikato River and it's a 47 meter jump.

This was to be Marlon's first Bungy Jump so he was quite excited!!!! I was really looking forward to it as well since I had taken my first (and only) jump there 4 years ago. At Taupo Bungy we first had a look around looking down at the river from the cliffs above,

the adrenaline starting to flow. Then I met some travellers I had met before down in Wellington! They were only there to watch, having decided not to jump themselves. So we went in, got weighed and then went out on the platform. No turning back now. The creepiest part is once they have attached the bungy cord to your ankles and start letting it out you take little mini steps to the platform the weight of the rope already pulling at your ankles. You look down at the river almost 50 meters below smile in the camera, lean forward and.........dive! and SCREAM!!!

Unfortunately, this time I didn't dip into the river, but it was still a great thrill. Marlon loved his jump as well. Since a second jump only costs a fraction of what the first jump costs, we both decided to jump again. The second jump was even more fun! When we were finished they closed up for the day. Went back into Taupo and the campground. The campground had a good gas grill so Marlon and I had steaks and corn. They also had a pool (pocket billiards) table so we played some pool as well. Then it was off to bed after remembering talking about bungy jumps again. In the morning I again had to have my car jump started, no problem. By the way, it was also now to the point that every time I turned my car off for more than 5-6 hours, sometimes even less I had to get help to jump start it. But since that was so easy, it really didn't present a problem. In the morning at around 10.00 am we finally heard from Leon and Falk who said they would be arriving about 1.00 pm with some friends. Too late for a bungy jump together. We were just getting ready to go to the meeting spot for the white river rafting so it was also too late for them to join us for that. That was a bit disappointing. They decided to go to the bungy jump and that we could meet in the evening around 7.30 pm at Pizza Hut. Marlon and I boarded a courtesy bus from the white water rafting company for the ride to the starting point. Our driver a Maori from the area was also a river guide . On the way, he told us the story of Mt. Taranaki, Mt. Ruahapehu and Tongariro:

Ruapehu, the beautiful maid, was married to Taranaki. One day, while her husband was away hunting, she was wooed and won by Tongariro. When Taranaki returned at the end of the day he surprised the guilty pair. A titanic battle ensued in which Taranaki was defeated. He retreated towards the west coast, carving out the course of the Wanganui River as he went. When he reached the coast he moved northwards to the western extremity of the North Island, where he rested. There his great weight made the shallow depression which afterwards filled with water and became Te Ngaere swamp. Taranaki, or Egmont, as Cook named him, now sits in silence looking towards his wife and his rival. In spite of her infidelity, Ruapehu still loves her husband and sighs occasionally as she remembers him, while the mist, which drifts eastward from his head, is the visible sign of Taranaki's love for her. For his part, Tongariro, who despairs of ever possessing her again, smokes and smoulders with anger. To this day travellers in the Tongariro National Park see the basin called Rua Taranaki, “the Pit of Taranaki”, which lies to the east of the Tama Saddle which was the original home of Taranaki.

We arrived in Turangi at the headquarters of

http://www.raftingnewzealand.com/

and were outfitted with wet suits, helmets, life jakets and paddles

and off we went: 12 people plus two guides, two rafts. At the river we first had safety and paddling instructions / practice and then it was off for the trip through ca. 50 class 3+ rapids in 2 1/2 hours. Plus a short climb and 5-6 m jump from the ledge of a waterfall into a pool of 8 degree water! It was a beautiful day. The river isn quite narrow and runs down a steep gorge. It was quite exciting and great fun!

Around 7.45 pm we parked in the parking lot right next to camper van just like mine with two young women and two guys in it. Went into Pizza Hut where we found Leon, Falk and Luke. When we went outside it turned out they were travelling with the people in the van next to us, so they were 7 all together, Leon and Falk, two German women, one Kiwi guy, one guy from Argentina and one guy from England. Nils and Falk asked if we wanted to join them at some hot springs they were going to. It was a good feeling for me (and for Marlon) to be accepted /invited by all of these young travellers, all around 19 to 23 years old. We decided to buy some wine and go to some hot springs that flow into the Waikato river. Actually it turned out that the hot springs fed a small hot stream turning into a 1,60 high waterfall under a wood bridge with water somewhere around 45 degrees C (about 110 F) that then flowed into the Waikato which was more like 12 degrees C. Under the bridge it was quite shallow, only about 50 cm deep and a mix of sand and rocks to sit on. So all nine of us were then sitting in the stream/river, moving around between hot and cold spots getting the right mixture, drinking wine and enjoying some other organic products which enhanced our senses, looking up at the most inredible star-filled sky, talking, enjoying, listening to Manu Chao and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (thanks to an ipod) . I saw at least 5 shooting stars. We stayed for hours, it was just too perfect to leave. I had my boardshorts on which had a pocket closed by a velcro band (Klettvershluß). In the pocket were my car keys. From time to time, during the whole time I was in the river, I kept checking my pocket to make sure the keys were still there. At one point, I had movedf rom a hot spot into the river to cool down a bit then moved back to where i had been sitting before, once again checking my pocket. SHOCK!! No key!!!! I couldn't believe it but it was true I had just lost my car key somewhere in the river in the middle of the night. I started to frantically search with my hands on the river bottom where I was sitting, hoping they had just fallen out—no luck. But I had brought a flashlight (torch) with me. Marlon got out of the water and got the flashlight for me and I started to slowly search the riverbed. Luckily the water was quite clear but it was still very dark and I had moved around a lot. Everybody was feeling around under water trying to help me find my keys without disturbing too much sand in the process. After about 20 minutes I pretty much gave up and resigned myself to the fact that I had lost my keys and would have to break into my car where I had a reserve key hidden. Falk took the flashlight to have one more look by the waterfall. I sat back down relaxed, reached down into the water and suddenly felt my car key lying there!! I couldn't believe my good fortune!!!!! The night had somehow become even better. Finally, after about 4-5 hours just enjoying the whole experience there, everybody slowly got ready to leave since we all had plans for the next day. From there we drove to a free campground in the woods on the opposite shore of the Waikato River (The Waikato River is a tupuna (ancestor), a taonga (treasure), and the mauri (life force) of Tainui Waka and Ngati Tuwharetoa.) .

There were at least 15 other campervans and tents from other backpackers there.

Had a nice breakfast in the morning looking out at the river. Said our goodbyes to Leon, Falk and their friends, who had all managed to sleep in one car and a two person tent (??) and headed up to Meremere forthe nostaligic drag races!! Memories of my teenage days with hot rods and fuel dragsters burning nitromethane.

Arriving in Tahora

Well, shortly before I reached Tahora, I passed through Whangamomona which I mentioned earlier. I had planned to stop and get a Republic of Whangamomona passport for $3.50 to ensure safe passage and also get a stamp in my "regular" passport but changed my mind when I saw a tourist bus with lots of tourists (around my own age but quite touristy / sedentary). I decided to just keep driving. I was now about 20 kms from Tahora and knew I was going to at least try finding Kerri's farm. That of course turned out to be a bit difficult. Although it became obvious which road I had to turn off on (after first taking a wrong turn), there was even a street sign ! The difficulties began as there were, of course, no numbers, and the houses or farms where often not visible from the small winding gravel road I was now on. So I took it all the way to the end. I arrived at the top of the mountain at the end of the road I had meandered up. I couldn't find the right place. I was driving back downhilll trying to spot some sign that would tell me this is the right spot, when I passed an old guy on a quad. I stopped and asked him where I could find Kerri. Turned out Kerri was his nephew. He himself must have been somewhere in his mid to late 70's but quite lively and independent. We chatted for a good 15-20 minutes about this and that, his travels to Oregon and Wisconsin and his work there as a logger. I then drove on down to the farm he had described to me. I opened and closed the gate across the drive, because there were some cattle roaming. Saw a house up on the hill and and another building down at the bottom of the hill, some sheds scattered around.

Ahead of me, a large field with some buildings imitating a medieval fortress / wall with flags and banners flying.

The farm was embedded in high hills / mountains. I drove up to the house on the hill. There was another building adjacent to it and there I saw Kerri doing some woodworking, pausing to look and see who had just come to visit. I received a warm welcomeand was introduced to his friend Matts, originally from Scotland but long since a New Zealander with Scottish accent. Matts was visiting from Dunedin and helping Kerri out, renovating the guest house. Soon after I arrived; Kerri took me with him on the back of his quad up some narrow narrow and totally steep paths to the edges of his farm where some fences needed mending. The view was incredible!!!

We deposited the materials he had brought up and headed back down to do finish up the work they had been doing, put the tools away and cook dinner. Terri showed me around a bit then went off to prepare dinner: steaks from his own cattle with potatoes. We had a beer and then I talked to Matts about all sorts of things: travel, music, whatever. They had kind of a bar / pub / stage open barn kind of thing that had grown with the years.

They told me of the musicians always coming through and the week long music festival they celebrate every two years. The whole atmosphere reminded me very strongly of two places: Hollen in Martfeld and Gopher Broke, north of Morrisville, Vermont where I once "landed" and met some great people who soon became close friends. All three places, Tahora, Hollen, Gopher Broke are special places involving a number of people somehow drawn together who like to celebrate life with music and coming together. I felt very very comfortable with them, both being around my age, totally different backgrounds but somehow completely on the same wave length. They were really the only two guys my age (actually three counting Brian who arrived the next day to help out) with whom I felt a real affinity during my trip.

Other than with them almost all my contacts and acquaintances here have been about 30 or more years younger (which I very much enjoy!!). After dinner they got out their guitars to make some music and practice some for a gig they were having in a week or so. The session lasted until almost midnight. I slept in my home away from home my van and when I woke the next morning Kerri was up and about. I had gladly offered to help with whatever work they had to do so soon we were off to mend / replace fences until the afternoon when it would be too hot. The work was really only strenuous because to the sun beating down and standing on a steep incline the whole time. After about 4 hours we headed back sown to the farm and had some sandwiches and tea. At that point a truck came on to the farm and three guys got out. They were there to collect beehives to extract honey. I found out that they harvest about 30 to 40 TONS per year. That's a lot of honey. And a lot of bees.They had parked right next to my van, on which the slide door and the windows had been open. When they drove down the road they left a few thousand bees behind and a few hundred of them where buzzing around inside my van. Then I took over sanding some doors and oiling them. It was slowly getting to be time for me to leave as I had to meet Marlon around noon in Taupo the next day and didn't want to take any chance of being late. But the idea of leaving was also becoming increasingly difficult.

Finally, around 5.00 pm after the thunderstorm

had passed, I decided I really had to get going as I wanted to make it out of the "Forgotten World" before dark. I needed to find a campsite for the night. But leaving was not to be that easy!!! After saying mygoodbyesand assuring that I would be coming back at somepoint in the future, I walked down the hill to my van, packed my things together and........ couldn't find my car keys. I checked every pocket, all over in and out of the van. No keys. Back up the hill to Kerri, Matts and Brian. Matts said try looking in the armchair you were sitting in last night, maybe they fell out of your pocket. I went back down the hill, straight to the chair and there they were! This was to be the first time within the next three days that I lost my car keys. So one more round of goodbyes and off I drove, knowing there was a place would be welcome to stay. Driving now on my way out of The "Forgotten World" Highway I was enthralled by the colors in the sky

that had been caused by the thunder storm that had just passed. The mountains and valleys were filled with mist

and behind me the skies had a unreal hue of orange and pink.

I stopped to take a photo and edged too close to the side of the narrow gravel road and promptly landed with one front tire in a gully running next to the road, the side of my car just inches from the rocks that the road was carved out of. Upon inspecting my car I realized at once I was going to need help and that it would soon enough be dark. I wondered how long it might be before the next car would come along. I might even be spending the night there though my van was such a slant that sleeping in it would provetobe difficult. Maybe the lost keys had been a sign not to leave Tahora when I did??? But my experiences with the Kiwi willingness to help made me quite relaxed and I knew it would only be a matter of time before a car would come by. About 5 minutes had passed when a car came. I flagged them down but I'm sure they would have stopped anyway. It was a tourist couple from Tahiti!!("seeing my surfboards: you should visit Tahiti great surfing there "). They were willing to help but their rental car was a compact and there was no real place to hook up a rope. But then a 4wd pickup truck came around the bend and sothe tahiti tourists could continue on theier way while the Kiwi in the truck pulled me out. Total time from disaster to rescue: less than 15 miuntes. And so I continued my journey out of the forest and mountains towards Taumarunui. The first rainbow appeared followed by an even more spectacular rainbow followed by an even more spectacular double rainbow! It felt symbolic, it was almost surreal.

By the time I reached Taumarunui it was dark and I parked between a McDonald's and a petrol station. I was within range of a free wifi spot and used my laptop powered through the cigarette lighter to check emails regarding Marlon and Leon as well as campgrounds and Taupo Bungy. Unfortunaely I had also left my lights on. Normally it would have bveen a problem, but my battery had been showing signs of weakness and when I went to start the car to drive on, nada, nothing other than a few clicks of the starter. Shit. The third test of my luck patience, good spirits and Kiwi helpfulness within three hours. So I got out and went to the gas station to ask if i could borrow some booster / jumper cables. The woman behind the counter apologized but said they no longer had any to lend but they did have some I could buy. Without bothering to check the price I decdied to try my luck outside. Everytime someone drove into the gas station or McDonalds I'd go over and ask ift hey could give me a boost. Everyone was very friendly, even apologetic that they couldn't help because none of them happened to have booster cables. But most assured me someone would surely come along soon who could help! As it was now getting later (8.45pm) with the number of cars decreasing, I decided to look at the price of the jumper cables. They were only $20.- which is about 12,50 € so I bought some and the next person I asked said "sure" drove to my car and gave me boost! Off to the next campground that was nicely situated at the edge of town. Made a quick dinner scrambled eggs and mashed potatos and went to bed, reflecting on all the incredible experiences and good fortune I had had over the last two days and looking forward to the next two days which promised to be full of adrenaline-drenched thrills.

On my way from Wellington to Tahora

So my last “real” entry was after I left Wellington and headed back up north. I decided to head towards Hawery just short of Opunake on the surf highway south of Mt.Taranaki. I hadn’t yet decided if I was going to first go to Opunake for a surf and then turn back through Stratford and up the Forgotten World Highway towards Taupo to meet Marlon and possibly stop in and visit Kerri in Tahora. When I got up it was a bit chilly and damp. Had a quick breakfast and left the campground. As soon as possible I stopped at a Telecom NZ telephone booth offering 1GB free internet and looked up the surf forecast. That decided it, Opunake here I come!

The weather had become very nice: warm sunny blue skies. Got to Opunake, swell was quite small but the water was almost glassy and there was a right-hand break on the right side oif the beach. Watched one other surfer and got intomy wetsuit. By the time I got in the water he had left, so I had the waves all to myself! Had some nice easy rides, virtually no shore break just the thing for a nice refreshing late morning surf session. Got some company after awhile which was nice, got to chat a bit while waiting for the next set of waves.

The waves were gradually getting smaller and smaller so I decided to go back to shore and continue my journey. When I got out, a group of school kids who where taking part in an after-school activities program arrived, got in the water and started surfing. It was obvious that they were having tons of fun.

Had a short snack and headed off to Stratford, whose only real tourist attraction seems to be a fake medieval tower on the main street:

The whole ride I had a view of Mt.Taranaki which really just dominates the area.

At Puke Ariki the museum in New Plymouth I had seen an exhibit of how the volcano had erupted in the past and thereby repeatedly changing the coastline and the complete contours of the landscape.

Here is what scientists are saying: Mt Taranaki is “overdue” to erupt and researchers say when it does it is likely to cover much of the North Island in a blanket of ash and disrupt airports, power and water supplies. The volcano has shown little or no sign of activity for 200 years, but new research by Dr Shane Cronin, of the Institute of Natural Resources at Massey, suggests it has erupted at least once every 90 years on average for the past 9000 years, with a major eruption every 500 years. The research indicated the last major eruption was in 1655 with smaller eruptions recorded in 1755 and possibly the early 1800s. Dr Cronin, who completed the research with PhD student Michael Turner, extracted and analysed core sediment samples from Lake Umutekai, about 25km northeast of the volcano. The mountain’s smaller eruptions were similar to that of Mt Ruapehu in 1995-96 and would have showered New Plymouth with pumice and rock fragments the size of raisins. "An eruption of this scale would undoubtedly cause substantial disruption to much of the North Island, cutting power supplies, damaging transmission lines, water supplies and stormwater," said Dr Cronin. The mountain attained some fame in the movie “The Last Samurai” with Tom Cruise. Here’s another picture:

The darkened area is the boundaryof Egmont National Park.Note the coastline : The Surf Highway follows it.

I really like the whole area around Mt.Taranki it seems to have a strong energy almost like a gravitational pull. The coastline describes a half circle around it. Behind it inland are the forests and mountains through which the Forgotten World Highway passes on it’s way towards Taupo (more about Taupo later), and other volcanoes, one of which again became active two years ago: Ruapehu. The Maori have a story about TaranakiTongariro and Ruapehu which I learned of later. (I’ll relate this in the Taupo entry)

In Stratford I stopped for food supplies and to fill up on diesel, as there are no petrol stations after leaving Stratford all the way to Taumarunui a distance of 150 km’s of serpentine curves through what some times reminds me of Jurassic Park with Ferns as big as palm trees.

The stretch is supposed to take only about 2 hours, but my experience told me to figure more like 4 hours especially if it were to rain or if there any herds of sheep being moved from one paddock to another. Midway along the stretch is the self-proclaimed Independent Republic of Whangamomoma which declared ist independence in 1989 as a protest to a districting reform and now is celebrated very two years. It’s all a bit “tongue-in-cheek” and mostly symbolic.

So off I went to the Forgotten World Hifghway still not 100% sure if I would find and stop at Kerri’s farm in Tahora. I’m not really sure of the source of my hesitancy. When I met Terri at the WOMAD festival and he extended his invitation to me I said that I would deinitely come by top visit. Now I was feeling unertainty and hesitation as I really had no idea what things would be like there, who lived there etc.. And so I continued driving and trying to get in touch with my intuition, strangely excited. To be continued.

What I miss, what I don't miss, what I'm going to miss, what I'm not going to miss and what I'm going to take with me.

What I miss:

I miss my wife Malu and am looking forward to taking her in my arms for a nice long hug and kiss. (First thing I'm going to do when I get home)

I miss a nice hot bath! Get to take hot showers pretty regularly but haven't had the luxury of a hot bath since I've been away from home!!! (Second thing I'm going to do when I get home)

Fresh rolls that have crispy crusts ( well I did bake some myself but I miss the German bakeries) .

Seeing friends (now that I'll have more time to visit them and just hang out).

Having my tools / shop/ barn

"Tatort" on Sunday evenings sitting with Malu on the sofa.

What I don't miss:

Having to get up at 6.00 am 5 days a week and going to work!!!!

Having pupils testing my patience and nerves.

All the paperwork.

German bureaucracy and "Pedanterie". See next example:

TÜV. They should come here and see what's possible.

TV. During the last 4 months I've watched exactly 30 minutes of TV at a campground one night. Don't miss it. (except Tatort)

The grey skies and rain. ("Schmuddelwetter")

Cigarettes. (Hardly anyone here smokes, I think I've seen maybe one to two dozen people smoking since I got here)

What I'm going to miss:

Playing with Oscar and watching him grow and develop!

Being able to just pop in and visit Nils & Annie.

Having so many awesome surf beaches and breaks to choose from.

Going surfing on an average of 4 times a week.

Never being further than ca 100 km's to the nearest coast.

Meeting all these friendly and interesting young travellers ( not the tourists)

The incredible friendliness, openness, helpfulness and relaxed attitude of the Kiwis and "new or wannabe" Kiwis (immigrants) Going to try and take that with me and infect some more people with it.

The blue skies!!!!

My campervan,which has been serving as my "man cave" and home away from home.

Hitchhikers, almost always interesting to pick some hitchhikers up. Too bad there are so few in Germany.

What I'm not going to miss:

The traffic jams in and around Auckland.

Having to remember to drive on the left.

What I'm going (to try and) take with me:

Thousands of great memories and some new skills.

Contacts / friends I've made here.

As I already said above: the openness friendliness, willing to help attitude and "no worres,mate" approach to people that I so appreciate here.

A relaxed attitude and a better inner ear for what my intuition tells me.

The feeling of having the time / taking the time to do what I want whether it be work or play.

I'm sure I've left some things out so I may be adding to the list as my remaining weeks go by.

Relaxed but active in the here and now.

Entspannt aber aktiv im hier und jetzt So much happening and still the feeling of being very relaxed in here and now without „having“ to do anything but rather Wanting“ to do things but still letting unforeseen things happen or finding/taking/giving time for them if I feel like it. Met sooooo! many people in the last week or so, so many interesting „Begegnungen“ and conversations with people, mostly younger, from France (2 couples) Germans, Polish-Austrian woman and last and probably most long term, Tahore, Kerri, Matts and Bryan, all around my age. Days decided by following feelings and instincts and on that basis making „decisions“, trying to be in the flow of things. Still often uncertain. Temptation and desire vs. rational considerations or „be careful, know your limits“ vs. „go ahead and try it, leave your comfort zone, take a chance.“ Before checking in at Kai Iwi I went grocery shopping in Wanganui then back to the camping park in Kai-Iwi. Nice campground all for me. Next morning a hot shower, breakfastand everything slow and easy, some internet then instead of taking the bypass I drove through Wanganui just for a look. Hot rods on the street.! Fotos for Frank Simon (see Facebook: Ernie Pokel). Crossed the Wanganui river, quite wide. Further on towards my next planned stop at Foxton.

Foxton!! Wow! Great kitesurfing spot.

Laurie the old surf veteran I met in Katikati told me about this place. Think he lives or lived here a while. Beach ok, don’t know how the waves would be. Also a kite school. NO WIND!!!! Campground ok, very friendly German couple „rheinländische frohgemüte“ Our contact was immediately very friendly / relaxed, nice, made be feel good.

Friday morning onwards towards Wellington.Picked up a hitchhiker about 50, very talkative, interested in my „story“ envious and telling me everything he knew about the area which was a great deal. Directed me to a kite / windsurf spot that looked very very good

( turned out to be the wrong spot, too gusty) and then told me the quickest way to get to Wellington. In Wellington straight to Lyall Beach: PERFECT for me. Great waves, about 1,50 at least, but slow and well formed.

I had some awesome rides.Only stopped because my feet were almost numb, the water from Cook Straight being very cold. I quit at about 5.15 pm. When I finished changing out of my wetsuit, I looked out and saw 20 surfers where I had been almost alone with 2 other surfers for 2 hours. It was weekend for all the 9.00 to 5.00 employees.

They have these real “space-age” public toilets her, with music, electric opening and closing doors. really strange. By chance I found a campground in an industrial area in Porirua, 20 km’s out of Wellington. Only costs $10,- (6,-€) a night, has hot showers and a kitchen but no Wifi. First evening there were 5 couples in the kitchen / „dining room“, all Germans, all young, all very well-behaved „brav“ and a bit boring, an oldert Maori guy and his daughters and myself. The Germans assumed I was a Kiwi because, typical of some young German travellers here, they only spoke to each other and showed no interst in the „non-Germans“, whereas the Kiwis are always interested in having a conversation with almost anyone. The next day, finally, wind and the hope of doing some kitesurfing. Drove to the estuary, the hitchhiker had shown me but discovered there were only a few windsurfers. The wind was pretty weak and very gusty.The windsurfers told me that the kiters never come here because it‘s always too gusty, but a great flat water spot for windsurfing. Talked for a while to the windsurfers and decided to rig up in the the hopes that the wind would pick up and it did!!! But it was very gusty, often going from about like 16 knts which is good, to 8 knts which is not enough and then shooting up to 22-24 knts which then is almost too much for the size sail I was using. Still had lots of fun for about 2 hours. Then drove to Plimmerton, the kite spot. Found some Windsurfers there too and I could see the kite surfers across the bay but it was now getting late, and the wind was dying down. Went back to camp. Back to the camprground where on this evening I met Aurel and Marjorie, a French couple who had been working on the South Island for about a year and wwere now travelling the North Island. Really very nice, friendly „sympathische“ people. We talked about our travels for a long time. A welcome relief to the „German Invasion“ who really ignored everyone else in the kitchen The next day there was wind, but not as much as forecast. It was a bit cloudy and cool. Drove around Wellington, looking at all the different spots that are listed in an internet guide. Went for a walk along a wharf, where there was a market place.

Even a place to dive in the water in the middle of the market / wharf area quite near the museum:

Very active, totally mixed population, young, old, European, Maori, Chinese etc. Took lots of Fotos. Wellington is an interesting city, the architecture a crazy, chaotic mixture of styles.

Seems like lots of students and young people. It’s supposed to have a very active music scene and night life. You see a lot of things that show an interest in kidsand offering them things to do, getting them involved, from the skateparks win everytown, to the colorful playgroundsand including them in “Gestalten” of public space:

Then went to Lyall Bay, which faces south and is directly next to the airport and went windsurfing. I had several nice runs from the beach out almost to the airport then back to the beach riding small waves back in. As I found out the next day, I had surfed much too close to the airport, which is forbidden. But I had great fun. Got up late, breakfast with Aurel and Marjo, unsure of what to do today: stay another day or drive north. Went to Wellington, looking to see if there were any waves at Lyall Bay but way to small. Stopped in at the surf shop, run ba a beautiful young woman, perfect image of a an athletic, blond, blue-eyed surfer girl about 25. Very friendly. (she was the one who told me I had surfered to close to the airport) Decided then to go to Te Papa, a (the?) National Museum. Down by the harbor, near where the market had been the day before. The building itself is incredible and the admission was free! Spent 5 hours in the museum and met Aurel and Marjo there. They have a giant squid ( 4 meters long) in a container. It looks like an alien.

After leaving the museum I drove past Lyall Bay one more time but the waves were no larger than before. Went back to camp and had dinner along with Aurel and Marjo, again talking about all sorts of things from Sim City to the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy. And the significance ofthe number 42.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_%28Antwort%29 Slept late and had breakfastwith Aurel and Marjo. Not sure as to whether I should stay another day or drive north. Repacked my van. As I was sitting by my van, a Polish / Austrian woman came over and started a conversation, saying I looked like I had travelled a lot and asking me if I had any tips for her about what to do / see on the North Island. She had already done a lot of things on the North Island like Tongariro Crossing and such. After a while we agreed that Raglan would be a good spot for the last few days of her trip as she wanted to try surfing. Said goodbye to Aurel and Marjo, exchanged emails and made a date to go out for a beer in Auckland at the end of April before they fly to Australia. Repaired the seems on my wetsuit and headed north towards Hawera but not before stopping in Porirua again at the library / museum. Even small towns ( Porirua is about the size of Syke or Diepholz)often have really good libraries and museums open 7 days a week.

.Got there shortly before dark and stayed at a campground run by maori woman. Very friendly and nice but too expensive ($20,-) Met another nice French couple who had been travelling for almost a year.

That’s all for now folks.

Finally Moving On South

Tuesday the 25th. of March Got to Move On

Mt. Taranaki always in view along the Taranaki coastline. I can’t believe I’m still at Fitzroy’s Beach, but I’ve gotten used to the campground and there are lots of friendly travellers here. Met two guys travelling together one a young guy, Miles, real nice about 18-19, grew up first in California then in China and I believe somewhere else as well. Now, having finished High School travelling on his own, serious surfer and very interesting and friendly. Went I told him I had been a teacher for Kids with behavior problems in school he smiled and said „like me“ and I smiled back and said „Like me too.“ The guy he was travelling with was 27 and from Stuttgart. Ieven had to buy them a bottle of wine one night at the supermarket because the manager refused to sell them one!!! They are really strict here with alchohol.

Fitzroy's Beach on Sunday afternoon

Where was I? Went out for an early morning surf though it was chilly.Took a hot shower first in my neo and filled it with warm water. Unfortunately the surf wasn’t as good as forecast, the wind somewhat onshore so after catching 2-3 waves I headed back in for a hot shower a good breakfast and to pack my stuff. Said goodbye to Nicole and Roman my camping neighbors and surf companions. Didn’t see the guy from San Francisco / Great Barrier Island again, and also said goodbye to the Swiss woman on her way to the Forgotten World Highway. Left campground on my way to New Plymouth but stopped at the local surf shop (Beach Street Surf Shop) and chatted with the guy there for about a half an hour about surfing, kiting, life in Taranaki etc. Then I was on my way to my car and passed a furniture shop where I could see right into the shop. Curious I decided to walk in and talk to the guy. He was busy with a customer so I just hung around until she left and then introduced myself, „Hi I’m Ernie and I’m a cabinetmaker from Germany, saw your furniture and wanted to talk. His name is Steve and he was quite open to chatting ( as all Kiwis seem to be). So we talked about furniture making and wood and his shop and machines and regulations. After about 20 minutes he offered me a cup of tea so I said „sure“ and we spent another 45 minutes talking about various aspects of woodworking. He even said he’d gladly hire me if he had more to do but things were a bit slow at the moment. After that I did make the drive all the way into New Plymouth

Streeet musician by the shops in New Plymouth

(10 minutes) and went to Puke Ariki, a combination museum and library. There I visited two exhibitions: one about the Maori of Taranaki and the other about the history and influence of surfing in and on Taranaki. Both quite interesting.

Surfers: "the first generation with Wanderlust"

theater seats in the museum

Then I went into the very spacious and well equipped library to use the free wifi for 3 hours until they closed at 6.00. It was now time to get out of New Plymouth, head southand find a place to sleep. I figured there would be no one at Stent Rd. Surf break.

Stent Road Break

I reached the spot just before sunset and cooked a quick meal. I was alone there, or so I thought, when suddenly this guy appeared and asked me in a very friendly way if I planned to spend the night. I said,“ not if it’s a problem.“ He replied, „ it is, the police don’t allow overnights here“. So i asked him if he knew a spot where I could and seeing I was a surfer ( he commented as such) he directed me to a place not too far away, where a small river flows into the ocean, a beautiful spot where no one would bother me. And that’s where I parked my van and spent the night.

It turned out to be a very windy night, the van shaking with the gusts of wind that were onshore all night. Suddenly around 4.00 am, the wind stopped and it got quiet. I slept better till about 8.30. it was quite chilly. In the meantime the wind had changed directions and was now blowing strongly offshore creating magnificent hollow waves, spray from the break arcing back to the ocean. The bigger waves were even barrelling building tubes and were really clean and well formed but BIG. I was very very tempted but! Two things kept me from going out, it was quite chilly (excuses, excuses) and I was a bit unsure if I wouldn’t be way out of my league. So I opted not to go out but it was hard not to.

Had a quick breakfast, tea and bread, then headed out to the highway to finally make some mileage going towards Wellingtonalong the :

As it turned out, I stopped often along the way to sight some other surf spots like Opunake, a well-known village dominated by surfing. It’s heyday glance faded. But what a beach! Horseshoe shaped !! Unforunately no real swell –(no good waves) . I watched a lone Kitesurfer kiting way out in the ocean,wondering / worrying if he was going to make it back . He did but way downwind in a neighbouring bay.

Driving on, I wandered through a village or two, and just slowly meandereds south. Took a long, long walk on a secluded beach at Kaupokunui Beach:

Then drove on.anytime I saw something interesting, like the Whale sculpture,

I’d stop and check it out. Towards evening, just a few k‘s out of Wanganui was Kai Iwi Beach which had a campground (very very nice as it turned out) and a good surf forecast for the next morning.Had the campground all to myself.

An Unbelievable Coincidence

Last night, after dinner, I was sitting reading next to my van, when a woman about 55 came over and said that the man sitting in the large new motorhome parked next to me had seen the bed in my campervan and recognized it as one which he had built for a German couple two years ago!!! She invited me over and I went in their motorhome and met the man, who is in the building business. He told me the story of the German couple who had come to buy some brackets to stabilize their self-made bed which was very wobbly. Instead he built a new bed for them for 10 NZD (6,-€). There were also two other couples there in the motorhome visiting and we talked for almost an hour about my travels, motorhomes, their travels etc.etc. The Kiwis are really so open, friendly, curious. Much more so than some of the European travellers I’ve met during my travels. They all remark about and enjoy the openness and friendliness of the Kiwis but are much often less open and relaxed themselves. One has to be persistent to „break the ice“.

Have been camping next to a Swiss couple for about a week, They are really quite friendly and are very avid surfers as well. We often spent a lot of time in the water together. They are both better than I am but i made a lot of progress in the last few days. We spent the rest of the evening yesterday talking about travelling and surfing while enjoying some wine. Today I got up at 7.15 for a quick cup opf tea and then an early surf session (because of the tide) . It was drizzling a bit but not cold and the sun soon came out. Then breakfast, a nap, some internet, reading and then off to New Plymouth to the Salvation Army Shop (2nd hand) and to Puke Ari Museum. Have to go back there with more time tomorrow.Great surf exhibition and film. Nice Museum and also want togo to the library for some free wifi and to check out some cd’s. Back at the beach it was time for another surf session.The waves had gotten much larger and were well formed. Since it was Monday it wasn’t too crowded either so I had some great fun.

In the evening another fantastic sunset.

Is anyone reading any of this? Would love to know.

Just Another Sunday Evening

Sunday Evening Had another fun surf session this afternoon. Caught lots of waves and am starting to ride the face. Now having dinner, steak with mushrooms, potatoes and sliced tomato (finally finished the noodles and meat sauce) A glass of wine, the sound of the waves breaking onto the shore and another beautiful sunset. Life is good.

Thoughts of the Day: Am I Lucky or What?

Or a Dream Come True! Today started off quite chilly, around 14 degrees Celsius or aout 48 degrees Fahrenheit but the sky was without a cloud and the sun soon warmed everything up. It was still low tide after breakfast so I drove into town and went to the bank. Then on the way back I stopped at NZ Telecom so that they could explain their different pricing options but I still don’t understand them. It seems that is the intention. Then I couldnb’t resist stopping at a surf shop where I also couldn’t resist buying a zipped Hoody from Taranaki Hard Core. It’s the first and only piece of clothing I’ve bought new here except for some tools I needed for restoring the camping trailer and couldn’t find used. I’ve been eating noodles and a spicy beef and tomato sauce for 4 days and I hope I finishged the rest tonight. When I gotback the tide had risen and the waves had gotten larger, about 1,5m, sometimes maybe a bit larger, with a light offshore wind, blue skies. It was perfect and so I hurried to get my wetsuit on and get in the water. I had lots of great waves / rides, it is alsways a rush / kick. Afte about 2 1/2 hours I had to get out for something to drink, eat and a short nap. Then I couldn’t wait to get back in the water for a shorter afternoon session. Afterwards, tired but very happy, I thought about how great, how exciting, and how relaxing the last 12 days have been. Even two days of rain after WOMAD were great for recuperating and reading. I meet new people everyday, if only for short conversations about travelling, where they are from, where they’re going, about surfing and on and on. Most of them are about 19-25 but some, not many are even almost my age. At the moment, just finishing my meal, looking out of the common campground kitchen window it’s another unbelievably beautiful sunset over the Tasmanian Sea. I feel like I’m living a dream. In fact I am living my dream. Feeling really really really fortunate.

Back on the Road

Now been back on the road for 10 days. Two days in Raglan, beautiful surf, then on to New Plymouth / Taranaki for the WOMAD (World Music and Dance) Festival for 4 days ( which took place despite the cyclone Zyklon)

and now I'm in Taranaki, relaxing and recuperating from the festival where I did volunteeer work ( so I could go to the festival for free and also for a good cause) doing waste management (Zero Waste Team). Now I'm camping along the famous Taranaki Surf Highway (RTE 45) waiting for good surf, reading (The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) and taking long walks on the beach. More about Raglan, WOMAD and Taranaki to follow.

more later

Roads Trip One, Day 4: Dolphin Day

We woke up early as the people on the tent spot next to us started packingleave at about 7.00 am.!! Opened and closed the doors of their van 57 times instead of just leaving the doors open! Oh well we wanted to get an early start anyway. Had breakfast, did yoga, cleaned up and packed the tent etc. and off to Russell. From there we had to take a short ferry ($11,-) to Paihia. Both villages have an interesting history as ports and are now very touristy but very nice. Full of young backpackers and families with kids, backpacker lodges and tons of activities to choose from: jet skis, ocean kayaking, kayak tours, snorkeling, paragliding over the water, wakeboarding, diving, and different boat tours.

We had booked a dolphin-watching tour that started at 12.30. We had hoped to be able to swim with a pod of dolphins, but that turned out not to be possible as the pod we found had young nursing calves with them. The weather was near perfect and the trip took 4,5 hours. About 45 minutes after we left the pier we sighted the first dolphins jmping out of the water.

they are awesome!

We later also saw a small (1,50m) mako shark.

It was a great experienceand a long time dream of Marlon's.

First Road Trip to the North: Tuesday the 14th / Wednesday the 15th.

After a nice breakfast and about an hour of snorkeling along the coast of Goat Island, we left the campground headed for Sandy Bay, just north of Tutukaka, a stretch of coast known for it’s beautiful coves and beaches.

We wanted to go to Sandy Bay:

http://www.tutukakacoastnz.com/sandy-bay/

because of the great surf forecast on:

http://www.swellmap.com/ and / or

http://magicseaweed.com/

The day was rated 8 / 9, which means well-formed waves, usually caused by light offshore winds. They were rather small (0,80 - 1,0m) which was good for us. Unfortunately, we got rather lost on the way and it cost us at least an hour and a half driving up and down dusty, unpaved, serpentine mountain roads looking for a sign to point us in the right direction. Finally found our mistake after asking for directions in Whananake. Hit the beach at about 3.00 pm

and stayed in the water until about 6.30 pm, when it was really time to look for a campsite for the night.

changing room / toilets

On the way back to Whananake to go to a DOC (Department of Conservation) campground situated in the forest direct on the coast, we realized we needed to get gas. That led to another long drive and we were beginning to get very anxious as to whether or not we would run out of gas. We had to drive all the way back to the highway heading towards Whangerei, when we finally found a station which was just about to close as it was already after 8.00 pm. Then it was back to Whananake, but by the time we got there the campgrounds were all full! So after our third attempt, we decided to risk it and just sleep in the van.We found a beautiful parking area by a bay, where we spent the night.

After a leisurely outdoor breakfast in Whananake we headed back to Sandy Bay for another few hours of surfing and viewing the Tutkaka coast before heading up towards Bay of Islands. We decided to stay at a DOC campground in Whangaruru, which was also very nicely located on a bay.

A relaxed evening. Tomorrow it's off to Paihia and Bay of Islands

First Road Trip to the North: Day One

Monday the 13th of January. Marlon and I wil finally getting on the road today. Still have to do some last minute shopping: 2nd hand shop (Salvation Army ) for more plates and other utensils ( I LOVE shopping in 2nd hand shops) then groceries (expensive here a 0,5 coke costs 2,25€ ) and 50$ diesel (which is cheaper than Germany = costing around 0,90 € / L, thank god. Wondering how the car will hold up. I think I may need to replace the cam belt (Zahnriem). By the time we left it was late afternoon and we got our first taste of an Auckland commuter traffic jam heading north out of the city. Bad planning, should have left earlier. Our goal for the day is to reach Goat Island on the East Coast, find a campground for the evening and if possible do some snorkeling in the Marine Reserve.

View Larger Map Found a great campground very close to the reserve. Kind of hippy-like atmosphere, very relaxed and friendly, great views of the ocean, lots and lots of kids friendly adults. In the evening a central campfire and we were soon engaged in lots of conversations with nice people. For example two sisters who had started family jewelry business (together with their brother). Now the one sister lives pretty much all the time with husband and kids in NZ while the other sister spends half of her time in London where the shop is and the brother living on Bali who also buys and sends jewelry to England. Marlon met some young ladies his age who were from Auckland and also into surfing. I was happy to see how easily he made contact and communicated in English. Common kitchen and recreation area.

Campfire and Pacific Ocean in the background.

Goat Island where we went snorkeling on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. Not as impressive as the coral reefs in the Red Sea or Thailand but still very interesting. Did see a few stingrays!

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