New Zealand 2015/16

Surfing in Oz

Surfing was a major part of our vacation in Australia. So here is a blog-post with some pictures of the surf-spots and beaches we visited along the east-coast between Sydney and Brisbane.

The best part about surfing in Australia (compared to NZ) was probably the water temperature. While the temperature is about 20 to 22 degrees Celsius in the north of NZ (which is pretty nice if you have a wetsuit), its around 24 to 26 degrees in Australia; and that makes a huge difference!

Going for a swim at Nambucca Heads.

Warnings at Shelly Beach: sharks, strong currents, marine creatures like jellyfish, submerged rocks etc etc
Australia is definitely a bit more dangerous than New Zealand...

Byron Bay, most certainly one of Australia´s most famous surf spots.

Surfing is exhausting - time for a nap on the beach

Surfing from dawn til dusk - evening mood at the Gold Coast

Greenmount - probably my favorite surfing spot in Oz. In the background you can see the skyline of Surfer's Paradise (Gold Coast). A few hundred meters to the right you can find Snapper Rocks - a world famous break where Australias Quicksilver legends surf some of the best waves the Pacific Ocean has to offer.

The beach between Greenmount and Snapper Rocks.

Our spot at the beach with our backpacks and the surfboards.

The waves were flattening out, so it was time for a break with the beautiful skyline of the Gold Coast in my back.

Eating lunch at the beach - joined by one of the in-numerous wild turkeys.

Greenmount

Seeking some shade from the scorching sun.

Wild turkeys patrol on the beach.

Time for a nap

Our first and then two weeks later also our last surfing spot in Oz: Yamba

My summer job: Avocado-Picking in Pukenui

From November 15th until Christmas I spent my time in the neat little town of Pukenui in the far north of New Zealand working as an avocado-picker. Here are some impressions from the Holiday Park I stayed at (together with all the other workers) and my job.

Those cabins would be our home for the next 5 weeks.

View from our cabin onto the bathroom and kitchen buildings.

Our kitchen and terrace with the barbecue.

Kitchen, bathroom and lounge from the back.

Our kitchen at the Holiday Park.

View from the terrace down onto the lower parts of the Holiday Park.

The upper part of the camp site where some of my co-workers (all of them Canadians) slept in their vans.

An avocado tree loaded with fruit. From a typical tree you can pick between 100 and 300 avos!

Rows of avocado trees in the orchard.

The avos are either picked by hand, if they are low enough to reach them, or with a pole like the one in the picture. The poles vary in length (between 1 and 4 meters) and have a scissor on top to cut the avocados loose from the stalk. On a typical 8 hour day our crew of 12 students and backpackers would pick around 30 000 avocados.

And last but not least a few pictures from our local beach in Pukenui where we could relax after a hard days work.

And on the weekends we drove to Ahipara or the 90 Mile Beach to go surfing.

The Blue Mountains

At the end of our journey through Oz we decided to go on a day-trip to one of the world´s most famous national parks: The Blue Mountains near Sydney

Unfortunately it was a pretty rainy and unusually cold day, but that didn´t prevent us from exploring this beauty spot highly motivated and with lots of fun.

The entire Blue Mountains region is covered with millions and millions of eucalyptus trees. On a nice and warm summer-day the oil of these trees evaporates and coats the whole region in a blue gleam.