Flashback: Herschel Island, Western Canadian Arctic 2015

I talk about travelling on my website and because of this, I also have to talk about one big experience I made! I joined the expedition "Yukon Coast 2015" (Herschel Island, Western Canadian Arctic) with the AWI (Alfred-Wegener-Instiute, Potsdam, Germany), which was very exciting and had a big influence on me. The expedition had a duration of 6 weeks and we had to pre-cook everything that we wanted to eat on the island. As you can see in this picture:

Some of us flew with the airplane to the island but some of us went by boat. In the picture below you can see boat.....

 No, just kidding! That is just a picture I like. I took it in Inuvik, Northwest Territories of Canada.
The next picture shows a retrogressive thaw slump along the coast on the way to Herschel Island.

 On the next picture you can see the camp where we stayed in.

 The picture below shows a retrogressive thaw slump. I stood on the slump floor and pointed the camera to the headwall. On top of the headwall you can see the active layer in greyish brown.

 I took this picture from the camp. 

 And the next picture as well.

Preparation/Vorbereitung

I've got so much things on my mind, that I lost track. 

I booked my ticket. Today I booked my accomodation for the first three days. I'm not sure if I have to or want to stay longer in Auckland. I found a hostel where the description says to help you with the IRD number and the bank account. A good service is very important at the beginning! They also help you with finding an accomodation for your next stay. I think I'll visit the Bay of Island right after Auckland. 

I figured that it will be easier to find a job in situ instead of via the internet! What I'm still thinking of is register for wwoofing.......I think I would save a lot of money and get in contact with the local people easier. 

I read every hostel description and every work & travel guide and nearly every new zealand travel guide.....and I still feel like I'm not prepared at all.

One important thing I still haven't done is getting all my documents together and taking copies!!

Ok guys, talk to you soon!

I have a tandme jump to do now

GERMAN---------------

Ich hab so viele Sachen im Kopf, dass ich anfange den Überblick zu verlieren!

Ich habe endlich mein Ticket in der Tasche und heute sogar meine Unterkunft für die ersten drei Tage gebucht! Ich weiß ehrlich gesagt nicht, ob ich länger in Auckland bleiben muss oder möchte, wegen der Beantruagung der IRD Nummer und des Bankkontos. Das Hostel, dass ich gebuchte habe, hat in seiner Beschreibung ausdrücklich stehen, dass es den Backpackern bei der Beantragung der IRD Nummer und des Bankkontos hilft. Ich denke der Service ist das Wichtigste in den ersten Tagen. Es stand auch dabei, dass sie einem bei der Buchung für das nächste Hostel helfen....ich denke ich werde dann zu den Bay of Island weiterziehen!

Ich habe ein paar Tage damit verbracht online einen Job zu finden und bin zu dem Entschluss gekommen, dass ich mich darum vor Ort kümmern werde. Angeboten wird oft ein Job für mindestens 2 Monate und das ist mir eigentlich zu lange, weil ich dann ja auch 2 Monate an einem Ort bleiben müsste! Ich bin mir immer noch nicht sicher, ob ich mich auf einer wwoofing-Seite anmelden sollte.....Ich denke, dass das wirklich dabei hilft viel Geld zu sparen und man gut und leicht mit den Einheimischen in Kontakt kommt. 

Ich hab mittlerweile jede Hostelbeschreibung, jeden Work & Travel Ratgeber und jeden Neuseeland Ratgeber gelesen......und ich fühl mich noch immer unvorbereitet.

Eine Sache, die ich unbedingt noch machen muss ist, meine ganzen Dokumente zu sammeln und Kopien zu erstellen!

Also ihr Lieben, ich melde mich wieder, sobald es etwas Neues gibt!

Jetzt muss ich erstmal einen Tandemsprung bewältigen

Packing list

Powerbank

Mobile phone

Tablet

USB-Stick with all your documents

Documents: Copy of passport, Visa, driver licence, bank account statement, insurance

International driver licence

Credit card

Cash....to buy bus ticket etc. Note: Change € to NZD!!!

rei in der Tube (detergent in a tube) really goof for travelling. I took it with me to Herschel Island, Western Canadian Arctic!

Flash lamp

penknife

watch in case phone can't get charged

nail clipper

sunglasses

scarf (texture: silk, helps in the warm as well as in the cold)

sunscreen

earplug

Bikini

socks

underwear

1x pair of leggings 

1x towel

1x vest

2x skirt

1x short Jeans

2x Jeans

1x Rain pants

1x Rainjacket

1x Jacket

2x Sweater

5x Tops

3x T-Shirt

1x trekking shoes

1x Flip-flop

1x Sneakers

1x normal shoes

….............that's too much right?................aaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhhhhhhhh

But the most important thing that I have not to forget are pictures of my friends and family. I'm gonna miss them. The friend in Màlaga made me an incredible photoalbum that I just have to take with me. And my friends in Dublin made me a very big surprise with a self-made travel diary that also will be a essential companion on my journey. I got all that to my birthday and a lot more useful things!

Like money:)

A waterproof dufflebag

An adapter

An eZeefit (mine is from http://www.ezeefitsports.com/Default.asp) OMG it is sooo great! I can recommend it!!!!

A travel guide

A headband

A sleeping bag

Oh and my camera of course!

3 weeks to go

Ok guys! 3 weeks to go and then I'm out. Out of Germany, far away. Like the furthest I can go. I think there is no place further away, instead of the Moon, or Mars, but let's not discuss that right now.

I already have my work and holiday visa. If you have any questions on that then we can talk about it!

I also have my ticket. It doesn't matter if you buy your ticket 2 month or 3 weeks before you fligh. But if you book a flight 6 month before you wanna fligh than it would make a difference! Before you book your flight be sure you if you wanna organize everything alone or with the help of an organization. It can make a difference of up to 600 € and more depending on how early you book. I decided to organize everything alone.

Things that need to be done:

You also have some stuff to take care of when living in Germany. One important thing is that you have to file for unemployment. Then you are registered as unemployed and won't have any problems when you arrive in Germany again.

You also have to make sure that you have enough money on your bank account. Print a bank account statement just before you fligh as an evidence for the officers that welcome you in New Zealand! 

I had also the problem, that I moved after I received my work and holiday visa, which by the way you can get just one time in your lifetime. If you have the same problem don't worry! I wrote an email to the immigration contact centre and they responded realy quikley that I don't have to worry. They changed my address in my record but no alteration needs to be done on my visa label, because the address is not printed in the visa label. So you can use your current visa even though your address changed. The only important thing is, that your passport number doesn't change. If that happens then you have to transfer your visa to your new passport but you don't have to pay the fee again. More information can be found here: https:
//www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas.

Make a list of the most important things you wanna see in New Zealand! Sightseeing!!! Yeah!!! Don't underestimate the budget here. You have to pay a fee to enter any national park.

You can already print your IRD-Number application online: 

https://www.ird.govt.nz/resources/e/7/e7ed55004ba395fa94a4bd9ef8e4b077/ir595.pdf

or

https://www.ird.govt.nz/resources/9/f/9f89c76d-f047-4bac-a153-83454206dd54/ir742.pdf

To get your IRD -number you need a bank account in New Zealand. I still have to find out how to do that.

Quit all the stuff in Germany that you won't need in New Zealand. I for example have an account at teilauto.net. It is really really useful in Germany, especially as a student when you have no car but it won't help me in New Zealand so I it would be just nonsense to pay for it while being in New Zealand.

Think of things you will need during your journey. Check the post packing list!

How to begin

This is the first time I'm blogging. See, who would start his blog like that instead of a beginner?! I'm not convinced by that...Well, maybe you are...anyway...I'm going to tell you now why I will tell you about my life: 

After my master's degree in geoscience I decided to travel a bit around the world. 

Because some friends are also enjoying foreign countries it was the thing to do to visit them. 

At first I visited my very good friend from Jena, Germany, in Spain near Màlaga for a week. We stayed at Fuengirola (Fig. 1),

                                                   Fig. 1: Fuengirola.
from where you can visit Ronda (Fig. 2) and Gibraltar very easily and not that expansive by bus. 

                                                   Figure 2: Visiting Ronda.

After that I visited another very good friend from Potsdam, Germany, in Ireland. Here we stayed in Dublin and travelled to the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge and to the Giant's Causeway in the very North. 

                                                   Figure 3: Carrick-a-Rede Bridge, Northern Ireland.

                                                   Figure 4: Giant's causeway, Northern Ireland...you can see 
                                                   perfectly hexagonal columnar basalt!! Isn't that exciting!

After receiving your work and holiday visa the most important thing that needs to be getting all the paper work done. Don't underestimate the costs of a work and travel holiday! Because I'm just a student and it takes quite some money to get around and live in New Zealand you can donate:) on my website: geoadventurewebs.webs.com/

The money will not only be used to get around New Zealand. No, that would be a bit boring right? I wanna make a challenge out of it. With your money I'm gonna travel from city to city and you can decide where to. I will start in Auckland going further North to the Bay of Islands. Also on the to-do-list for the North Island is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Wellington, Rotorua, Hot Water Beach, to be continued.....

If you read my blog and have any advice where to go to than I would be happy to hear from you!

I'll start my adventure at the 06.07.2016 from Germany and will arrive in Auckland at the 8th of July in the morning with a short stay in Hong Kong at the 7th of July. 

With my blog I will tell you how I'm doing overseas in New Zealand and I'm sure I can show you some nice pictures of the land of the long white clouds.