hi everyone!
here are the latest developments on my legal-illegal
situation on the south pacific countries:
after killing time very professionally yesterday
(watched "shark tale" "taxi driver" and "million
dollar baby" - don't ever watch "taxi driver"!), i got
up early this morning for the next episode of this
reality show.
went strait to the immigration offices, where they
told me yesterday to bring a prof that I'm going away
soon in order to extend my NZ visa.
i spoke with the same lady as yesterday, gave her the
flight list (what they asked for) and than she said:
"you must have misunderstood - since your visa is not
valid anymore, you should fill a form and wait 3 weeks
for a new visa".
if it was a movie, that's probably the part when i
pull out my gun and demand a new visa - now!
but it's not a movie... and i don't have a gun...
so i politely explained that i can't wait for 3 weeks
and pleaded for a solution. so she spoke to her
manager and got me an extension until the 28/2 (almost
enough - but not really).
"but you know it's gonna cost you 180$..." (~500
shekels). i wanted to shout "what ever! just give me
the f__king extended visa!". but i just said "yeah,
ok" and paid.
then, i went to the Australian embassy, spoke with a
different lady (the one i spoke with yesterday was not
there) and got the same "you should have checked the
visa yourself...blah blah blah" lecture.
when the lecture was over, i handed her all my
perfectly filled forms and she told me to come back
tomorrow morning to see what's their decision (about
giving me a new visa).
so now please everyone cross both hands and legs your
fingers to increase my chances to get this visa!
if you practice it for few times, it can also work out
your finger mussels and improve your coordination :)
there is a slight chance that I'll get the visa
tomorrow but on the last 72 hours I've grown to know
that optimism and governing authorities don't really
go hand to hand together... :)
as for my mental condition - I'm totally fine :)
although i need to run from one bureaucracy producer
to the other and argue with stupid stubborn people, i
still know it's a trip and enjoy my time. just wish
to take this flight as soon as possible so I'll have
enough time to see the whole east coast of
Australia...
there one lesson for everyone from all this is - NEVER
TRUST YOUR TRAVEL AGENT!
they may seem professional and look like they know
what they're doing, but a simple check (like the one i
was suppose to do) can save you a lot of money, effort
and time...
another lesson i learned two months ago is - always check how the sunscreen smells before you buy it! i bought one with a coconut fragrance - which i hate!
thanks for all the letters! they will help me kill time today :)
hope to get the visa tomorrow and stop sending you these awful letters!
love
Yaron (totally legal NZ immigrant for the next 8 days)Cohen
Monday, February 26, 2007
hi
the 3 last days were really really really long for me, and this is
the story. it's very long so you don't have to read it
:)
many times in my life i dreamed of traveling in New
Zealand. non of them included being stuck there and
becoming an almost illegal immigrant!!
even though i told you i'm having a flight few days
age - i'm still in NZ!
here is what happened:
on the 15th of february (4 days ago) around midnight,
i said goodbye to everyone and headed to the airport.
the boarding wasn't about to start until 4am, so i
found a nice space on the floor, next to some other
backpackes, and chilled/napped. at 4am i attended to
the boarding stand, placed my bag on the scale and
gave the nice lady my ticket and passport. 30 seconds
later, she was telling me that my Australian visa
expired 2 days ago. she said it's not a problem though
- "you can just go to an internet stand and reissue
your visa in 5 minutes" - i was so relived!
i filled the online form and noticed that i can't
select "israel" as a nationality. went back to the
nice lady, told her what happened and she went "ahh
that's right, Israelis can't apply for visa over the
internet - you must apply for new visa at the
Australian embassy before taking this flight".
you know, it's hard to comprehend it when they tell
you that you cannot take your flight.
i wanted to tell her "but wait! how could it be? i
already packed my bag, said goodbye to everyone, slept
on the damn floor for 4 hours! how could it be...?"
but i knew it won't help...
the next thing i had to accept is the fact i have to
get to Auckland - 800km and an ocean away! that means
buying a 200$ plain ticket to a place i don't really
want to be...
the worst thing is that my New Zealand visa expires on
the 18/2!! so i called the immigration and told them
my story. as usual these New Zealanders were sweet and
told me they won't kick me out of here if i do it
myself in the next 3 weeks.
at 8am i called Adi to come pick me up from the
airport. i spent another day in Christchurch and took
the flight to Auckland the next day. i thought to
myself "that's not too bad. it may cost me some more
money, but i'll go to the embassy, explain my
situation, get a new visa and take a flight to
Australia the next day".
in Auckland i slept in a lame backpacker in a room
with this extremely stinky guy which farted and snored
all night. i got up early in the morning "who knows,
maybe i can even catch a flight today...".
and that's what happened today - you should know every
time i moved from one office to the other involved
about 2 miles of waling and long waiting...
i had some passport photos taken and went to the
Australian embassy. the lady over there told me i
should have checked my flight ticket in first place
(thanks, haven't figured it out myself - i'll remember
that for the next time somebody asks me "what is the
most annoying comment you've ever got?"). anyway, she
told me it will take around 10 working days to know
whether i'm granted or not!!!! (so much for my
optimism)
i went to an internet cafe to get some forms i needed
and to write a personal letter to the embassy (maybe
it will make things quicker). plus, i had to go back
to my backpackers and pay them otherwise they would've
kicked me out.
when i got back to the embassy, happy that i have
every thing it takes for applying, the guy looked at
my passport and told me they cannot issue this visa
while i don't have a valid New Zealand visa. i tried
to explain him that the immigration told me it's ok if
i'm leaving soon but he just said "if you stayed here
longer then what you were suppose to, you can do the
same thing in Australia" - can he really be that
stupid??!?!
so i almost ran to the NZ immigration office to have
my visa extended. but they wouldn't give me one. "if
you want us to extend your visa - you must prove your
flight to Australia is coming up soon".
think about it - it's a trap! i can't book a flight
cause i don't know when i'll be getting my Australian
visa (if i ever get it), so i can't get the NZ visa
which means i can't apply for Australian visa, which
means i can't book a flight (and so on!).
i ran to the "cathai pacific" (my flight company)
offices and explained the situation. they printed a
fictive itinerary (flight booking list) for me and i
ran back to the NZ immigration. they were closed! at
1600!
how frustrating could it get??
so now i have all the forms they asked for and i hope
they won't make up any more problems tomorrow.
now i'm forced to relax until tomorrow...
so that's my day - how was yours? :)
i must tell you your sweet sweet letters regarding the
blog / your love life / studies / army depression /
trip plans / mental problems are the only thing which
kept me going! thank you very much! :)
thanks for having the patience to read this over-sized
letter! :)
wish me luck for tomorrow!
Love
Yaron (your NZ illegal immigrant) Cohen
the 3 last days were really really really long for me, and this is
the story. it's very long so you don't have to read it
:)
many times in my life i dreamed of traveling in New
Zealand. non of them included being stuck there and
becoming an almost illegal immigrant!!
even though i told you i'm having a flight few days
age - i'm still in NZ!
here is what happened:
on the 15th of february (4 days ago) around midnight,
i said goodbye to everyone and headed to the airport.
the boarding wasn't about to start until 4am, so i
found a nice space on the floor, next to some other
backpackes, and chilled/napped. at 4am i attended to
the boarding stand, placed my bag on the scale and
gave the nice lady my ticket and passport. 30 seconds
later, she was telling me that my Australian visa
expired 2 days ago. she said it's not a problem though
- "you can just go to an internet stand and reissue
your visa in 5 minutes" - i was so relived!
i filled the online form and noticed that i can't
select "israel" as a nationality. went back to the
nice lady, told her what happened and she went "ahh
that's right, Israelis can't apply for visa over the
internet - you must apply for new visa at the
Australian embassy before taking this flight".
you know, it's hard to comprehend it when they tell
you that you cannot take your flight.
i wanted to tell her "but wait! how could it be? i
already packed my bag, said goodbye to everyone, slept
on the damn floor for 4 hours! how could it be...?"
but i knew it won't help...
the next thing i had to accept is the fact i have to
get to Auckland - 800km and an ocean away! that means
buying a 200$ plain ticket to a place i don't really
want to be...
the worst thing is that my New Zealand visa expires on
the 18/2!! so i called the immigration and told them
my story. as usual these New Zealanders were sweet and
told me they won't kick me out of here if i do it
myself in the next 3 weeks.
at 8am i called Adi to come pick me up from the
airport. i spent another day in Christchurch and took
the flight to Auckland the next day. i thought to
myself "that's not too bad. it may cost me some more
money, but i'll go to the embassy, explain my
situation, get a new visa and take a flight to
Australia the next day".
in Auckland i slept in a lame backpacker in a room
with this extremely stinky guy which farted and snored
all night. i got up early in the morning "who knows,
maybe i can even catch a flight today...".
and that's what happened today - you should know every
time i moved from one office to the other involved
about 2 miles of waling and long waiting...
i had some passport photos taken and went to the
Australian embassy. the lady over there told me i
should have checked my flight ticket in first place
(thanks, haven't figured it out myself - i'll remember
that for the next time somebody asks me "what is the
most annoying comment you've ever got?"). anyway, she
told me it will take around 10 working days to know
whether i'm granted or not!!!! (so much for my
optimism)
i went to an internet cafe to get some forms i needed
and to write a personal letter to the embassy (maybe
it will make things quicker). plus, i had to go back
to my backpackers and pay them otherwise they would've
kicked me out.
when i got back to the embassy, happy that i have
every thing it takes for applying, the guy looked at
my passport and told me they cannot issue this visa
while i don't have a valid New Zealand visa. i tried
to explain him that the immigration told me it's ok if
i'm leaving soon but he just said "if you stayed here
longer then what you were suppose to, you can do the
same thing in Australia" - can he really be that
stupid??!?!
so i almost ran to the NZ immigration office to have
my visa extended. but they wouldn't give me one. "if
you want us to extend your visa - you must prove your
flight to Australia is coming up soon".
think about it - it's a trap! i can't book a flight
cause i don't know when i'll be getting my Australian
visa (if i ever get it), so i can't get the NZ visa
which means i can't apply for Australian visa, which
means i can't book a flight (and so on!).
i ran to the "cathai pacific" (my flight company)
offices and explained the situation. they printed a
fictive itinerary (flight booking list) for me and i
ran back to the NZ immigration. they were closed! at
1600!
how frustrating could it get??
so now i have all the forms they asked for and i hope
they won't make up any more problems tomorrow.
now i'm forced to relax until tomorrow...
so that's my day - how was yours? :)
i must tell you your sweet sweet letters regarding the
blog / your love life / studies / army depression /
trip plans / mental problems are the only thing which
kept me going! thank you very much! :)
thanks for having the patience to read this over-sized
letter! :)
wish me luck for tomorrow!
Love
Yaron (your NZ illegal immigrant) Cohen
Thursday, February 15, 2007
I actually can't believe i'm saying that, but there are only 20 hours until i depart from this unreal land. Definitely the most kind and friendly people in the world, incomparable stunning outdoors, cheap meat and low humidity - why the hell am i leaving??!?
These three months made me used to all this goodness and driving on the left side of the road, so coming back to israel will be harder then ever!
I'll try to write about the last two weeks here without sounding sad.
After having a successful business meeting in Invercargill, I started heading up the east coast, general direction - Christchurch. My first destination was Oamaru, relatively small city which has many old and perfectly preserved buildings. The main attraction at this point was penguins. At evening time, lots of penguins come out of the ocean and do their duffy walk back home across the beach. There were two groups of them: the yellowed eye, which are the most rare penguins in the world. The blue penguins, the smallest ones.
* sorry for not publishing photos of them - had some technical problem...
Oamaru streets - it's much more impressive then what you see here...
The other attraction was the Moeraki boulders - big, almost perfectly round rocks in a beach south to Omaru. This special phenomena was very nice to see, but it's kinda funny how many people go there just to see a bunch of rocks :)
the Moeraki boulders
Traveling north, I arrived Timaru. That's one of those cities I told myself "I could live here...". Big enough to have offer everything I need but not too crowded, sweet township architecture and only 80 km from Christchurch. We stayed there one night in a HIT house and then continued our way north to "peel forest" reserve.
We were offered to stay in a charming farm house for free for a few hours of "help around the house". 20 minutes after we arrived this place, we were taken to cut firewood for the winter. It sounded like a cool work - I didn't care if it's hard. But then, I also didn't think they will enslave us for 5 hours! loading and unloading trucks with logs!!!
We hit the road early on the next morning - just in case they planed "morning chores" like cleaning the fridge or something :)
Next stop - mount cook, the highest and most spectacular mountain in NZ. Luck was not on our side though. We had bad weather and stayed in the worst backpackers in NZ (because it was the only one with vacancy...). The mountain is really amazing though - glad we went there.
lake Tekapo - the color of the water is real!!
fantastic road to the mountain
the only good thing about the backpacker was the huge lounge window view...
After Mt. cook I headed east and spent 2 nights in a HIT house of two sugar-sweet 75 year old couple. They own a big farm with lots of deer, cattle and open fields. They turned their house into laundry center because I had to was all my clothes and it was raining outside (kiwis usually don't have a dryer machine...).
Ion and Eveline's farm. they have the most professional sheppard dogs i have ever seen!
When my clothes got dry and i was good to go, we headed to Banks peninsula - a bit south to Christchurch. Beautiful bays in special shapes, green mountains and of course, lots of sheep. We spent a couple of nights in a cute and relaxed tourist town called Akaora. basically didn't do much over there. Just chilled out with guys in the cool backpackers and drove along the bays.
The real special experience was surprisingly involved with food. On the last evening in Akaroa i heard you can find mussels ("mulim") in a near by bay. We drove there with Barbara (a german girl i met in the backpackers) and started peeling those shells off the rocks!
I cooked the mussels and added them to a sweet cream and coconut milk sauce as a topping for pasta - turned out amazing!!
Banks peninsula bays
Okains bay (where we got the mussels from)
peeling the mussels
Le awesome dinner :)
Now i'm in my last destination.... Christchurch. It's almost painful to write it. The city is huge and beautiful and i'm staying in a big warm HIT house with two charming cats. I had some sight seeing and enjoyed the Valentines day street shows.
valentines day street shows
the cats
I guess that's it. the flight to Australia is on saturday at 7am.
As for the summery:
After 3 months of awesome thrills, special experiences, partly annoying companions, 2 islands, 16000 km of road trip, countless photos, same amount of sheeps, meeting my parents, getting to know that the smartest and sweetest people know what it takes to live a decent life (having it on two isolated islands on the other side of the world), I can only say one thing - you have to be here to believe!
No other words can describe how much I like this place. I could never even imagine such a place before I came here.
As for the complete route in NZ:
north island
south island
These three months made me used to all this goodness and driving on the left side of the road, so coming back to israel will be harder then ever!
I'll try to write about the last two weeks here without sounding sad.
After having a successful business meeting in Invercargill, I started heading up the east coast, general direction - Christchurch. My first destination was Oamaru, relatively small city which has many old and perfectly preserved buildings. The main attraction at this point was penguins. At evening time, lots of penguins come out of the ocean and do their duffy walk back home across the beach. There were two groups of them: the yellowed eye, which are the most rare penguins in the world. The blue penguins, the smallest ones.
* sorry for not publishing photos of them - had some technical problem...
Oamaru streets - it's much more impressive then what you see here...
The other attraction was the Moeraki boulders - big, almost perfectly round rocks in a beach south to Omaru. This special phenomena was very nice to see, but it's kinda funny how many people go there just to see a bunch of rocks :)
the Moeraki boulders
Traveling north, I arrived Timaru. That's one of those cities I told myself "I could live here...". Big enough to have offer everything I need but not too crowded, sweet township architecture and only 80 km from Christchurch. We stayed there one night in a HIT house and then continued our way north to "peel forest" reserve.
We were offered to stay in a charming farm house for free for a few hours of "help around the house". 20 minutes after we arrived this place, we were taken to cut firewood for the winter. It sounded like a cool work - I didn't care if it's hard. But then, I also didn't think they will enslave us for 5 hours! loading and unloading trucks with logs!!!
We hit the road early on the next morning - just in case they planed "morning chores" like cleaning the fridge or something :)
Next stop - mount cook, the highest and most spectacular mountain in NZ. Luck was not on our side though. We had bad weather and stayed in the worst backpackers in NZ (because it was the only one with vacancy...). The mountain is really amazing though - glad we went there.
lake Tekapo - the color of the water is real!!
fantastic road to the mountain
the only good thing about the backpacker was the huge lounge window view...
After Mt. cook I headed east and spent 2 nights in a HIT house of two sugar-sweet 75 year old couple. They own a big farm with lots of deer, cattle and open fields. They turned their house into laundry center because I had to was all my clothes and it was raining outside (kiwis usually don't have a dryer machine...).
Ion and Eveline's farm. they have the most professional sheppard dogs i have ever seen!
When my clothes got dry and i was good to go, we headed to Banks peninsula - a bit south to Christchurch. Beautiful bays in special shapes, green mountains and of course, lots of sheep. We spent a couple of nights in a cute and relaxed tourist town called Akaora. basically didn't do much over there. Just chilled out with guys in the cool backpackers and drove along the bays.
The real special experience was surprisingly involved with food. On the last evening in Akaroa i heard you can find mussels ("mulim") in a near by bay. We drove there with Barbara (a german girl i met in the backpackers) and started peeling those shells off the rocks!
I cooked the mussels and added them to a sweet cream and coconut milk sauce as a topping for pasta - turned out amazing!!
Banks peninsula bays
Okains bay (where we got the mussels from)
peeling the mussels
Le awesome dinner :)
Now i'm in my last destination.... Christchurch. It's almost painful to write it. The city is huge and beautiful and i'm staying in a big warm HIT house with two charming cats. I had some sight seeing and enjoyed the Valentines day street shows.
valentines day street shows
the cats
I guess that's it. the flight to Australia is on saturday at 7am.
As for the summery:
After 3 months of awesome thrills, special experiences, partly annoying companions, 2 islands, 16000 km of road trip, countless photos, same amount of sheeps, meeting my parents, getting to know that the smartest and sweetest people know what it takes to live a decent life (having it on two isolated islands on the other side of the world), I can only say one thing - you have to be here to believe!
No other words can describe how much I like this place. I could never even imagine such a place before I came here.
As for the complete route in NZ:
north island
south island
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