Assessing long-term backpacking

Backpacking is quite different from other modes of travelling. Long-term backpacking is another beast altogether. By backpacking, I mean all your stuff on your back and no car to stuff things in or get you around. Long-term is measured in months, not weeks. With shorter-term travel, you can cheat a bit or just suck it up and ignore things. On a longer trip, everything must get dealt with sooner or later.

I am on a long trip (2 months out West with some of that Wwoofing, some travelling about and some at relatives like sister, brother and niece, followed by 2 months in New Zealand and possibly 3 more months in getting myself back to Canada by circling the globe).

FOOD

It took me awhile to get my food setup the way I like. What to look for in the stores, what can be found in big/small stores/towns, what to carry each day. In Ireland, every little joint had little salad bars and fresh bread. Not so in New Zealand. I am getting enough fruit/veggie/protein in any one week, as consistently as possible. In my bag, I carry some utensils (hostels lack), tea/coffee/sugar, cheese, pepper/salt, some form of bread, muesli, some fruit, a few chocolate bars and water.

My breakfasts are yogurt, banana, muesli, juice and bread. Lunches are bread, cheese, fruit. Suppers are pasta/rice affairs, sometimes with meat, always with cut veggies.

Break from the routine is a sandwich shop or Asian noodle place for lunch. Food is expensive here, restaurants doubly so.

CLOTHES

I am carrying 2 shorts, 4 tops, sleep/swim/rain gear, shoes/sandals, a fleece top and nylon jacket. Very pleased with the setup. The 4th top has not been used and is for social emergencies, should I really mess up on the laundry, which I do in sinks or hostel setups as often as possible.

No real sense of missing something or dragging stuff around.

TRAVEL

Doing a lot of hitch-hiking (pleasant surprise), a decent amount of walking and buses in and out of cities. Booking hostels in advance if they involve Friday/Saturday. Booking online and using the option to Txt me instead of chasing down printer access.

Happy enough with how much overhead this entails and how long I stay in places, at least 2 nights. I like hitch-hiking into a town and finding a hostel, getting to know the place, find the Info place and a good grocery store, then touristing.

The Wwoofing is hard to match up with your own schedule, but really, has been working out well. My itinerary is quite flexible.

Trying to deal with airlines/embassies/visas is always a real pain. Outside your own country, the very idea makes me flustered.

INTERNET

I have found lots of access, just the cost is too high, averaging $4-5 an hour. They even charge for WiFi, so your own PC is not cheaper, just more convenient. If I had an open Data device (like iPhone), it would work out cheaper and more convenient. Damn! I miss reading online a lot. Realistically, I would like an hour online, everyday.

BUDGET

With the Wwoofing, this has been working out as expected. That being said, the little stash of cash just keeps diminishing. The surprises have been internet, toiletries and misc stuff: flash drives/museums. With flexibility and last-minute decisions comes higher travel costs. It's a pain, but I really enjoy the floppy front-end of my travelling.

People do travel cheaper than me, but I am happy with my price points.

WWOOFING

Glad I Wwoofed in Canada before coming here. each setup is quite different and while there are usually frustrations along the way, overall, the experiences are quite positive. The work I did staying with the Maori family was the worst job ever, yet, for the week, it was all balanced out by the very positive, cool cultural experiences. That is why I am travelling, for the new experiences.

SOCIALIZING

I have been sleeping in dozens of places and setups (beach, deck, hostel, couch, bed, plane, etc) the past few months, meeting new people everyday (hostels, hitch-hiking, Wwoofing). I enjoy the whole routine and have made some new email/Facebook friends along the way. Some people, you just click with. I am interested in how people get through their lives and have found people interested in my take on the world.

I am comfortable with my age and past experiences and don't feel that age has too much effect on my social interactions. The only real exception is bars. I have been in a few. Besides the expense I am not a late night, crazy, boozing person and never really was. I have been in a few situations like this, but not for long.

OVERALL

I feel that I am the right person at the right time for this trip. I enjoy the lifestyle, my body is enjoying the stresses I am putting on it. These many situations force me to be much more flexible in dealing with all situations, always a good thing. It all feels good.

I have been lucky enough to get in a bunch of hiking, running, biking, swimming and even some surfing. Some of the hikes have been astounding (Comox, Tofino, 90 mile, Tongariro).

Now, the real question is how to get back to Canada, Do I do what it takes to get thru China ($$$ and visa concerns). Do I have what it takes to backpack India?

Who knows. The doors are still open. The road beckons

Tongariro Crossing

Left Mount Maunganui to hitch to Rotorua. Nuce ride in a truck (my first)with Kui, a really nice guy from Fiji. We exchanged emails as his son is headed to Korea to teach English after Xmas. Stayed with Maureen and Geoff in Rotorua. Maureen is Ralph Rickard's sister. I met them in Halifax when they were there for Amy's wedding. So cool to visit people in completely different surroundings. Had a great visit and got in some hiking in the Redlands park, including a sunny dip in Blue lake (there is a cool spot you can see Blue lake and Green lake at the same time). The next day we spent the morning in the hot spa pools and they drove me to Huka Falls (amazing flow), then Taupo.

Trying to recover from first illness of the trip, a big, bad chest cold. First time ill since I left Dal, so can't complain. No fun to be sick while travelling. Just want to sit in a big, hot tub with a radio and beer.

Got to do the Tongariro Crossing while in Taupo. Nice big volcano hike. Weather at the top did not allow for sitting around and taking vista photos (sleet, high wind and freezing temperatures), but was very cool, nonetheless. Would do the hike again in a second.

Serendipity

There are lots of styles of travelling. Many of the hostels here are full with people who buy cars and travel for a few months. Makes many tasks easier, some harder. Dad a few friends whose cars have broken to the tune of over $1000. My style is just plain backpacking...some walking, hitchhiking and buses to deal with cities. Food is a problem. If I stay in a hostel for a few days, I can buy decent groceries. I have to use up most of my food at each stop. I carry bread, cheese, tea and muesli all the time (and have had to use it as the main meal).

Not knowing where I am going or when can be a bit more expensive. Tough to book flights, hostels etc at the last minute. Of course, the other side of this coin is flexibility. Each day is wide open.

My brother Jon and I have had quite a few discussions about serendipity, where good things happen as a result of your openness to let anything happen. A few examples:

Hitch-hiked away from first Wwoofing farm in Kaingaroa at 7:30 in the morning, heading towards Cape Reinga (top of North island, about 120 kms away). The plan: drop my Dal keyring there and get to a hostel later on. I received a number of rides, including a Dutch girl who invited me Wwoofing in Bay of Islands and a number of locals. At Waitiki landing, there people came up to me an offered me a ride. They had seen me the day before swimming in Doubtless Bay (during the tsunami warning) and we had chatted for a bit. I end up with a ride up to the Cape, lunch, a swim in Toputuputu Bay, a visit to the sand dunes, a ride to the remote hostel in Henderson Bay (It just opened, I am first backpacker of the season) and an invitation to visit them in Christchurch, which I will do when I visit Sue's sister, Judy.

A very cool day that just fell into place. The next few days I spent walking, swimming and surfing in 90 mile beach.

My last week with a Maori family was serendipity. While I was back in Kaingaroa, I received an email from a host. She had seen my profile and was asking if I wanted to work in Tauranga. I said yes and ended up with a cultural experience as a highlight of my visit to New Zealand so far. Spending the week with a local Maori family was quite the experience. A very social, interactive culture. Those big, dramatic faces that can look so intense really light up when they are smiling. Everyone I met was very kind, friendly and interested in what us Woofers were doing or where we were from.

A very cool week that had no premeditation, I just replied to an email because usually hosts don't chase volunteers. Like flipping a coin, let's see what happens.

Last example: Daughter Sophie was also in new Zealand for a month. She was South, working her way North, and I was doing the opposite. We would have met in Auckland but she opted for a quicker flight back to Canada to see Michelle and get ready for Korea.

Good news for me? Looks like I will fly to Seoul to perhaps spends Christmas with Sophie in Korea. Been looking at Wwoofing sites already. If I get there, who knows. To head West, I now can look at China or India.

Like I said, this style of travelling has it's own rewards. I love the flexibility and of course, the resulting serendipity that can just fall in your lap.

Kaingaroa and 90 Mile Beach

Three weeks in New Zealand already? Somehow December seems like just around the corner. I'm still only 100+ kms from the top of North Island. What have I been doing? Walking, Wwoofing, swimming, surfing, backpacking, hitchiking, roofing, weeding, schmoozing. It has been a blast. Such a cool country to be in. Spent the first few days in Auckland, getting over jet lag, getting the phone setup, checking out buses, bars, museums and walking about. This place is expensive.

Headed up to Paihia (Bay of Islands - funky town)) for a night, then hitch-hiked over to Kaitaia for a night, then walked 20+ kms to my first Wwoofing farm. Gorgeous scenery, much like Ireland, but with low mountains and a lot more cultivation. Interesting week on the farm. Lots of horses, dogs, cats, goats, birds, mini-horses, geese, rottweilers. Allergies held up good till about 4th day, then deteriorated from the overload. Took a few days away from the farm to recover. Really loved tramping about the farm in my big rubber boots. My hosts got me to 90 Mile Beach and swimming in Doubtless Bay. All in all a pretty cool week.

Took 5 days off to backpack and had an astounding time. Will do a post about serendipity after this post. Hiked up to Cape Reinga, the sand dunes and back to Henderson Bay and stayed in a really cool hostel with great hosts. Walked 25 kms the following day and spent a few hours on 90 Mile beach (absolute heaven). Next hiked to Ahipara and the funky hostel, Endless Summer on the beach. Spent a great night partying and went surfing the next day. The local conditions had every surfer within many kms showing up in the pouring rain. Too cool.

Next day, I walked the 35+ kms to my next Wwoofing farm (still in Kaingaroa). Spent the week digging up soil that was mostly clay. Toughest physical work I've done in awhile. I was the only Wwoofer that week and stayed in a bunk-house, making my own meals. Alone except for dropping up for a glass of wine or beer with the hosts. Really enjoyed the week, and it gave me some space.

Been travelling for 3 months now and spend a lot of time in social situations. Nice to be alone with my thoughts for a few days. Next hiked to Paihia again and spent a great day. Would love to spend a full week here, but the rest of NZ beckons. Bussed to Auckland, got my phone back, my haircut, got up on the internet and news. Baseball, hockey and football don't exist here and most of my online time is emails, Facebook, hostels, buses and Wwoofing. The hitchhiking is great here. Takes a few hours to go 100 kms, usually 3-4 rides from a mix of Maori, Pakeha (non-indigenous New Zealanders) and tourists. The topography is stunning, and I'm still just peeling the wrapper.

90 Mile Beach - Heaven!