I love being in the outdoors and I've spent many years hiking throughout New Zealand - both on and off track. New Zealand has some amazing outdoor recreation opportunities.
Through this channel, I'd like to share some of my experiences and inspire others to get outdoors and enjoy what New Zealand and the world has to offer.
I thru-hiked New Zealand's 3000km long Te Araroa Trail from Cape Reinga to Bluff in the 2022/2023 season, and I am currently spending a few months exploring Europe - from Norway to Albania.
If you made it this far, I would really appreciate it if you subscribed to my channel and followed my adventures :) Your engagement will always help me grow my channel and improve my videos in the future.
I will be at A Lofoten to Leknes for about five days moving around the area . We don't intend to do any ferry tour . So should I purchase A Four Days bus pass or just pay as I get on board the bus . How to check the fares for the buses ? thanks
Hi, sorry for the late reply - I’m in Iceland right now!! I bought the youth one month bus pass for the Nordland region (about €30 for the month for under 25s). I’m not sure about the value of the other passes but the youth pass was definitely worth it for me. You can see the prices and buy them (and single tickets) in the Reis Nordland app, which covers the whole Nordland region (all of Lofoten and quite a bit more). You need to have some kind of ticket on the app to get on the bus. Hope that helps!!
@@onthetrailnz Thanks for your response . What is the average pricing for a single trip to hop into a bus for Lofoten ? We are a senior couple , anyway to check the bus pass for a week or month ? Thanks.
@@user-bw4up2hu7x I think the standard 7 day adult pass for Nordland is 1290 NOK (about 110 Euros). I'm not sure if there is a senior one available. I didn't really look at the prices of the tickets since I had the pass, but I know for sure that for the trip I did, the pass was worth it. Individual tickets are quite expensive. With either a pass or a ticket, the only way to buy and use them is with the Reis Nordland app (or the Troms Billet app for the Troms og Finnmark region). You can enter two points on the app and it will give ticket options and should also show you the passes. You can't use paper tickets or cash - they aren't sold there.
Thanks for your efforts, not only enjoying your travels but keeping your loyal followers up to date...and carrying not 1 but 2 large rucksacks! I was surprised just how many tourists there were in Sarajevo and it isn't the height of the tourist season yet. That bridge is so well known, sadly for all the wrong reasons but it seems they've spent a lot of effort rebuilding the bridge and the town itself. Looking forward to the next installment!
@onthetrailnz that was a black out for all this countries Greece,Albania,Montenegro,Bosnia and Croatia, in Albania the power never cuts three time per day, good video tho
Wow, that ice cave looked awesome but well dodgy! How was that snow slide escape down the hill haha? Great scenery thanks so much for another amazing video
What an adventurous day out, nothing like adding abit of stress to your leisurely stroll up the hill😮 The first city you were in was a linesman dream...so many overhead powerlines, bags not fly a kite! Another great video JP, keep em coming😊
Haha yes definitely one of the less relaxing hikes I’ve done 😂 All those power lines and there’s still about 3 power cuts a day - the system clearly doesn’t work 😂
Snakes. Bears. Wasps. Stinging nettles. Ah! The challenges of overseas travel! Nothing too dangerous to worry about in NZ. Yeah, ongaonga and bush lawyer aren’t cute and cuddly but won’t kill you (probably). You’ll appreciate Aotearoa on your return and all it has to offer. Great you’ve chosen to visit some pretty unusual countries too. Not many venture to Macedonia, Albania etc.
Love seeing the actual old buildings, makes me giggle when NZ signs say 'historic' site😂 You were looking like a true kiwi backpacker for a while there...love the new hairdo. Another great video JP, keep em coming and safe travels x
Haha yes - everyone European that I’ve talked to that’s been to NZ has said the same about the old buildings! I think I should have just kept the old hairstyle going and turned into true bushman style 😂
It’s a shame Albania has such a negative reputation. Thanks for showing the great scenery - nothing like what I expected and presumably nowhere near as touristy as much of Western Europe. I’m based in the UK so it’s only a few hours away and now somewhere I’ll consider visiting, and of course tramping in the mountains. I’m impressed by you carrying rucksacks Jared, especially when you seem to find yourself walking real distances around to your accommodation! Hope the drone footage is working well for you and I look forward to seeing the results later in the year. Not sure H&S would approve of the footbridges though!
Yes it’s definitely a beautiful country and definitely not as many people around compared with Western Europe! It’s definitely worth a visit! I thought the same about those footbridges - some of them were pretty shaky 😂
OMG, what fantastic scenery, I didn't realize Albania was so mountainous...just beautiful. Those bridges could do with abit of a tickle up, OHS would have a field day if it were NZ. Keep living your best life JP, great video.
Amazing scenery, great your using your drone again! Seems like your still doing plenty of miles on foot!! Love those beautiful beaches, mountains and scenery. Keep up the great work and happy travels.
Thanks for watching! Some of those beaches were pretty amazing! The water could definitely have been warmer, but I guess that’s what you get in April 😂
Well done, looks nice ah! Love that old town called Bar (however you spell it) looks good and waterfall trip! thanks for these video's, I suspect not so many people get to explore Montenegro like that :)
Thanks for watching!! Yes it was great to explore the old town and was definitely a bit of an adventure to that waterfall - definitely worth it though 😁
Amazing went to Montenegro last year as we have family in Podgorica you have done justice to this beautiful country I can’t wait to go back enjoy the rest of your amazing trip ☺️
A fantastic video JP, and the scenery is just beautiful. The monastery looked so tranquil, and the way it is set into the rock is architectural and engineering brilliance. I'm still wondering where all the road cones are😂 Looking forward to the next epic installment, stay safe❤
Thanks for watching!! Some of the building were definitely pretty amazing! I don’t know who came up with the idea to build the monastery there though 😂 Still no sign of road cones in any of the other countries around either - I think the NZ government must have bought the worlds supply 😂
..and you even managed to bring along a drone! No wonder you were carrying so much weight in those rucksacks. Just imagine how crowded these places would be in the summer. You chose well going off season.
Haha yes the drone is definitely a bit of extra weight, but so worth it for some of the videos I’ve got in Norway, etc. There would definitely be a lot more people in the middle of summer - I’m heading to Croatia soon which is going to be much busier!
Phew! You do well to navigate thru such unfamiliar surroundings, using your wits to jump onto local trains, get yourself accommodation (yeah, of varying quality!), find your way around very untouristy places etc. Great that you've covered the usual haunts (Paris, Brussels etc) but now have branched off to visit some pretty exotic locations - especially when you have to make every decision on your own. Just so different to your tramping in NZ (although I bet you miss that). Thanks for finding the time to record then edit your material. All really good quality and I look forward to seeing more of them!
Thank you! It’s definitely different to the more touristy spots here! After a month in the Balkans, I’m still getting used to the complete lack of timetables for busses/trains! I definitely miss tramping in NZ - being over here has made it appreciate it so much more, so I’m looking forward to getting back into it when I get home 😀
Another great video...gotta love the graffiti on the train, must remind you of NZ😂 Bar looked beautiful, and what a lovely man for taking you through his property...restores ones faith in humanity😊 Looking forward to the next video.
Thanks! Haha the graffiti was definitely a bit more extreme here - in most of the trains you can’t see out the windows at all - real communist era trains! 😀
Haha, mainly because it was cheap 😂 and also because you can only stay 90 days in the Schengen countries, so I had to head to Eastern Europe for a bit before I go back next month 😀
Great job. It's lovely seeing the old narrow paved roads, reminds me of being in France with mum dad uncle Craig and poppa Pete some 21yrs years ago...just beautiful. Montenegro sure looks like it will be a fun adventure looking forward to seeing that video. Have fun x
Awesome series of videos from your TA! Planning to hike the south island as well next year! Would you recommend bringing a drone on the TA or is it not worth carying the weight? I have a DJI mini 3 so it’s not that heavy, but it’s quite bulky in its bag
Thanks!! Personally, I would probably not recommend carrying it. I took mine (at that time DJI Mini 2 - now I have the Mini 3 Pro) for a few of the shorter sections where my parents were able to drop if off to me at the start of the section and pick it up at the end. But it would be very annoying to have to carry through the longer sections where you need to have more food like the Richmond’s or the Waiau Pass
Such a lovely walk with the old stone steps and Rocky cave style trails...again I'm in awe of the cleanliness, puts NZ's clean green image to shame to be fair. So pleased you found some food. Question...what do the campgrounds you stay in look like (I assume they have facilities for showering and doing laundry? Another lovely video, keep up the great work and happy walking.
Yes it was beautiful! The campgrounds are very basic compared to NZ ones - they have toilets and showers and usually some kind of shared area to socialise. But the majority don’t have kitchens, which is very annoying and I wasn’t prepared for. They are more expensive as well (usually about $35 NZ a night). It’s been pretty easy to find vegetarian food in that area as well, but where I am now in Montenegro and Albania, it’s much harder…
