Kia ora mai Aotearoa!

October 14, 2021

Hello from New Zealand!

Don´t worry! Although I have become familiar with those standard Maori language phrases over the last 22 months, I will certainly stick with English for this journal.

How to get started though? It´s been such a long time since I last posted something on my where-abouts as doing that was always directly related to an upcoming cycle trip. And that hasn´t happened for almost two years now since I last left South East Asia and that horrible pandemic has taken the whole world into its stranglehold.

Thanks to the strict measures of the New Zealand government the country was basically "clean" until the re-opening of the border related to the TransTasman bubble with neighbouring Australia in August 2021. Some returning traveller brought the Delta variant into New Zealand and as soon as that first case was identified the government stuck to its previously announced elimination strategy and put the country instantly back into a full lockdown. Now, 10 weeks later, the virus has not been erased but unfortunately my travel plans have.

I had all flights back to Germany (via Australia and Singapore) booked for the beginning of September but was obviously not able to leave the country. This is not a complaint though! Although I was and still am very disappointed I could not go "home" after such a long time of not seeing my family and friends I am extremely grateful to be where I am. I do disagree with some of the most recent restrictions put on "my" Northland region but we are all going through unprecedented times and everybody has to accept some limitations that do go against your very own interests I guess.

However, I loved every minute of all that fishing I have done recently but now I am very eager to finally get those wheels rolling again and it looks like Thailand is more or less opening its borders for international visitors from November. There will still be restrictions but the "Phuket Sandbox Model" has given them the confidence that allowing fully vaccinated international travellers into the country will be more support than threat to the local people.

Accordingly I changed my order of travel: South East Asia first, Europe for the 2022 spring and summer season. My flights into Bangkok via Hongkong are now booked for December 3 and I wish to spend the European winter in Thailand, if possible spiced up with some sidekicks into neighbouring countries (Cambodia? Malaysia?). In succession I will reunite with my family in Germany in March 2022. See whether all that works out this time but I am somehow confident..... Probably more wishful thinking than anything else but just pressing that "Create Journal" button certainly reactivated those dormant travel bugs :-).

Still a few weeks to go before I will board that Air New Zealand plane in Welington and although it is not directly related to cycling I wish to fill the gap until my departure by posting a couple of pages on how I spent those 2 years here in Aotearoa. Without any doubt one of the most attractive places on this planet!

I spent most of the last 2 years in Houhora Heads, up in the very Far North of New Zealand. Almost entirely about fishing...

.....and only very little cycling, like here at the Kapiti Coast/Wellington Province. And even then I had a fishing rod aboard.

While I have reduced myself entirely down to bicycles as mode of transport back in Germany, I own and operate two vehicles here in New Zealand. This is owed to my "Kiwi way of life", entirely dedicated to outdoor activities. One of the cars I need to relocate my accommodation...

...the other one to tow, launch and retrieve my fishing dinghy

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Andrea BrownFRANKIE!!! Good to see you again. We'll watch your entry into Thailand with great interest, please take copious notes on your process.
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2 years ago

Frank RoettgenTo Andrea BrownANDREA!!! I hope you and Bruce got well through the last 2 years. Have you been able to do any cycling? One of the very few things I don't like about New Zealand is the cycling-unfriendly infrastructure and I have had less saddle-time than ever. So I will have to be sensible and take it easy when I hit the Thai roads in December. I will certainly let you know in detail about the process of entering the country. I guess I will still have to go through the sandbox model but my understanding is that things will be almost back to normal come 2022. So book your flights too!!!!
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2 years ago

Andrea BrownTo Frank RoettgenYou might want to check "The Thaiger" news channel on Youtube for up-to-the-minute Thai visa news, to see the latest Thai entry rules, which change constantly. We're sending you, the canary, into the coal mine first. Bruce broke his back this summer and is just now out of his brace, but no surgery was needed. We have another grandchild arriving in March so we probably won't be spending any time in Thailand this winter. We're just going to have to vicariously through your journal, so now the pressure is on.
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2 years ago

Bruce LellmanBoy am I ever happy to see you again, Frankie! This has been a hard almost two years. Hard for Portland too with smoke from forest fires so thick that we had the worst air quality in the world for a week last summer. Then an ice storm hit us in Feb. that took out a LOT of old trees. In June a heat dome descended over us and created three consecutive days of all-time record high temperatures, even at night. It didn't rain all summer so everything dried up. Then in July I broke my damn back! Yes, a ladder was involved. And, oh yeah, Covid has been lurking the entire time. But, now that I see you are back, I'm totally optimistic. Welcome back!
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2 years ago

Frank RoettgenGosh, that sounds like some very rough 24 months indeed, Bruce! Will your back injury still allow you for some hours on the bike? My 2 years were rather uneventfully pleasant in comparison to yours! Hardly any Covid impact at all until the Delta variant hit NZ too. I had to cancel all plans and flights but at least it looks like there is some light at the end of the tunnel now. Actually posting my journal so far ahead of my actual trip is a strategic attempt trying to push my luck....I keep my fingers crossed for a full recovery of your back! Frank
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2 years ago