Advertisement
Published: April 2nd 2018
Edit Blog Post
Hi guys!
I think it's time to update you about the last month... I actually don't know where to start (as always) buuuut first of all I have to tell you that I was the happiest person on earth when I saw Pierre again. I have to admit that I was nervous when I picked him up from the airport but as soon as he came through that security door my worries were gone within a second. We spent the first night in Akaroa, where Pierre fell asleep at 7:45 p.m. lol. The day after we drove to Christchurch as I had to get new tyres. From there we drove to Lake Tekapo, the Mt. Cook and the Clay Cliffs in Omarama. Even though I've seen these places before they were still astounding and breathtaking. After visiting Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula we were heading to the Catlins. In the Curio Bay we saw penguins and dolphins, that you can swim with. After enjoying a beautiful sunset on the monkey Island our trip continued to Fiordland. Not to miss the Milford Sound we drove to Glenorchy, where we (or should I say I) decided to do a multiple day hike. Indeed
it's called the Greenstone and Caples Track that you can actually combine with the Routeburn Track, which is one of the Great Walks. The 62km hike was a bit of a mission as Pierre doesn't like to hike too much and the fact that we had to sleep on the floor the first night didn't make it easier the day after. Beside that I can say that we were lucky with the sunny weather and that we enjoyed it! Once we finished we decided to drive to Queenstown where we did the Cliff jump. For me it was definitly harder to jump a second time... but in the end it was worth it to overcome my fears.
The day after we drove to the Remarkables, which is initially a skiing area in Queenstown. We loved it up there! 3 days later (15/03/2018) we did the Roys Peak in Wanaka which is also a Must do. Then we drove up to the Golden Bay but unfortunately some parts of the road were washed out because of the Cyclone Gita that was 3 weeks before... It was shocking to see that a cyclone can provoke that much damage.
After the Golden Bay
and Abel Tasman we had the absolute perfect end here on my beloved South Island as we did Skydiving in Motueka. Best feeling ever ever ever! Especially because I was lucky to do it with my favorite personAfter that everything happened quite fast as we had to take the ferry to Wellington, where Pierre was going to take the airplane back. Wellington was a shock for me as I wasn't used to big cities with high-rise buildings and traffic jams anymore... Incredible.
Unfortunately it was constantly raining in Wellington so we decided to visit the Museum called Te Papa, which tells you about New Zealands history and New Zealand itselfs. I thought that it was interesting. Did you know that New Zealand was once covered 75% by forest and now it's only 25%? Or that New Zealand was once a submerged country, when it got seperated by the supercontinent Gondwana? Or that the Haast's eagle lived there once, which is apparently the largest eagle to ever have existed in the world? These are just some examples of what I got taught there.
When I dropped Pierre I made my way up to New Plymouth, which is on the West Coast
from.the North Island, where you can admire the Mt. Taranaki. The World Forgotten Highway between the Mt. Taranaki and the Tongariro Crossing was a nice roadtrip. Later, in Tauranga I hiked up the Mt. Maunganui, where I had a view over the whole city. Further down to the South in Rotorua I went to the Redwood forest, which is one of the oldest exotic forests in New Zealand. There I was able to see very big and old trees... quite impressive! Walking around I got to know a kiwi family. They are actually from Dunedin (South Island) but they were on holiday in Rotorua. I got along well with them so they invited me to their chalet where we had lunch together. Before I left they even gave me some food as they would go back to Dunedin and they would not need it anymore. Can't tell often enough how much I love these people here! Later in the day I made my way down to the Rainbow Mountain where I saw a turquoise crater lake and to the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, where you can enjoy a stunning colourful volcanic area. In Taupo you can find the largest lake in
New Zealand, which was formed as a result ot the largest volcanic eruption in human history. Impressive, right? In the Mine Bay you can visit the Māori Rock Carvings that were carved in 1970. Later in the day I also visited the Huka falls. They are well-known as over 220.000 liters of water flow through the rock face, enough to fill two Olympic sized swimming pools, per second!
The next day (30/03/2018) I did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing with Nadine, a girl that I met when I was in Nelson. We actually had to get up at 6 a.m. to take a shuttle to the startpoint. We were lucky with the weather as we were able to see the Mt. Taranaki and the Taupo lake. Unfortunately the path was too busy and we constantly had to hike with other people. Our driver told us that 2000-3000 people are doing the Alpine Crossing per day. The water filled explosion craters and the the old lava flows were stunning. However in my opinion the track only deserves 6/10. When our shuttle picked us up they gave us a chilled beer, which was perfect!
The day after I drove to Napier and to
the lake Waikaremoana, which took my breath away... the tranquility of that place was awesome and all I needed. Right now I'm in Gisborne, where I'm going to enjoy tomorrow in the morning the first sunrise in the world!
Carpe diem,
Tessy
Advertisement
Tot: 0.137s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 12; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0977s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb