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Hello everybody!
Looking back at the trip till now, we have been able to admire a lot of natural varieties. However, you will all notice that one thing is missing: mountains! Eventhough it implied a temperature drop of about 15-20 degrees, we couldn't miss out on some alps and therefore headed to New Zealand.
Because we only had about twenty days in this country, we decided to rent our own campervan: "Sando", our spaceship. These spaceships prove to be great vans: they are relatively new and therefore drive better then most rental vans, they are very spacious for sleeping (even Nick fitted in!), have a fridge, a gas cooker, and yes, even a dvd-player! Just like our dream machine in Ozzy, it allowed us to do everything we wanted to do at our own pace. By the way, driving through New Zealand often feels like driving through a beautiful no mans land: the south island only is five times bigger then Holland, but there are only 1 million people living there!
We started off in Christchurch, a cozy city in the South Island, and left for the Banks peninsula. Although travel agencies don't really bother mentioning this
part of New Zealand, we thought it was a very nice first encounter with the country. The volcanic peninsula provides for lots of beautiful sceneries (obviously with sheep), and can easily be enjoyed by just driving through it. After this, we headed off for Mount Cook, the highest mountain of New Zealand. The drive to the mountain - actually any drive in New Zealand - is absolutely stunning: winding roads bring you to beautiful lakes and landscapes with snowy mountains at the background. After all those months in hot weather, this was a really nice variation, and we really enjoyed the spectacular views. Once we arrived at mount Cook, we made our first hike in New Zealand to the foot of the mountain. No need telling again that the scenery was absolutely amazing!
One of the absolute priorities we posed before going to New Zealand, was doing the 53.5 km Milford Sound track. However, in summer, only 40 people are allowed on what is sometimes called 'the nicest walk on earth', and prices can reach up to about 1500 dollar. These poor backpackers fortunately arrived just after summer, and only had to pay the transport and 10 dollar per
night! So off we went on the famous track, and we were again absolutely stunned by its beauty. On the first day, we passed through the forest in the valley, which is a real fairy tale forest! A really dense woodland covered by moss that gives it all a beautiful green shine, sliced by many rivers and creeks with cristal clear water, and surrounded by literally hundreds of waterfalls coming down all sides of the hills! You just can't imagine it any nicer. The second day started with a steep climb to the top, followed by a steep descent again at the other side. A short side track brought us to the Sutherland falls. These 580 meter high falls are not surprisingly the highest ones in New Zealand. The third and last day of the track brings you to the Sound itself, an absolutely impressive place!
Next we drove to the Franz Joseph and the Fox glaciers. These are very particular because of the level they are on: only a couple of hundred meters above sealevel. A half day guided walk takes you up the lower part of the glacier, where you can admire the beautiful blue ice.
From the glaciers, we drove up the west coast of the south island. Although this really beautiful part of the island is known to be very wet, we didn't expect as much rain as we had that day. We could enjoy the pancake rocks and Barrytown (!) in the morning, but the rest of the day rain was pouring down all the time, preventing us to take our time and take a good look at the coast.
Next on our schedule was the Abel Tasman National Park, well-known for its nice sand beaches. However, unfortunately Nick got an emergency call and had to return home. This brought us back to Christchurch, from where on I drove to Picton to take the ferry and go to the north island. Picton is located at the Marlborough Sound, so as u can imagine the ferry navigated through a beautiful setting!
Once I arrived in Wellington, I took my time to go to the museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 'an absolute must for people visiting New Zealand' as I was told. I was able to learn a bit about the Maori culture, and about the history of New Zealand here.
However, during this time I was already getting nervous for the next days, as another 'Great walk of New Zealand' was coming up: the demanding, more then famous Tongariro crossing. Where the Milford Sound track is called the nicest hike, the Tongariro crossing is called the nicest one-day hike you can do. So obviously, I couldn't stay behind, not even after hearing that the weather would be really bad: cold, cloudy, windy, wet,... I chose the so-called best day and headed off. However, I can not say much more then that I climbed the volcanoes: On the top, there was so much wind that you could hardly stand there, visibility was 2 meters at most, and it was indeed very, very wet. That's right, it wasn't really that great a walk for me! No stunning views, no fascinating volcanoes, no beautiful Emerald lakes, nothing. If you want to know how it looks like, you'll have to google for it, I can't help you. Must be great to be on top there, right, huh.
Rotorua, the next stop, is the 'Maori capital' of New Zealand. Again, I visited some musea and found out more about Maori people. Furthermore, there are
a lot of volcanic parks in this area. The area in between Rotorua and Taupo is situated in the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'. This Ring of Fire indicates the location in New Zealand where the tectonic plates of the Indian/Australian and the Pacific plates meet. This obviously provides for a lot of volcanic action in the area. The parks were really fascinating, offering mud pools, hot water springs, craters, green lakes, yellow lakes, geysers, terraces, etc. Well worth withstanding the smell of rotten eggs that accompanies it!
New Zealand is the home country of some of the world's oldest forests. At the top of the north Island, in the Waipoua Forest, you can find trees that are estimated to be up to 2000 years old and that have trunk girths up to 17m! No need to say that they are really impressive. You can just stand there for hours and look at them!
The last stop before Auckland was the famous Bay of Islands. The best way to take a look at this beautiful bay is by doing 'The Cream Trip.' This cruise brings you to different islands, following a route that has been used for long to
deliver goods, and allows you to take a good look at some of these different islands.
Finally I arrived in Auckland, where I was very happy to meet Ana's cousin Bosko and his wife Snjezana, who absolutely spoiled me with nice meals and a real bed! As you can imagine, I was really happy to be amongst people again after spending a lot of time alone in the car, and I really appreciated their hospitality!
The next flight brought me from New Zealand to Fiji, from where I am writing now. The last two months we have been travelling with quite some time pressure, so I am really looking forward to relaxing and laying at the beach, drinking a cocktail and especially doing nothing! I know, travelling is so stressful, I just really need to kick back and relax now!
Take care,
Steven and Nick
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