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Published: February 21st 2009
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New Zealand - Part I (Auckland to Nelson) (9 - 17 February 2009)
Arriving in Auckland at 14h45 on Monday afternoon, it took me a while to get through immigration and then afterwards with the airport shuttle bus to the city. The YHA hostel I was staying at was very sterile and clean and didn't offer many interfaces for social networking, so since I was hungry anyway I decided to go to the harbour and eat. The mussle deal they had in one of the restaurants was excellent (1kg for NZ$ 12,-), and together with some beers I spent an excellent evening.
On Tuesday the MagicBus picked my up right at the hostel to bring me and some other passengers to Whitianga;. at the east coast. After a short photo stop on Mount Eden to overview Auckland we headed towards Thames, following the Miranda Seabird Coast. Once at the east coast, we stopped at Hot Water Beach where we had the chance to dig a hole in the sand and dip our toes in the hot water coming form thermic activities underneath the surface. Unfortunately we were there during high tide, so we couln't dig a complete private bathing
pool... The incredible Cathedral Cove was just next to it, and even though the weater wasn't perfect, the sun was shining just at the right moment to take some great pictures. At 4pm in the afternoon we arrived in Whitianga, where we had an overnight stay. After a quick burger & beer at the local watering house, we went to the nearby hot public pools where we had - surprise! - some more bottles whilst enjoying the warm temperatures.
On Wednesday we continued on to Rotorua (via Paeroa), having some stunning views over the hills on the eastern beaches and stopping for a short wine tasting session on the way. The weather was ot very good, so I only had a bath in the hostel's whirlpool and soon went to bed.
On Thursday, the MagicBus picked us up in Rotorua, and we had our first stop at the spectacular Wai-O-Tapu geothermal area, famous for vivid mud pods and Lady Knox Geyser. Absolutely amazing! It only took the guide to add some soap and - whuschhhhh! - the geyser exploded! The rest of the landscape was at least as great, with a permanent smell of sulphur in the air...
Arriving in Taupo we unfortunately couln't go for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing due to heavy winds and rainf falls. So we all went to the local pub to get some sausage & mash, covered in loads of gravy instead. Jummie!
On Friday, we continued on towards New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, following lake Taupo into the Lord-of-the-Rings-like country. Stunning views on Mount Doom and many volcanoes made the trip down south very breathtaking, and so before we realized we arrived in Wellington where, after a quick check-in at our hostel, we all met up at the Te Papa National Museum, a great place to interactivelu exlore New Zealand's history and geological structures. Fascinating! In the evening, we went out to one of the many local pubs to celebrate the last evening of Joanne from Poland who would go back to Auckland the next day whilst most of us would head to the Southern Island. A quiet, little come-together turned out to become a major party. Luschtig luschtig!
On Saturday, I took the ferry over from Wellington to Picton with Jenny (GER) and caught the bus over to Nelson. What a relief to see that the weather was not
Auckland
View from Mt Eden only much sunnier but also much warmer! Since I had subscribed for a kajak and catamaran tour for the next day, and I had lost my wind jacket as well as my long sleave pullover (in the bar in Wellington...) I quickly headed into town to buy a new sweater. Unfortunately, all shops were aready closes, and so I found myself sitting with some Kiwis and some German girls outside a pub having a drink... The locals could tell me where a shopping mall was still open, and so I finally found a sweater, a new pair of shoes and some other things before returning to the hotel and meeting in a club with Kirstin & Marcel (GER) again. What a night!
The kajak/catamaran trip started at 7am on Sunday morning (brrr...), and shortly after we already were at the Abel Tasman National Park where we got some brief instructions and all the equipment. What a fantastic tour along the park's coast line! Blue skies, turquise water & the warm sun made the kajaing a fantastic event! We even saw a small penguin and some seals! After a short lunch break, I had to walk over to another bay
to catch the catamaran. Great fun as well, especially the quick trip over to a seal colony. And a kite surfer followed us for quite a while, which was an excellent photo opportunity! In the evening, completely exhausted, I found myself in the hostel's spa where I staye for a couple of hours with some other guys (e.g. Craig from Melbourne).
On Monday finally I took a day off and ended sleeping in till 2pm in the afternoon before doing some washing and writing some emails. Some German and British guys (Bastian, Michael etc.) and a girl from Israel (Sarah) made the remaining evening in the hotel just a very comfortable one. Excellent to have a relaxing day from time to time.
And that's it for the moment. The next Blog will be about my travellings from Nelson to Christchurch, from where I'll fly over to Melbourne/AUS.
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nora günthart
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Lieber Götti Küttel, wo du schon überall gewesen bist, und immer hast du ein paar Frauen im Arm, schön für dich. In Winterthur ist es immer kalt und es liegt viel Schnee, die Kindergärtnerin vom oberen Chindsgi, Frau Schilling ist auch in Neuseeland, hast du sie getroffen? Wenn du sie noch triffst, sag einen Gruss von mir. Im Sommer komme ich sicher nach Genf. Liebe Grüsse deine Nora