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Christmas at the Downey household |
Saturday, 28 December 2013
A Kiwi Christmas
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Auckland Street art
Art is, in my opinon, the closest medium we can get to an true universal language. Most people can understand it, to some degree.
Friday, 13 December 2013
Six months
Thursday, 5 December 2013
WWOOFing
Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms is a network of national organisations that connects farms/hosts to workers.
Friday, 22 November 2013
Homesickness and how to battle it
In my opinion, travelling is one of the best things a person can do. To try something new. To experience something completely different. Trying out a new spicy dish in India, staying in a monistary in Thailand, pet a kangoroo in Australia, hiking in "Middle Earth", posing next to Big Ben and meeting new people from all over the world; that's living.
Saturday, 16 November 2013
The road so far
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Sweet potatoes planted |
Monday, 11 November 2013
Moving to Auckland
First I'd like to give a huge thank you to my friends in Tauranga who have supported me this week. Giving me a place to stay, food and support. I am forever in your debt and promise I will make it up to you in the future.
Also thanks to my friends and family back home in Europe, who've given me comforting words over Skype.
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One 90 litre hiking backpack, a 25 litre daypack and one bag containing my lunch and jacket. That's all my possessions (here in NZ). Backpacking and travelling on a limited budget makes you really think WHAT to pack and HOW to pack it.
As a result of quitting my job on Friday, two things happened; one, I became unemployed (obviously). Two, I became homeless. But you know what? It didn't scare me.
There's ALWAYS a job. It could be working as a cleaner at night in a supermarket or as a bartender in the trendiest part of town. My point is, there's always a job out there. And this year is also teaching me to let go and just take a leap of faith that everything will be fine.
I'm now waiting for the Intercity coach to take me up to Auckland, where I've managed to get some work on a farm, planting potatoes, for the next 1-2 weeks. It's not paid, but I work for food and accommodation (I will do a post about WWOOFing sometime later this week). It will allow me to take the train in to the city on days off and apply for jobs.
Any job. Pub, club, shop, kindergarten...everything.
I have really enjoyed my time in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. It's a beautiful place with amazing beaches and a laid back and relaxed lifestyle. So if all goes after plan, I'll come back to Tauranga for Christmas to see my friends.
But for now, I'm off to the big city of Auckland. See ya!
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(This post was published through a mobile device, so please excuse any spelling mistakes, basic photo editing or the general layout of the post.)
Saturday, 9 November 2013
TOP TRAVEL APPS FOR YOUR TRIP
I use it to take pictures (lots of pictures), update social media, check emails, manage my bank accounts, make notes, communicate with people back home, organize my travels, send postcards and GPS guide, on the numerous occasions when I find myself in a new city with absolutely no idea where I am.
My top travel apps 2013
Pro Capture (media)
Photo Grid (media)
News 360 (news/media)

One of the worlds top messinging apps. No username. No password. All you need is your phone number and you're good to go. When they add support to add several numbers, I'll praise it even more.

Opera Mini (communication)

PayPal (money)
In addition to day to day bank apps, like Natwest, Westpac or DNB, PayPal is great tool to transfer money across borders. Unlike traditional bank transfers, which often cost a lot of money, PayPal offers a cheap way to receive/send money around the world.
Triposo (travel guide)

Trip Advisor (travel guide)
Trip Advisor is probably my favourite travel app, because it's so comprehensive. It shows you restaurants, clubs, hotels, sights, attractions and more. On each listing you'll be able to read any reviews people have written. It's a great alternative to the standard "touristy" guidebooks.
Couchsurfing (community)

Juicedefender (lifesaver...)
Touchnote postcards (communication)

Bobs World Clock (tools)
Got friends all over the world? Or like to keep track when your favourite show is out in NY? This app will do just that. It's simple, it's easy to use and it takes hardly any space. You can add it to your home screen as a widget, showing up to five different locations.
Trip It
This app will organize and sort out all your bookings in an easy to access system. All you have to do is forward your travel itineraries to plans@tripit.com and it will build a custom itinerary for you (PS. Make sure you create an account first). You can also share it with friends and family, so they can easily see your route.

Sunday, 3 November 2013
VIKING ACTIVITY: The OGO
Located about 5 minutes outside Rotorua city centre (and next to the Skyline and Luge), it's perfect if you don't have a car or only have a day to do activities.
View Larger Map
We got the 99$ deal, which gives you three rides + we paid $40 ($5 each) to have the photos on a DVD. So all in all not bad. I say, if you've got $99 and you want to do something different and that's guarantied to make you laugh, then I say OGO is your thing.
(Conversion: 10$NZ = £5 / 8.30$USD / €6, 03/11/13)
Firstly the ball is filled with warm water and then you do a Superman and jump, or rather dive, into the ball. Then you, and possibly your partner(s), start rolling down the hill. At first you might do a feeble attempt of standing up straight and running, but I can assure you that will last mere seconds. After that it's arse over tit down the hill, often accompanied by an absurd amount of laughter. You can't help it. Is the thrill of rolling down a hill? Is it the dizzy sensation you get? Or is it that you just realised you've paid to roll down a hill in a piece of plastic? The latter being definitely worth it.
My friend Perine and I |
If you're in Rotorua and want to try something new, cool and absolutely bonkers, then I suggest you do an OGO.
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
VIKING ACITIVTY: The Luge - Rotorua
I mounted my GoPro on my chest and raced down the hill.
The Luge itself is a brand that can be found several places in New Zealand, in Canada and Singapore. This particular one is in the heart of New Zealand’s volcanic area, in Rotorua. The Luge has three tracks, scenic, intermediate and advanced.
It all starts off with a gondola ride, Skyline, up to the very top. Here’s you’ll have a great view of the entire Rotorua area. Then after having found a helmet and securly fastned it, you head towards the starting area. On your first ride you’ll be given instructions by the staff on how to ride cart, after which they will give you a stamp and you can get into a different line next time, taking you straight to the carts.
The track takes you down the hill, twisting and turning, while you take in the great scenery or perhaps race with your friends. If you haven’t done this before and would like to see some of the stunning view at the same time, I would recommend you start out with the scenic track. This is somewhat slower than intermediate and advanced, but is a good way to get used to the cart and see area at the same time.
TIP. Look for the white tent in the middle of the forest where the host weddings and events. There’s a parking space on the left side of the road (see markings), so if you want to take a look round you can do so there.
After a scenic ride, I definitely recommend you try the other tracks. I tried the intermediate twice and the advance twice. Both of which are heaps (loads) of fun and twists and turns. When you reach the end of each track, you’ll get out of your cart, place it on the conveyor, take the ski lift up to the top and do it all again.
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Weekend in Rotorua (mobile post)
Good morning (or evening, depending where you are in the world)!
Currently I'm on a holiday in Rotorua, with friends from my Auckland orientation. This weekend is absolutely packed with heaps/loads of adventure; skyline, zipline, zorbing/OGO balls, mud pools and more.
So far it's been a great weekend and I can't wait to show you all! Hopefully by the beginning of next week I'll be able to show you all the videos and pictures from the trip.
In the meantime, here's a picture from onboard the gondola (Rotorua Skyline).
Stay tuned and see you soon!
Monday, 21 October 2013
The 101 things I want to do before I die - My bucket list
Not long after, I typed up my first bucket list and hung it on my bedroom door. It didn't have that much on it, but a few on the things still remain on my current list. It stayed there for many years and slowly I started to tick a few of the boxes.
Unfortunately the original list was lost, but I managed to remember most of it and have added many more dreams over the years. Until now, mine has been a word document saved on my computer.
A bucket list is a list of stuff you'd like to do. It's not like the ordinary to-do lists people make at the beginning of the week to feverishly try to balance work and spare time. No a bucket list is a list of dreams, activities and adventures you would like to do some time before you die.
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December 2012: Licence - Though this is a fairly new dream, a few years back I suddenly wanted to get my motorcycle licence. Still have to buy a bike, but I'll get to that one day. |
So why should you have one? Well first of all, it's important to have a dream. A goal. Something to aim for. It doesn't have to be huge like becoming the President of a country. It could be something as small as making you grandma smile every Saturday by bringing her flowers. Point is that we all need to embrace that inner child in us. That "Peter-Pan" stage of our lives where everything is possible if you only believe.
You can go about it in many different ways. You can make a scrapbook with recycled paper, use an website to manage your list or fill a wall with colourful post-its. Point is you need to find a way that suits you. It's no point me telling you what is the right way, cause there ain't one. What I will do however, is tell you how I went about it.
Draft it on a piece of paper (or on your computer). Just write, or draw, whatever comes into mind. Remember, this is your list. Not your dads or your best mates', it's yours. The stuff you put on this list might seem silly to others, even borderline rude, but to you it means something. That's all that matters.
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I bought this leather bound notebook with high quality paper. |
The final version should be something you've put some thought into. Like I said at the beginning, this is not the average weekly to-do list which has got the groceries on it. This a list of life. Having said that, nothing is set in stone. You can add or change your list. Only rule is that it's your list.
My way of doing it is having two pages for each goal. On the left page there will be a headline with the dream and pictures from it. Then on the right side I'll write about it, what happened, where I did it and how it was.
By spending some time with it, you make it special. It's not just another piece of paper to go next to the pile of bills or in that folder on your computer where you save all the mixed documents. Nurture it. It's your new mantra. Your new Bible if you want to call it that. It's a reminder about your dreams, about your goals. So if, and you probably will at some point, feel a bit lost in your life you can look at your bucket list. You've done the hardest part, identifying your dreams. All you have to now is make them happen.
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Put your personal touch to it |
Now, some people might say that you should only put stuff that realistically can happen on there or that they think you're capable of. I think you shouldn't. My personal opinion is that you should write your dreams down, regardless how unrealistic they may seem. I put "Present at a TED talk". Now, I'll admit that I'm not any close at the moment in receiving an invite to speak at an TED event, but who's to say it won't happen in 30 years from now? Point is, don't limit yourself. It's your dreams.
William Arthur Ward once said “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.”
Here's my bucket list (in no particular order)
My bucket list
- Live in a different country- V
- Travel by myself - V
- Travel to Oxford - V
- Travel to Venice (Italy)
- Travel to Australia
- See the Sydney Opera House
- Celebrate New Years in London - V
- Celebrate New Years in Sydney
- Celebrate New Years in New York
- Do Route 66 (USA) on a motorbike
- Travel to Scotland
- Travel to all seven continents
- Europe - V
- Asia
- Oceania/Australia
- Africa
- North America
- South America
- Antarctica
- Interrail - Travel Europe by train
- Travel to the end of the world - V
- Travel to the north of Norway and see the Northern lights
- Travel to Svalbard (Norway) and see polar bears
- See the Pyramids of Giza
- Travel in a hot air balloon
- Experience weightlessness
- Swim in every ocean
- Pacific Ocean - V
- Atlantic Ocean - V
- Indian Ocean
- Southern Ocean
- Arctic Ocean
- Go to the airport and pick a random flight and go there
- See the Eiffel Tower
- Travel to the North Pole
- Travel to the South Pole
- Fly a plane
- See an active volcano (active as lava)
- Have a pint at the Oktoberfest in Munich
- Travel to Pompeii (Italy) and see the stone people - V
- Visit the Amazon Rainforest
- Cross a country by foot/bike
- Attend the Mardi Gras in Sydney
- Ride the cable cars up the hills of San Francisco (US)
- Celebrate St. Patrick’s in Ireland
- Get a degree from university - V
- Get a degree or certificate from University of Oxford
- Work as a bartender
- Get a job I love
- Work for Travel Channel OR National Geographic
- Work with kids - V
- Volunteer for an orphanage
- Find a job I’m completely happy in
- Work as a teacher
- Be a jury member
- Study philosophy and/or psychology
- Open a cafè in the countryside
- Volunteer for a charity - V
- Run my own business - V
- Sleep under the star one night
- Learn conversational Spanish
- Learn a Sign Language
- Learn to play the piano
- Be two places at once - V
- Find a cure for my animal allergies - V
- Get a motorcycle licence - V
- Improve my handwriting and write more letters/postcards - V
- Pet a kangaroo
- Get a book published
- Drive a Ferrari
- Do a skydive
- Spend a few weeks in a buddhist temple
- Run a marathon
- Get over my fear of heights - V
- Get a tattoo - V
- Read every book I own
- Have over 500 books in my own library
- Watch the sunrise on the beach
- Hitch-hike
- Get six pack abs
- Have a “slow-motion-moment-with-family/friends-at-the-airport”
- Make a difference to in someones life
- Do karaoke for one whole night in a bar/pub/club
- Take a photo, every day for a year
- Run a club/hotel in Greece
- Send at least ten messages in bottles - V
- Ride a camel
- Own my own house
- Go zorbing
- Be on TV - V
- Take dance lessons
- Salsa
- Ballroom
- Samba
- Hip-hop
- Go to a P!nk concert
- Learn to juggle
- Attend the Olympics somewhere
- Get an article published in a newspaper - V
- Meet a Royal
- Attend an art class and learn how to paint
- Do yoga (for a minimum of 6 months, twice a week)
- Learn archery
- Swim with dolphins
- Climb one of the World Seven Summits
- Donate blood
- Fall in love
- Have kids
- Fire a gun
- Go on a safari
- Wear a kilt
- Eat insects
- Write my memoirs
- Have my own “Hallmark-perfect-Christmas”
- Milk a cow
- Present at a TED Talk
- Find my Narnia in the back of a wardrobe
Now it's your turn, dream, write and do it!
If you would like to share it or need any tips, feel free to comment below.