EDIT: People to meet and maybe stay with in New Zealand and australia!

Hi folks, I'm setting off on six months of travels in August. starting in California USA, skipping through the far east and ending up in New Zealand/ possibly Australia.

I'm looking for people to meet on my travels and possibly a couch or two to crash on
Also, I may be looking for the odd few days work in New Zealand, as I will be spending the bulk of my six month time there, so if anybody can help out with that, it would be most appreciated!

My mom says I'm cool but I certainly know cool people. I'm the gateway drug of popularity. Or something. If you're in Auckland at any stage we've got 3 weekly fire jams and lots more fun stuff happening. Can't help with work or accom myself but I'm sure someone can as we're all pretty friendly. Except for those of us who aren't.

Sounds good to me! I'll definitely be in Auckland at some point, I shall endeavor to come see you guys!

Give us a yell/ come down to Circo Arts if you get to Christchurch, we'll be able to find you a place to stay for sure!

Sweet! Cheers man!

*UPDATE*

I have pretty much decided to cut out the far east from my travels as six months is really not a long enough time to enjoy as much as i want to. This means I will be spending more time in Australia and New Zealand. Approximately 2 months and 2.5 months respectively.

I'm not too sure if i'll be needing any work, but I'm still thinking of getting working holiday visas for both, just in case I do find short term work.

I'm still in search of couches to crash on and people to meet, I want to meet as many of you lovely HoPers as possible!

Yea we have fire nights every thursday in christchurch NZ,
Come spin with us... xD

sounds good to me!

*UPDATE AGAIN*

My career break has been granted, I just need to agree the dates with my work now.

I have decided to spend the bulk of my time in New Zealand, so that I can visit as many friends as possible and meet loads of HoPers!

Apart from New Zealand, I think the rest of my travels are pretty much going to be decided on a whim. I would love to go to Borneo and see the orangutans, but that will depend on time and where I end up.

So.....I need as much Kiwi hospitality as possible folks! Going to be between august and december, exact dates nowhere near confirmed yet. Need couches/floors to sleep on, people to meet, suggestions of stuff to do, but generally all I want is a cool, chilled atmosphere and people who match that atmosphere!

hey theres generally a tuesday night spin in welly give us a message when your down this way

Sweet!

If you're round Levin sometime, lemme know - I can't help with work or accom sometime, but would be interested in a session. I'm a staff person though, not poi.

Right.....flights have still not been booked, what with all this ash cloud business bumping the prices up....but they will be sorted in the next couple of weeks.....The revised plan is:

August+September-New Zealand

October+November-Australia

December+January-Vietnam/Laos/Thailand


So if any of you lovely HoPers can help out at all with accomodating me, or even just for a meet up and a spin, please let me know. Also let me know where you are exactly, as this will help me determine my routes through NZ and Oz.

Thankyou all in advance!!!!!

Well, if you're coming through Levin one night, I'm keen for a spin sometime - I'm a staffer though, not a poi person.

I would like to offer you a place to stay... But we can't at the moment, we have family staying.

Tasmania, its like where you go if you dont quite want newzealand, but dont quite want austraila

Haha! Well, I'm doing NZ, but only doing a short time in Australia, as it's never really attracted me. SoI thought I'd do Tazmania just to see what it's like!



My revised and almost final Itinerary is:

2nd August- 15th October New Zealand

15th October- 1ST November Tazmania

1st October-10th October Australia (driving the great coastal road from Adelaide-Melbourne)

10th October-21st January Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Borneo. (not necessarily in that order)

*taSmania

sounds awesome! i´ll only be a month into my new job so probably wont be able to get extra time off but hopefully we can meet up, im sure i´ll have some normal days off in a two week period do you have any plans as to what you´ll do in tassie or where you want to go? anything you´re particularly interested in? if you just want to look around the island i´d suggest hiring a car for maybe a week of your visit or something, but i guess thats up to what you want to do and what your budget allows.

No Perth?
Oh well.

No idea what I wantto do in TaSmania, but that's mainly because I don't know much about the place! Any suggestions? whereabouts on the island are you?


No Perth I'm afraid, maybe on another trip in the future!

hobart, the capital, its probably the best place in the world. i will make a list of stuff you might like to do soon, i´ll have to think as i havent been home for four months atm!

Haha1 Thanks man. Will you be around whilst i'm there?

yeah i'll be around, start a new job in august in hobart

so things you might like to do in hobart could be:
.the cadburys chocolate factory tour/interpretation things (tasmanian cadburys is WAYYY better than english cadburys)
.the museum and art gallery, fauna display, rock display, oldish tasmanian paintings display, old furniture with rare tasmanina timbers display, a mummy(every museum has one! he's stashed under the staircase lol), and random visiting displays. tmag(free)
.Cascade Brewery tour (i'd like to do that, i've never done it)beeer
.'ghost' tour of the penetentiary (maybe)ooo
.salamanca market on a saturday picses
.go up the mountain, either walking, cycle tour, drive up on a nice day. pics
theres probably other things but i cant think of them atm.

and around tasmania easiest if you have a car or do a backpacker tour (i dont know what they're like):
.visit the Tahune airwalk (a suspension walkway though the canopy of a forest) and all the big old trees down that way treees
. the huon valley (on they way to or from the tahune airwalk) promo site (my gf might even be able to take you there since she lives down that way)
.bruny island boat tour, see dolphins and fishies and seals and rock formations in the cliffs and stuff shiney website
. go to richmond for a daytrip (north of hobart little town with a few nice shops, two mazes and the oldest still in use bridge in australia richmond village
. go to port arthur, old penal settlement 100km NE of hobart and the other colonial sites surrounding it.port
. freycinet national park & wineglass bay on the east coast (stop at kates berry farm yumm on the way there) purdy and
. the bay of fires further north of freycinet (Lonely planet top 10 places to visit in the world 2009) pics

ok so i havent covered the north or west of the state yet, but i think thats a good start for you to consider, oh also there are a few different wildlife parks near different places i've mentioned, zoodoo at richmond, tas wildlife park down near port arthur, bonerong wildlife park up the derwent valley (upriver from hobart) i'll think of a nfew more things up north later.

Dude, you had me at brewery!

How do you fancy doing that one with me?!!! Beer is always a good way to get to know people!

I arrive in Hobart about 4pm on Friday 15th October.

yeah sounds good! will just depend when i have a day off.

theres also the boags brewery in launceston that you can do a tour of.

Well, i'm around for 2 weeks, so let me know when you're free. Would be great to hook up and put a face to the name.

do you have any other plans at any time? i could probably make my days off together over a weekend or something (or possibly even get a day or two extra off).

also my gf said she wants to go to the brewery aswell, and apparently she is bringing her friend because they were meant to do it last year, its turning into a party!

Well, I have no plans at all for Tasmania, so we can meet up anytime you're free and i'll plan my stay around you. Are there any good hostels in Hobart that you know of?

Are you on Facebook at all? just that I think Facebook is going to be the easiest way to keep incontact with people and arrange things whilst I'm away. If you are, then my name is David Wills, and i'm from Liverpool as you know. I recently became friends with rouge dragon, so you could also find me through her, providing you had her as a friend too obviously.....i'm ranting again. *slaps self around face.

let's meet up in NZ somewhere man, Im over from 10th sep Will probably spend the first month in the north island and head down to south island to meet friends start of october..

yay! definitely!!!!! that has to happen!

request sent!

saaaweeet!!! any idea of where nd when youre going to be in all the different places in NZ?

I'm hiring a camper, so i could be in any place at any time! Get in touch with me...preferably through Facebook, when you arrive in NZ and i'll endeavour to meet up with you somewhere!

How bizzare is it that we only live a few hundred miles from eachother, but we're travelling several thousand miles to meet eachother?!!!

haha totally!! Ok PM me your real name/email and will get in touch...camper eh?? interesting..!

i've sent you a friend request already on FB. yep, a camper...i cant wait to go touring in it!

I'm also thinking of stopping by HoP in Christchurch, hopefully i'll get to meet some of the team that run this awesome online community!

yep man for sure Has to be done, its like the spinner's mecca! Xx

P.S. duly added

Right guys, i've explored the northlands and i'm about to set out to discover the coromandel and rest of the north island on sunday/monday...anybody fancy showing a lonely scouse traveller around?

roster requests are out, so im going to request 16th, 17th, 18th of Oct off to do stuff if you're interested?

Thats good for me man!

roster came out today, got the time off i'll book us for the brewery tour next week!

is right! sounds all good to me man!

Hiya all! I'm in Papakura just south of Auckland waiting on my papers to start a job. Arrived two weeks ago and could do with meeting some likeminded people. So, if you want to stop over on your way from/to ..., let me know!

I'll be on my way back to auckland at the beggining of October, Maybe we can meet up then. Y ou got any plans to go elsewhere in NZ?


On a side note, I went to HoP a couple of days ago and got myself some nice new cone poi and actually (briefly) met Malcolm!!!