Tag Archives: auckland

Couchsurfing…What is Couchsurfing.org?…

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Couchsurfing (www.couchsurfing.org ) has been a very influential thing in my life thus far having first signed up to it in February 2007. I found out about it from a random guy on Gumtree when i was looking for advice from people who have toured around the States. My housemate Dave and I found the site and instantly thought that the idea of having loads of people from around the world come and visit us was awesome and the next day we had our first Couchsurfer coming to stay and on some nights we had 13 people stay. ;) Little did we know how much of an impact it would have on our lives.

What is Couchsurfing then I hear you ask?

CouchSurfing is a corporation that is the world’s largest hospitality exchange and social travel network, connecting a global community of travelers, adventure seekers and lifelong learners dedicated to sharing their cultures, hospitality and authentic experiences. Couchsurfing was founded by a guy called Casey Fenton in 1999 and it became public in 2004 and is run from San Francisco. It was a non-profit organisation up until last year where it turned into a B Corporation ( a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems).

CouchSurfing connects more than 4 million members in 86,000 cities via its website and mobile applications. It is free to register and you create a profile like Facebook listing your interests and you have the options of either listing yourself to either:

  1. Meet people in your area for a coffee/drink, or join an event such as a weekly meetup group, sport group or language exchange, you can search for people with similar interests, age (just a number ;) and location.
  2. Hosting people- Here you can host people for however long you like in your spare room or couch who are currently visiting your area.
  3. Surf- Stay with somebody when you are travelling in another city.and get a locals knowledge in the area you are visiting and discover things you would not normally know about.

I have had some epic experiences from Couchsurfing having hosted over 350 people in 6 countries and met well over 500 people through it! Most of my close friends I have met through CS and even though I have mainly hosted I have stayed in mansions as well as average couch’s around the world (awesome experience in Montevideo, Uruguay…hosted by a dog) ;)

The mission statement of CouchSurfing is:

Create Inspiring Experiences….At CouchSurfing International, we envision a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter. Building meaningful connections across cultures enables us to respond to diversity with curiosity, appreciation and respect. The appreciation of diversity spreads tolerance and creates a global community.

What about hosting or staying with some weird people?

This is usually the first question most people ask and there are three methods designed to increase security and trust, which are all visible on member profiles for potential hosts and surfers:

  1. Personal references, which hosts and surfers have the option to leave after having used the service.
  2. An optional credit card verification system, allowing members to “lock in” their name and mailing address by making a credit card payment and entering a code that CouchSurfing mails to an address of their choice.
  3. A personal vouching system, whereby a member that had been vouched for three times — originally starting with the founders of the site — might in turn vouch for any number of other members he knew or had met through CouchSurfing, and trusts.

Out of all the amazing experiences that I have encountered I would say discovering CS is definitely one of them! I have met so many amazing people from around the world and had experiences that I never would have had staying in a 5* hotel or other accomodation. So why not? If your interested in discovering new cultures and how other people live then sign up for free now and see if you have a similar epic experiences! :)

Website: http://www.couchsurfing.org/

My profile on CS: http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/lordhickey/

5 Must See Places to Visit for Auckland, New Zealand

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Auckland city which is also known as the ‘City of Sails’ is the largest and most cosmopolitan city of New Zealand with a population of about 1.4million people. Although it is quite a large city it has a small town vibe to it with everything within access and a friendly feeling to it.

There are plenty of things to do in Auckland for everyone, whether it be sailing across to one of the beautiful islands such as Waiheke or Rangitoto, sailing on the America’s Cup Yacht, going kayaking and fishing or walking or jumping off the tallest building in the southern hemisphere the Skytower, there is fun for everyone.

 

Auckland city from the bridge

 

Below I have listed the top things I recommend to do when visiting Auckland in no particular order! :

1) Island hopping: Take a sailing trip or ferry to Waiheke island for the day and explore the great beaches and secret bays on the island as well as checking out one of the 30 or so Wineries there and sitback and enjoy the views over a glass of wine! Just a 30minute Ferry Ride from Auckland Harbour, it is definitely a great day trip! http://www.fullers.co.nz/

B) Take the ferry to Rangitoto island which is a volcanic island which last erupted 600 years ago, it offers great views at the summit of the island and back towards Auckland and beyond. There is also walking trails, bird-watching and fishing opportunities.

 

2) Check out the Skytower: The largest tower in the Southern Hemisphere at 328metres, the Skytower is an impressive landmark to visit to say the least. Whether it be having dinner at Orbit the revolving restaurant, shooting in the lift to the top of the observation tower to enjoy the 360degree view, taking a SkyWalk on the outside of it or even taking the Skyjump off it! (www.skyjump.co.nz). Definitely worth it on a great day or clear night! Orbit Restaurant: (http://www.skycityauckland.co.nz/Restaurants/Orbit.html)

 

3) Waitakere Ranges: Take a scenic drive to the Waitakere Ranges to see Piha Beach (www.piha.co.nz) amongst others and enjoy the amazing views, great hiking trails and good surf at some of the beaches!

Otherwise a road Trip around the Coromandel is also another great day trip with breath taking sites along the way! Both are great trips! (www.thecoromandel.com)

 

 

4) Popular spots in Auckland: Check out Mission Bay (www.missionbay.co.nz) and St Heliers for a great view of Rangitoto, good cafe culture, and good old Fish and Chips. Also there is the cafes and bars in the Viaduct Harbour and eateries in the Wynyard Quarter (www.waterfrontauckland.co.nz) which is a relatively new area since the Rugby World Cup. For a hike and great views of Auckland check out one of Auckland 49 volcanoes, I would recommend One Tree Hill in Cornwall park which is beautiful and then also Mount Eden.

 

5) Auckland Museum and Art Gallery: Auckland Museum and Art Gallery are both quality places to visit, the Museum is free if you say you live here and allows you to discover the history and culture of New Zealand through a well structured layout. The Art Gallery has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand with over 15,000 artworks and are currently showing the Degas to Dalí exhibition. www.aucklandmuseum.com/ www.aucklandartgallery.com

I hope you enjoy your time in Auckland and some of the great places above and I appreciate any feedback you might have! cheers! :)

Auckland at sunset

O’Hagans Irish Pub 5km Running Race Series, Viaduct Harbour, Auckland.

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The O’Hagans 5km Fun Run Series in Auckland is a social out and back race situated at the America’s Cup Viaduct in the center of the city which occurs every Tuesday evening at 6pm from October through until the end of May. I first found out about it in late 2011 after running a 10km in the Auckland domain which occurs every Thursday and somebody told me about the O’Hagans 5km run if I am looking for a good social run.

Always being up for something new I turned up the next Tuesday and have run it quite a few times now and have enjoyed every one of them. It is a well run race where you meet at the back of the pub and pay $7 to enter and receive your number which entitles you to a Free Beer/Wine or soft drink at the end of the race! This sounded great to me from the start  having never been to anything like that in England or even heard of it and certainly something to look forward to at the end!

 

 

The race starts off outside of the pub at the market place on the side of the road, Phil the organiser explains the route for any newbies and the race starts with a few bends of the Waitemata Plaza, right at the Vodafone building and out to the turn around point and back the same way that you came. (See the route at the bottom)

I would say it takes a few races to be able to run at your optimum as it takes a short time to get to know the course and where to cross and which bends are coming next etc. After a few runs you will be able to shave off quite a few seconds of your time I do not doubt as on my first race I was just looking to run with somebody of similar pace to show me what the direction is and have since taken 25seconds off! You run by the sea at one point which overlooks the Harbour Bridge at one point so you can also be enjoying the view. ;)

 

 

After you have recovered from the race which finishes next to the pub then you just hand in your race number behind the bar to receive your free beverage of your choice! It is a very enjoyable race with a good social bunch of people afterwards and is something which I would recommend people to give it a go when in Auckland. They even have spot prizes at 7pm with bottles of wine given out and a $100 bar tab up for grabs!! :) bargain! Enjoy!

The results are posted on the website below usually a day or two after and the bottom link is the map of the course! :)

Results: http://www.coolrunning.co.nz/

Map: ohagans-course-map

 

 

 

Auckland Bridge Bungy Jump, New Zealand…Bucketlist tick No. 23. :)

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Bungy jumping is one of those activities that has always been high on my list of things that I wanted to do in life. So many people have experienced and enjoyed it and I was given the pleasure of a present from a special someone (thank-you) to do a bungy jump off the worlds first harbour bridge Bungy Jump in Auckland, New Zealand. It was awesome!! :)

A group of about 10 other ‘jumpers’, a handful of spectators and I walked the 10minute bridge climb from the entrance of the bridge and then up to the top which stands at about 43metres high. I was embracing the views which overlook the city and then the fear started to dawn on me a bit more as I got closer and then climbed up into the ‘jump pod’ as they call it that I was actually in the here and now and would shortly be jumping! I looked around and started to see the similar fear on everyones faces and the jump order was read out which goes by the heaviest person first so I was to be jumping about the 4th in line.

 

Having a bit of banter with the instructor...;)

 

My name was called up and I sat in the chair (see picture) to have the harnesses put around my ankles and measured so that my head would dip into the water! I had a bit of banter with the instructor as he told me that this harness looked particularly rusty and he was not sure! ;) With the music blaring I then stepped out towards the edge and stood on the platform, did the mandatory look at all the cameras and smile and pretend you are not scared at all and then I bit the bullet and dive jumped off! :)

 

 ’The Plank’

 

The free fall feeling is amazing as you see the water rapidly coming towards you in a few seconds and then before you know it…SPLASH! your head dips under and out and after 3 bounces you pull the cord on your ankle to allow you to go into a sitting position and then I was hauled back up to the ‘jump pod’.  I was then back 43 metres high still pumped from the experience and back with all the other jumpers and spectators!

 

Pumped for life! :)

Overall it was a massive adrenalin rush that I would recommend anyone to do! :) Get out there and embrace this experience! You will not regret it! (http://www.bungy.co.nz/auckland-bridge)

 

Awesome view back onto the city!