My first destination on the South Island was the Hangdog Camp in Takaka. It was supposed to be a good place to hook up with other climbers. It turned out different. I did´nt find a lot of serious climbers and got charged 2,50NZD from a Belgium guy to climb with him and his rope...nothing is for free he meant, hilarious!! So I end up baking pizza in the clay oven with Nico a french shepherd.

I renounced climbing and contacted Zack an excentric canadian Adventurer witch I met in Wellington before. We managed to organize a four day kayak trip in the Abel Tasman National Park together with Nico and Vincent an other canadian traveller.

Paddeling in a sea kayak provides acces to remote landscapes. A totaly new way of locomotion for me.

And it gets you close to wildlife as well.

Vincent is passionated for seafood. He was collecting mussels and baby clams. Good for us. We had yummie sea food pasta!

The crew. In fact we did´nt know each other before we had a great time. It´s great when things work out like that.

Finaly we got the chance to see dolphins at sunset in Golden Bay. Life is sweet!

Cape Farewell my first contact with the tasman sea.

landscaping.

windy roads makes driving fun. glad to have a vehicle.

Hokitika on the westcoast, sea and a first taste of real mountains.

It is spring in the southern hemisphere. Weird.. after fall in Canada. The weather is changing at least two times a day. Feels like April in November.

Finaly enjoying the benefits of beeing a parking lot bum again.

As 1500 other tourists as well I did the famous Tongariro alpine crossing.

To avoid the crowds I did a little detour and climbed Mt. Ngauruhoe witch is also known as Mt. Doom in the movie "Lord of the Rings". On the summit I met Christoph from Bavaria. He decided to join me for a quick descent on the approximately 400m gravel slope. One of the most enjoyable "Schotterritschn" runs ever.

I like signs in general. But it made me really happy to discover two good ones at the same spot.

In Wellington I had to go through some bureaucratic barriers for my upcomming travels in Asia. So waiting and killing time. Besides sightseeing, a lot of walking and tea brakes I got to see the Governor-General of NZ as well.

Wellington is a hilly windy city with a vast network of mountainbike trails in it´s backyard. To defeat the weariness of my soul I rented a bike and it´s been totaly worth the money. Man-made single tracks made me smilling again immediately. And of course the f.....g rear brake is mounted on the wrong side here as well. I never did such a graceful highsider since a long time ago.

New Zealand is well known for it´s strict biosecurity rules. I got a free shoe wash and my tent has been inspected as well. Altough the officers have been very friendly it felt a bit like entering an airforce base.

The first days in Auckland have been crazy for me. I have been used in travelling independly for the last four month. Millions of tourists (mostly german backpackers...), expensive food and public transportation made me feel unconfortable quiet a bit. I realised: I need a vehicle soon!! I went to a car auktion, different market places and did many phone calls. One day I was even pretty close to buy myself a bike, just to escape from that mess.

Finaly I bought this Honda station wagon. It was not cheap and it is not in perfect shape, but it drives and I got a buy-back option by the dealer in auckland as well. I appreciate the street signs, they help me a lot driving on the other side.

I went straight to Rotorura where I got to know the kiwi guy Neil. He is really into US cars and he was keen to help me out with his tools and a set of used speakers. Seems like cars were a very big thing in this country.

Some work needed to be done. I built a sleeping platform with storage underneath - pretty much the same way I did it in the Subaru I drove in Canada. Yes, the broom stick came with the car..

Rotorura is the city with the most dynamic thermal activity in NZ. There is mud pools and steaming hot springs in people´s backyards. In addition you get to enjoy an intense eggy odour almost anywhere in town.

Back on Vancouver Island means back into the woods!

I got the chance to stay with my friend Taylor in Sooke again. He is an expert for any kind of traditional, outdoor and self preserved food. There we had hering eggs on hemlock branches with home made sour kraut for lunch. 

Up in Comox I met Mike "the mushroom man" again. He took me out to Mt. Washington and I we had a good harvest. Pounds of chanterelle, boletus and one cauliflower mushroom in a couple of hours. It´s been a blast, never found so many shrooms on one day!!

I wanted to get on a summit a last time in Canada and hiked up to Mt. Albert Edward in the Strathcona Provincal Park. It´s been a long day and I did´nt enjoy the flat approach but since I was on top it has been totaly worth the effort.

Obviously I have´nt been by myself. Thanx for the warning. 

Big Foot was watching me. I should have brought my footprint plastering set ...

I have been busy with selling my car and getting organized for the next stage of my journey in the last days. So it has been great to stay couchsurfing with Biff & Deb. They are passionated bike-travellers, easy for them to fill up my backpacks with new inspiration. Thanx guys I appreciate your support and I definitely had fun!

It´s pumpkin time in Oregon and there is already snow on the mountains.

Elias and me spent about 10 days in Smith Rock. This is the place where sport climbing in north america was developed. Old school then. The first bolt is rarely lower than 5 meters above the ground. If I have had a clip stick I would have brought it...

Scenic view from top of the monkey face.

I met Ryan from California. He carried an extra bike with him. So we went for a ride in the backyard hills of Bend. Uhhyeah... I love these fall days. Thanx man!

After more than a month climbing, camping, driving and a lot of fun together I had to say „good bye" to Elias. He is going back to Switzerland and my travels will lead me to the southern hemisphere soon. „S´is hure guad xi, Herr Pfarrer!"

After a long time out in the woods I felt like having urban life again. Together with the local Ben I explored Portland on a fixed gear bike. I realy enjoyed cycling this social and bikefriendly city. On top there are lots of breweries, bike stores, coffee shops, freaky people and the biggest book store I´ve ever been to.

 

Columbia River, the largest river in the Pacific Northwest, trenching it´s way through an impressive landscape.

The nights are getting colder and fire wood is rare in the desert like environment.

We stopped in Vantage witch offers exhilarating climbing on basalt columns.

Endless roads and magic light in northern Oregon.

Trout Creek is the place to be in terms of trad climbing. Local climbers enjoying the fall sun.

The current political situation in the USA is affecting my travels as well. Actually in a good way. Free Camping!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crack climbing is still a new world for me. I have had a hard time learning how to jam up the steep cracks. Despites it is a really exhausting exercise it´s a question of gear as well.  

An epic sunset and Mt. Jefferson is totaly compensating the physical effort.

 

Rain and the opportunity of more climbing made me change my plans an other time. I decided to join Elias on a little road trip in the states. For sure we had the obligatory border crossing issue. We did´nt bring US dollars to pay the visitors fee. So we got sent back. Technicaly we did´nt leave Canada, but the Canadian custom officers had a different point of view. They sacrified some time checking our cars and wondering if we brought any fire arms... At the end of the day we entered the country of endless opportunities.

Elias got a this fancy jacket in a second hand shop and tried to camouflage immediately on the street. In Austria we would call him a real „Werama"!

One morning I woke up in my car when I captured this photo.

Our first destination was Leavenworth in Washington. This comunity decided to give the town a bavarian touch in the sixties after economy broke down. The definitly hit their goal. One european stereotyp is chasing the other. You could shop in the „Marktstrasse" hang out at „Cafe Mozart" or have a „Weißbier and a Brezn" in the beergarden. Even Starbucks and Mc Donalds are bavarian styled. Hilarious, I like that..

Besides trash on a high level there is excellent granit climbing in leavenworth as well. Cruising the last pitches of outer space on snow creek wall. 

All we wanna do is trad.


 

Traditional swiss no gear anchor after the crux.

Satisfied after a great climbing day and happy that my cold did´nt get worse.