Tidy your room

My parents are both warm and loving people who raised my sister and I fairly well considering the pure hell I put them through (I was a little bit of a handful as an infant, toddler, child, teen and young adult, ok in all stages of life!). They taught me right from wrong and tried to set me up the best for my adult life.

Some of the things my parents taught me are helpful to this day, especially now I'm working in a backpackers hostel and I thought I might share these with you.

Image by brewbooks via Flickr

Most people think that there are only two activities you can do in Noosa, tan your front and tan your back. But that couldn't be more wrong! Not only is there heaps of really cool things to do in Noosa it's also very cheap!

So here's my list of 20 things to do in Noosa under $20, I call it my 20 under 20- enjoy!

We, Paula and Diana from Nomads Auckland Backpackers Hostel, did have hard times getting our thoughts combined but at the end, here’s the article we both contributed to and wrote together about the MAD @ Whaka experience - the new conservation / volunteer and cultural package just launched by Nomads. Together with the Mad Travel Manager Craig we went on a 5 day programme in Rotorua to combine volunteer work with some cultural activities. This was an unforgettable experience - highly recommended to everyone! We shared this experience with Isabelle from Germany - you can read her review of Mad @ Whaka at the end of this article.

As New Zealand is known for its Maori culture, visiting a village should be on your list of must-dos in New Zealand. There are two different kind of villages you can visit, firstly a living village like Whakarewarewa where the Maori people still live. Or a village like Tamaki Maori Village which shows you how the Maori lived in the past, pre-European settlement, both of these villages can be found in Rotorua (known as New Zealands Maori Culture Capital).

Four of us participated in a volunteer programme called MAD @ Whaka. (Making A Difference @ Whaka). Part of this volunteer programme included a visit to Tamaki Maori Village. Because we had been working in the living village of Whakarewarewa where we learned a lot about the modern Maori, I was excited to go to Tamaki and see how they lived years ago.

Christchurch Earthquake Cafe Cecil

So there you have it, I have discovered that in moments of extreme stress I still do now what I did when I was 5. I hide under the bed. Obviously I had good reason. At the time something moved the earth, and as usual it wasn’t me.

Unless you have been living under a stone since the end of August you might have read that there was a slight shifting of the Christchurch area early on the morning of the 4th September (and because of this earthquake I’m told that I now have 3 metres further to travel to get to Kaipoi).

Missing your family? Feeling lonely despite the loud gang of backpackers in your dorm room? Feeling depressed for leaving your beloved ones because of this crazy idea that got into your head to travel around the world? Don't worry mates, you're not the only ones out there with the same issue! I have to tell you, although some people may say they've got stone hearts and can't feel a thing even on the other side of the world, I am sure they're just lying to themselves and trying to appear as strong as possible.

I believe in humanity (despite all the bad news we seem to hear) and I believe that everyone's felt that agony of missing someone / or even your whole family.

Girls jogging by mikebaird

As the weather’s getting better (casual phrase, used for more than 50% of all excuses to go out, have fun and cheer up) more men and women are seen to run around Auckland. Don’t think they’re running to catch the bus, or trying to escape from the police – they’re simply exercising! In many cultures, running outside is not as common as it is here. You will be surprised if you go to Eastern Europe, some parts of Asia and Africa and go out for your normal half an hour run how people stare at you. I find it more a western habit than an eastern one… More people from western countries or let’s say more developed countries tend to jog on a regular basis.

A stinging Tree Wikipedia

Australia has the most dangerous snakes, spiders and also trees, Yes thats right the worlds most poisionous Tree.

Well I found it, the worlds most poisionous tree and I can tell you, my foot is still stinging after 36 hours and I may have months to go before it stops .... YAY.

After spending time in our lovely Nomads Hostels in Byron Bay at Nomads Byron Bay Backpackers and the Arts Factory Backpackers Lodge, it really opened my eyes to green travel. These hostels have really stepped it up in an effort to make their carbon footprint so much smaller and they blew me away in the process.

It also got me thinking, of course we all know that we should try to be a little bit more green but when you're travelling it is easy to forget. So I've got a few little reminders and they might even save you some money too!!!

]]> Kate Cooper Sun, 17 Oct 2010 11:25:46 +0000 http://nomadshostels.com/Editorial/how-to-get-paid-to-travel-around-new-zealand-advertorial

NZ money yum9me via Flickr

A while back an article was published on this website called "Get a Fun Job on your Working Holiday" and I absolutely believe that if you're travelling you don't necessarily want to get a normal 9-5 job in an office. Mind you, many of those 'normal jobs' pay more than the fun jobs so if you're really short of cash and are desperate to go skydiving, whitewater rafting and so on then you should certainly consider that type of work.

 
However, I recently met a guy called Chris who told me about his company and the jobs he has which are perfect for backpackers wanting to do something a bit different and something a bit fun which also have the potential to earn you some good cash.

]]> Kate Cooper Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:36:10 +0000