Biking in New Zealand – Part 3

Their money is plastic, you can wash it in a washing machine. To withdraw money, you need two different bank cards, linked to one account. There are no Slovenes there. Only about 200 Slovenes are registered. I met one family, a young couple and a mother and her daughter. That's exactly why the help I got at Žan Cimerman is invaluable. He and his partner Lea live in Auckland. He arranged everything from the bicycle box to the telephone operator. I realized what unselfish help means when I saw how he helped me.

Life can be very expensive. An average breakfast (eggs with bacon) costs from 8 to 10€ and the obligatory coffee is about 2,5€. I didn't visit a lot of restaurants because they're so expensive. And when I was there, I was looking at their pizza menu. By the way, you won't be able to find good pizza here. At the beginning of the trip I spent a lot of money on food and soon I realized that I had to do something. You need to become Robinson Crusoe, otherwise the trip's a financial disaster. If you're not inventive, you are the victim of your own lack of imagination. One of the two best ideas was that I put the shield from the cap to a helmet. I looked funny, but it was very effective. The second idea saved me a lot of money. I made a hole in the bottom of one shopping bag and put the carrier part of the other bag into it. So I had a bag that I could tie on both sides. If you put the toast in your bag, it's completely ruined. In this bag, however, it remained untouched. When I bought some spreads, I had 3 to 4 breakfasts for 8 to 10€. Obvious difference. I did the same way with cereal and milk, and with eggs. With one small innovation, I suddenly had a great choice of food. Even with dinner with I had some problems. When I found pasta and tuna sauce, I had four dinners for about 10€. The problem is if you grow tired of this food. I luckily didn't. So I didn't eat pasta all the time, I made dinners with chicken, potatoes and vegetables. This is the cheapest and the fastest. I didn't have time to make something fancier, unfortunately. Every evening I had quite a bit of work. First, showering and preparing dinner. Washing clothes if necessary. Planning the next day, financial statement of the day and writing a diary. Of course, it is mandatory to send pictures home and on social networks. All this took a lot of time and sometimes I went to bed a little late. Since I was on the bike for 8 to 10 hours at the beginning of the tour, I needed a lot of sleep. Accommodations can also be expensive. If you're not too sensitive about where you're sleeping, it can be cheap. The most expensive are motels and B&Bs, about 80€. In small towns you can get a hotel room for 30€. The cheapest bed is about 15€ in hostels, and 20€ in Backpackers hostels. In campsites, you can sleep for free, without shower water, or pay between 6 and 15€. In a small tent, I slept 33 times, in hostels 30 times, 4 times in a motel and 5 times for free. The weather was nice, so I could sleep in a tent often. I did not count, but I do not think I had 10 really rainy days. Rainy day means a very hard rain. The definition of a slight rainfall is such that something small sprays out of the clouds. You can ride in short clothes because it is warm despite the light rain. I had a lot of sunny days; the sun was even shining for 14 days straight. Especially on the southern island, where the locals do not remember such a beautiful weather. But that sun also has weaknesses. Because of the ozone hole, it is necessary to apply sun cream up to 3 times a day.

If you have a little luck with the weather, such a trip can be really nice. And cheap, if you are ready to spend some day sleeping in a tent. You will never be bored by the fantastic landscape and many travellers who are walking or cycling. Every turn of the pedal and euro spent are worth it.

The first days of cycling were difficult. I must thank my friend Krist Ferenčak, who made me probably one of the best travel bikes that you can see on the road. The bike worked smoothly for 3 months. No flat tire, broken spokes or any kind of problems at all. Only for comparison, Canadian Jean had four flat tires in five days. In the 70 days I cycled 5151 km, on average over 73 km per day. I travelled 1210 km by bus. I had 16 days to rest. If I say that I did not have problems on the way, I would be lying. There were problems, but they were so small that they were not even worth mentioning. I only made one wrong decision that cost me 30€. Everything I was doing, from bus services, ferry services and various reservations, I managed to do without problems. I should almost say that somebody likes me up in the sky. Ironically, the most beautiful moments on the tour were when I did not cycle. For example, sitting on a bench and watching the sea or the city at night. I saw, experienced and felt some of the most beautiful things in my life, and I must thank the sponsors for this. Without them, I would surely have to leave out an unforgettable event. It will sound cheesy, but I can say that it was a perfect trip. I got new experiences, I have a new goal, but I think that the biggest change happened to me when I figured out why I would still like to travel. In my opinion, the goal of the journey is not important, it's the purpose that matters.

Jerman Joži