NZ for life

It has been a while since I last time had time and/or internet to write something to this blog. Last post was about last week in Wanaka, final days of riding and waiting for the road trip. Now it's my last week in whole NZ!! Can't really believe how fast four and half months has gone!

Last day riding up at mountain, Cardrona!

After leaving from Wanaka me and Meri continued road tripping around South and North islands. We saw some most amazing places and met so many amazing people. I could never believe there would be a country like New Zealand and people like Kiwis and other travelers around the world, it has just blown my mind. And now I'm counting the days to go back to dark, rainy, cold Finland.
I miss my family and friends so much, so it almost feels good to go home. But still I'm going to miss NZ and all the people I have met here.

While driving over 3000 km we experienced Milford Sound, the rainy West Coast, almost a week in a farm located to south-east corner of south island. Two days in Christchurch where you can still clearly see all the damage of the february 2011 earthquake. The ferry from Picton to Wellington and from there  670 km up to Auckland. While staying a week in Auckland we went to Snowplanet to have a last day of riding.

Milford Sound

After Auckland and all the driving it was time to settle down for a while again. The plans was to go and  try surfing for the first time of our lives. We chose Raglan, which is called as New Zealand's surf paradise. It's a small town with three points and one beach to find the best surfs in NZ.
With the locals help we found a 70's caravan for us to rent, located in a back yard of a flat. So we can use all the facilities of the house too. Pretty good deal, I could say!

Manu bay at Raglan !  ♥

Now three weeks later it has been surfing almost every day, and just lying in the sun when it's good weather. For me only enjoying my last weeks of my 4,5 month holiday. I brought my own wet suite and I'm learning to surf with a short board I'm borrowing. So there is no challenges missing!!
It has been three summer days now, and the whole weekend should be nice weather too. Two days of surfing in the point called Manu bay and today I'm heading there too. My last days of enjoying the sun and surf. On a Sunday or Monday I'm going to Auckland and on wednesday 29th I'm flying off from the country! Sad face.

Last week in Wanaka

Again its been a while since my last post. Nothing much has happened, just haven't had time to do it. Too stoked about riding or just being here! And I still don't have my own laptop or internet at house, so it makes things even harder to deal with. But I'm trying to post new posts as often as I can.

Now I have been six days without riding and gonna have at least few more. I hurt my shoulder while riding last Sunday, so now I have just seen physio three times and just chill with friends. It kinda sucks, we are gonna have snow anymore for a week or less if the weather is not good for us!! I want to go back there, shred and have fun with friends! And do some filming too before season ends!

We are going to give our house away at 8th of October. So we are here only week anymore! Sad face. Then the whole country waits for us to travel around. I would like to go to some farm and spent about a week there with sheep and other animals.

But no big plans yet, see what NZ is willing to give us!

Here is some pics you to see what it's like to live in New Zealand !

Lake Hawea

NZ has around 31 million sheep, there is 8 sheep for each human.

Camouflage cow

Kiss the fish

Family goes to holiday

Last week and half we haven't had the best weather here in Wanaka. It has been super windy, raining, storming and we even got thunderstorm at one night. Maybe three weeks ago i slept thru an earthquake. But luckily in last four days we have got some fresh snow, and it did save our season!
Now i hope we can ride almost a month more, then we take our car and leave Wanaka for a road trip around both islands. It's gonna be sick! Two months around a one of the most beautiful country in the world, I can't ask anything more.

Because of the weather we haven't have been able to go riding that much. We started to feel bit bored just being in Wanaka at our down days, so we decided to do family holiday to west coast. Our plans changed while the road to Haast Pass was closed. So we decided to go to east coast instead of west coast. We drove bit up to Omarama and then down to coast to thru Oamaru to Dunedin.

Poor Jake and wet shoes on first night of family holiday.

Moeraki Boulder rocks

In Dunedin three of six of us wanted to go to hostel to stay the night. Me, Jake and Bobby stayed in the beach sleeping in a car. At night we made a campfire to the beach, but it started to rain heavily so we
needed to stay inside the car whole night. In the morning we did campfire again, grilled some meat and marshmallows for breakfast.

Marshmallow breakfast

After the breakfast went to get Alice, Meri and Jules from the hostel and went to find a beach to hang around. We did find St Kilda's beach, which was beautiful. There we went to swim in South Pacific Ocean! That day was the first warm day we have had here this far. We could easily hang out just with our bikinis on in the beach, but the water was freezing cold!
Later on we continued our trip back to Wanaka thru Milton, Alexandra and Cromwell.

 St Kilda's Beach

Bobby, me and Meri did some yoga at the beach

The South Pacific Ocean was cold ! 

Few down days more, but yesterday was one of the best days!  Went to ride to Treble Cone some fresh pow, it was blue bird and i burned my face again! After riding day I did some homemade hamburgers for dinner for girls. It was better than Red Star!! Later on went to walk by the lake Wanaka under the stars. I did see three shooting stars, so i could do some wishes. Yesterday was a good day!

Down days

Barbababa travelling

My 2 year old niece gave me Barbababa plush toy to travel with me, when i left here. I promised to take pictures with the toy on, so she can see where her toy have been travelled. And i have to give the toy back to her when i go back home. So now on you can find that toy some of my pictures.

Saturday we went to Queenstown to see rail jams. Unlucky it was raining all the time when we were at rail jams. So we decided to leave before finals even started. First we went to eat some noodles, and after rail jams we went to one bar which has fireplace. To dry our clothes and to warm up.

Tuesday was my first day of riding after last thursday crash. Before that i have just been chilling and absolutely doing nothing.  On monday i went to the lake to take some pictures and found few pretty beautiful things from there. Hope now on i can ride as i have being riding here, my back feels already lot better than few days ago!

My seafood noodles, yummy!! 

In QT there were Gay ski week going on. 

Me and Meri at the rail jams, rainiiiing!

Stone hearts 

Views to town

Can't say what this bird was but it was huge!

Days off

Yesterday I crashed doing bs boardslide to down rail. Landed on my lower back and it's bit sore now. So i need to got few days off riding and figure out something else to do. Maybe gonna go tomorrow to Queenstown to watch Parklife invitational Rail jam. Few of my friends are riding there.

I went to see the physio today. It's just brused and sore. Pyhsio couln'd do so much about it yet because it is so fresh injury. But i will see her again in few days and maybe going back riding on sunday or monday. Depends how im feeling.

I was lucky that i didn't crash on to the rail. What almost happened. One of my friend here broke his back few weeks ago falling on his lower back, almost like the same i did yesterday. After the crash i was bit scared what happened. But luckily it wasn't nothing that bad.
Now i got time to do something else here in Wanaka. Hope i will get something nice to do!
Maybe doing some proper dinner some night for us girls and our neighbor skier guys. Night with wine, good food and chilling would be nice.

Life I just have dreamed about

We have been in NZ over a month already! I ride almost every day in Snow Park, but would like to try Cardrona and The Remarkables too. Those are nearby resorts here. I have done frisbee golf, tennis and some running beside riding too. 

Yesterday we had a dinner with our neighbor skier guys. Pasta carbonara, some wine and horror movie. One of them made me try to do one of the stupidest thing ever. Grab your left foot toes with your right hand, and jump over it. First time I almost did it. But i didn't keep that grab whole time. 

Second time i kept the crab but i didn't made the jump, so it was the best face plant ever!

I landed on my foot and hit my nose to the floor. Nose is okay but foot is bit sore, so i had day off riding today. Im going to see physio tomorrow, it's free here in Snow Park. Witch is super good!

Few finnish guys stayed at our place for a while. Our living room looked like that when they took their last stuff with them and we weren't at home.

I lined up all that wood by my self, there was 2 cubic meters of wood!

One of those blue birdies!

 On our way back down from the mountain, blue bird above the clouds!

Burton High Fives and some sheep making the real NZ feeling?!

 @ Orla's 26th birthday, moustache partyyyyyy!  

It feels so good just being here. Not working at all, just riding. Chilling here in Wanaka and enjoying my life. This is definitely one the best choices i have ever done.
Riding feels good and i have even started to like ride rails! Im not so scared of them anymore. And have learned new tricks too! Would be nice to do some filming, maybe next week!

Wanaka pics

Wanaka is super pretty!

You never get these kind of views in Finland from your couch!

This was ours first dive up the mountain to Snow Park, didn't seem that promising so far.. 

But this was the truth, Snow Park NZ !

One of the first lifts up

  We went to this beutiful, quiet bay for fishing

  But they broke the thing you fish with, so we didn't get any fish

And of course my first Fergburger, it's huge!!

Finally i got time to upload these pictures from our last two weeks in Wanaka. I should remember to take my camera with me more often, so i could share these awesome moments with you.