My name is Maria- pronounced in the Maori way, by rolling the 'r'. My name itself calls me out as a kiwi and I'm pretty proud of that. I am also proud to be the eldest of 4 girls and very close all of my sisters as well as the rest of my family.
I've grown up in a small city defined by its rural surroundings, on the west coast of New Zealand, I absolutely love my home but it has also given me great motivation to travel and see what's out there in the big wide world.
I came from a single-parent home where my mum worked hard to support us through school. We never had much but she gave me the best gift which is to work for what you want. That, combined with my strong sense of independence is how I've managed to pursue my dreams of traveling.
After finishing school and university I've managed to spend my 21st birthday in Rarotonga, my 22nd in Japan and am now traveling across Europe where I'll see my 23rd birthday!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I decided to join Couchsurfing because my boyfriend and I are traveling across Europe together and have realized the social aspect of hostel life isn't what it used to be- mainly due to phones.
We like a combination of our own space but also good conversation and so we're starting to look more into staying with locals who are interested and informed about these places that are so new and exciting to us

Interests

• tattoos
• concerts
• walking
• rock music
• history
• beaches
• rivers
• travelling
• adventures
• pool
• reading and writing

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zepplin, Queens of the Stone Age, Guns n' Roses... any old school rock or rock music at all up to the mid 2000s. I'm a diehard fan of rock music in general but I also like old school rap (Biggie smalls, Eminems old stuff), 50s music (Dean Martin, Elvis Presley etc) and a fair share of guilty pleasure songs too i.e. Shaggy, Rihanna, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake.

Movies: The Boat that Rocked, seven brides for seven brothers.

Books: Rock biographies: Scar tissue/Slash/the Dirt. Game of Thrones. Any Bryce Courtenay novel. love reading in general- have ever since I learned to read and probably before then as mum always read to me before I could myself.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Went white water rafting down a 7m waterfall on the Kituna river in Rotorua, New Zealand

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories about New Zealand, I'm good at listening to others, and a sense of adventure:)

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, England, Fiji, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Scotland

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand