9 hours in Hong Kong

Hi there!

Not in NZ anymore...it surely doesn't feel like I have been away for 8 weeks. T-shirt and short will soon be replaced by a thick coat together with gloves and a warm cap. Anyway it has been great to share my experiences with you on the blog. The blog will of course still be around. Check it out if you want to know what I'm up to when I get back to Sweden.

In Hong Kong again...not very exciting to wait 9 hours at an airport. The food on the plane was actually really nice but it wasn't very much so I grabbed 7 bags of peanuts to keep me going during the 11 hours flight. I have already bought a sandwich and managed kill an hour but there is still 7 hours more to go. Jon Grisham's the associate will hopefully help me to kill off the rest of the time :)

See you!

Welcome home!

Ja nu är Markus snart hemma igen och det har varit spännande att följa hans resa här på bloggen! Nu kommer han hem på tisdag och det ska bli kul att få höra lite mer i detalj hur han har haft det, lite fler bilder lär jag ju också få se.

Jag har i alla fall frisknat till från svininfluensan och den var inte att leka med vill jag lova, om du inte har vaccinerat dig så gör det illa kvickt. Jag har svårt att se några bra argument emot men visst om man tycker det är värt risken att få hög feber, svinont i halsen och riktigt tung slemhosta så kanske vaccinet bör undvikas...

Nu ska jag fortsätta läsa "the lost symbol" en riktigt page turner!

Rafting

Hi

No time to write but I have enough time to post a pic from my rafting adventure today!

cool eh?

Markus in kiwi land

a bonus pic

This is a picture from the third day on the kiwi bus. The water was around 11 degres...

Still in Queenstown

This might be the last installment from New Zealand as I’m flying home to Sweden the 30th of November.

I have had a pleasant stay here in Queenstown as there are plenty of things to do. The town is surrounded by mountains there are a couple of things you could to if you want some exercise. I teamed up with another Swede and guy from Switzerland two days ago for half a day of mountain biking. I have never tried it before and the tracks proved to be really challenging and I walked half of the time…

I had a lay in yesterday as I had a big night out the day before…I didn’t want to stay at the hostel the whole day so I took my book with me and went for a walk. I found a nice spot and sat there reading for 3 hours. Great to have some time on my own!

Today’s adventure consisted of a 6 hours walk up to one of the mountains. My latest ventures into the world of extreme adventures (skydive and bungy jump) have apparently not cured my fear of heights. I fixed my eyes on my feet but I didn’t enjoy the final track up to the summit which reaches 1800 meters over Queenstown. It was still worth it in the end as the view was stunning and that I had managed conquered my fear.

So, I’m heading to Christchurch tomorrow BUT there is still one last adventure left, 3 hours of rafting at Rangitata. It is supposedly one of the best places to do rafting and I’m sure it will be great fun.

Goodbye from NZ!

another pic from milford

Milford sound

Milford Sound is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. As a matter of fact it is on the top 20 list of the natural wonders of the world. It isn't something I have concocted as it is possible to vote for Milford on the internet. The natural wonders of the world is by the way not any human construction it is the work of mother nature. There is, although a specific factor that could turn even the most spectacular place into something slightly less spectacular.. rain. The sky was blue when we set off from Queenstown but it soon shifted into a ominous greyish coulor and the rain started to pour down on us after a three hours on the bus and it followed us throughout the whole Milford trip. So Milford didn't exactly turn out as I had hoped for but the place still had some great sceneries to show off even if the rain did it best to hide them.

the jump

!!!

Hi there and welcome to the latest installment on the blog

Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world and I kicked off my stay with a bungy jump! K bridge, was the place where it all happened. It is actually the place where the first commercial bungy jump took place. So, it was a nerve-racking moment when I convinced myself to let go of reason and forced my body over the edge. It was all over after just a few seconds and I felt like a shivering leaf when they removed the bungy cord. There are loads of other crazy things to do around Queenstown but I might as well chill out for a couple of days and do some free stuff (yeah believe it or not, you don’t have to pay for everything in this country)

on the bus

Hi

It has been busy days on the Kiwi bus, lots of things to see and do. There are plenty of activities around and it is not too hard to spend more than a hundred dollar per day. The pick of the day for this text will be about a bar in the middle of nowhere. The bar is owned and run by Less, New Zealand’s oldest publican. No one really knows how old he is but he is a bit over 80...he worked at the bar while we had our wired dress party, boys in drags girls in rags. I'm not sure if I'd like to go into any details...there are some photos around and we'll see if they will return home with me to Sweden :)


Cheers

p.s I will do a full day walk on a unique glacier tomorrow, it'll be awesome or sweet as (kiwi expression)

Svinet tog mig

Jag ligger just nu nerbäddad i soffan hemma med feber, hosta och halsont. Orkar inte skriva så mycket men återkommer med en mer utförlig rapport om hur det är att ha svininfluensan. Om du inte tagit vaccinet gör det nu! Svinet är inte att leka med...

Abel Tasman

Yeah you might wonder who that is...well it is the name of the Dutch explorer that first discovered New Zealand. He named it New Zealand after a district in Holland...yeah Zealand. Anyway, today I went to a national park named after him. Our trip for 200 dollars consisted of 5 hours of walking to a spectacular beach where we spent the night in a tent. We took the kayaks back to the place we started. A great feeling to have lunch on a golden beach after 2 hours of paddling. I didn't go for a swim though since the water was around 14 degrees.

My journey continues tomorrow!

Osant....

F-n jag håller på att bli sjuk och imorgon skall jag upp till Stockholm för att på tisdag ha en intervju på Statsrådsberedningens EU-kansli. Nu har jag i och för sig varit rätt så seg de senaste dagarna så kan kan ju dra över men just nu känns det som om febern börjar komma krypande. Inte för att oroa folk men för några dagar sedan vaccinerade jag mig för baconsjukan och det känns som om själva vaccinet kan ha ett finger med i spelet... DOCK tycker jag verkligen att alla skall vaccinera sig, influensan är allvarlig och nu när staten ställer upp med fri vaccinering tycker jag det är vår plikt att gå till närmaste vårdcentral för att få sig en dos.

Nu ska jag ta det super lugnt och hoppas på att kroppen orkar med att bli frisk tills imorgon och allra senast tills på tisdag.

dolphins!

I swam with the dolphins this morning! I thought I would almost drown first as the water wasn't warmer than 11 C...I spoted a few dolphins just after 2 minutes! They were realy playful and it was a huge pod of dusky dolphins so we had great fun for almost 40 minutes....a mighty experience!

I will try to write more soon but the Internet at this backpacker's is robbing me...

All the best from NZ

on my way to the south

Hi

I'm at the airport in Auckland waiting for my flight to Christchurch. It is at the moment a bit colder in the south, round about 10-15 C but I think I have the right equipment with me. I said goodbye to Marina (we had a great time in the bay of islands) and I feel thrilled and a bit uncertain at the same time as it now is time to continue the journey alone. but I'm sure it will work out just fine :)

love
Markus

skydive

WOW what a rush! I was sooo scared when I sat in the tiny airoplane 3.5 km up in the air. The jump didn't last longer than a few minutes but and I didn't know what to when on the ground. My legs were shaking an I couldn't stop my breathing. But it was worth and it I guess I will be sort of high for the rest of the day :)

I'll try to find a INternet cafe with a card reader tomorrow, it'd be nice to post some more pictures.

over and out
Markus

Bay of islands

I have been in Bay of islands two nights now and it sure is a nice place, heaps to do and it is the perfect place for burning money :)

I won a twister competition yestarday and I got a 50% discount (or 2 for the price of one) on a tandem skyive...Marina and might do that tomorrow. I will be scared..

Anyway, the Internet time is runing out and I need to do some more stuff.

All the best!

I’m off

So the last evening in Auckland, everything is sorted and I’m ready to go. Well I haven’t cleaned my room yet and the clock is now 22:17 so I don’t think I’ll be in bed until 00:00ish. The great adventure will start tomorrow after school. The others and I will arrive to the bay of islands 22:00 in the evening. We haven’t booked accommodation but it will sort itself out…
I intended to make cinnamon rolls but I ran out of time so I went for chocolate balls instead. The family liked it and I’ll bring the rest of them for morning tea tomorrow so the rest of the teachers will have the opportunity to taste some gourmet food from Sweden 

Tonight is Guy Fawkes night in NZ so lots of fireworks all over the place. It is a tradition the British brought with them when they sailed for New Zealand. Guy Fawkes was, by the way a man that tried to blow up the parliament in London. Well he didn’t succeed so they burnt him on a bonfire; yes Guy Fawkes Night’s is also called bonfire night. This Guy (yeah a joke :) was according to some the only honest man to enter the parliament hehe
I will be in a youth hostel next time.
SEE YOU!

the picture is from the sky tower

Another pic

The view is nice :)

Rangitoto

Hi everyone!

A short hello from NZ. This is the last week and I’m extremely busy, lessons to plan and things to take care of before I leave for three weeks of travelling. I have decided to go for the kiwi experience; it is an organized bus tour which will take me on a 13 days trip on the south island. WOW, there are truly some stunning sceneries to look forward to. Anyway, I went to a old volcano outside Auckland this weekend. Christine (a friend from Denmark) went up on Rangitoto, as the volcano is called and enjoyed a breathtaking view and many hours of sunshine.

I hope I’ll have time to write some more, before I’ll leave.

All the best Markus