Baba´s Kiwi Newsletter – 9
It doesn´t really matter if
you are in your daily life or if you are travelling, time flies ALWAYS to fast :) But travelling is definitely more fun!!!
And here our adventures
during the last weeks ;)
Day 249 – 252 / MT. MAUNGANUI
As we arrived the weather
wasn´t ideal – but at least it didn´t rain. So we went to the hot saltwater
pools to relax. As we were already at Hot Water Beach in the morning we simply
made it our Wellness day ;)
The next day wasn´t much
better so we had a stroll through town, walked around Mt. Maunganui and checked
the swell etc. for surfing – no waves :( not even for a
longboard... Whatever – so we walked UP Mt. Maunganui, watched animals and
enjoyed the wonderful view!
Day 252 - 253 / NATIONAL
PARK – TONGARIRO CROSSING
Always having an eye on the
weather forecast we found out that Friday would be nearly the only day where
the Tongariro Crossing would be even possible. So we decided to make our way
there including a stopp in Rotorua. We would have loved to see a geysir but 46$
entrance we just found too expensive and went for the „free“ option, the
thermal park. Well, you can´t see water fountains here but you still get a good
impression of the open Earth´s crust. With blubbery mud holes, smoking stones
and steamy waters we were good and just sat into another hot stream short after
leaving Rotorua. Those are just great – and for free :) They are directly on the road and with a cool beer even more
enjoyable hehe.
Later we arrived at the
worst hostel so far – and actually just booked our shuttle for the next day (as
you need to enter the National park and you arrive on the other side – otherwise
we would have driven ourselves).
The weather the next
morning was foggy and grey again. Even then everone was ready and 2 busses
dropped us of at the start of the Crossing. Quite often the wind clears up the
clouds so you can see – not this day :( Unfortunately
we had real bad luck and saw neither a volcano nor the lakes, what a pity!!! I
did the Crossing already and it still is one of my highlights in New Zealand
but I felt sorry for Martin! Well, we took it with humour and our imagination.
But even the walk was nasty. Just before the summit we were completely wet as
it rained sideways and there was still a lot of snow. On the way down the
weather got better and we could see the smoke of Mt. Tongariro as well as the
damage it has done in the forest. The river down to the valley was still a bit
grey from ash and mud and the workers did their best to restore the walkway down.
After 5,45 hours with about 10 minutes break we arrived at the bus station.
And yes: 3 days later Mt.
Tongariro errupted again and the walk was closed then. So we actually were
lucky to be able to do it after all ;)
Day 253 - 255 / TAUPO
On the same day we made our
way to Taupo where we met Adam who joined us over the weekend. It was great to
see him outside Wellington and the flat :) After our
exhausting work we enjoyed a meal at the Thai Restaurant – yummi!
The weather on Saturday
didn´t look good either but we had a bad weather plan. First we walked to the
Huka falls (really strong waterfalls with an amazingly blue colour) and on the
way back we sat in one of this hot streams again – AMAZING! We had beer and
wine with us and just enjoyed sitting in the knee high hot water with about 20
other people :) Simply genius!
Sunday started immediately
with rain and we all decided to drive to Napier. There we sat on the beach for
a while before Adam had to drive back to Wellington.
Day 255 – 257 / NAPIER
Finally we had better
weather. Napier is beautiful and has a great art deco charme. We as well
started our 2nd try to surf here and it turned out that November is apperently
the worst month to surf in New Zealand – the clueless land rats! :) But as we always have a plan B we went up Bluff Hill and did a
picknick there. Beside that our hostel had free WIFI which is sometimes
helpful, too ;)
Day 257 - 258 / HASTINGS
After one of Jasmins
friends offered us an overnight stay we drove to Hastings in the morning. Ok,
there is not really a lot to see or do but as it was a nice day we went, armed
with a Surfboard, to Ocean beach (well known for good surfing, too). After
soaking up some sun and playing soccer on the beach we watched 2 Surfers in the
water catching about one wave within an hour. Besides that we had no wetsuits –
so it didn´t work again... but we won´t give up ;)
In the evening we found out
that Kim is home in Havelock North (10 minutes away) so we caught up for
dinner. After that we drove up Te mata peak (mountain) and enjoyed the view. It
was great to see Kim again! :)
Day 259 -262 / WELLINGTON
After a run with Whiri
(Jasmin´s friend) in the morning we headed to Wellington – finally! Yes, I have
to admit that I was really looking forward to it and it felt like coming home
(at least here in New Zealand). I couldn´t wait for Martin to see where I
lived, worked and made party ;) But on the way there we stopped at „The
Fisherman´s table“ (great restaurant directly on the sea with fresh fish on the
menu) and Kapiti Coast to enjoy a bit of sun. At around 5pm we arrived at the
flat and shortly raised the number of people to 13!!! Yes, after Jen and Abby
moved out two travelling couples have moved in. It felt more like in a hostel,
really international :). In the evening we had a bonfire and Martin met
everyone.
The next day we spent in
the city, organising some stuff: we booked the Abel Tasman track (what an
act!!! You have to think about so many things!), did some shopping and enjoyed
an icecream at the waterfront. We met one last time with Zoe and checked out
„The Embassy“ as it was only 5 more days to go till „The Hobbit“ premiere and
we actually were in „The middle of Middle Earth“ :) We decided as well to stay one night longer in Wellington to go
out with everyone on friday night before we left on Saturday, after one of
Trishe´s pies (the best in Wellington) for breakfast, to catch the ferry to the
South Island.
Day 262 – 264 / BLENHEIM
At about half 5pm we
arrived at Jenny and Ian´s place and got a delicious meal (after Jenny bought
another chicken as the dog grabbed the first one :)).
Like expected we had the
best weather in Blenheim, with 30 degrees and sunshine, so we lay in the garden
the whole day. FANTASTIC! Finally summer! Later I introduced Martin to
Runography so that he saw something of the Town as well ;)
Day 264 – 266 / KAIKOURA
Monday morning we headed
further to Kaikoura and took off to check out the Peninsula walkway. But except
from a few Sealions and Seagals we didn´t see that much.
But we already have booked
another Activity for the next day: Swimming with dolphins, take 2 – and this
time it was SUCCESSFUL :)
Not long after we saw a mum
swimming with her 2 little calfs we as well saw the first pot and got ready. It
was UNBELIEVABLE and we are really happy that Martin could do a movie with his
GoPro camera because when we were back on land again we just couldn´t believe
it. It felt surreal – just INCOMPREHENSIBLE! To see this wonderful animals so
close, looking in their eyes and swimming circles with them... another
highlight :) Definitely must do!!!
Day 266 – 267 /
CHRISTCHURCH
Christchurch said hello
with clouds and drizzle and more than the still closed city center and the
container city we didn´t see anyway. It didn´t change that much: in the center
there were still a lot of barriers and as well on the way out there were a lot
of ruined houses. In the container city all is decorated for christmas which
gives it a strange contrast. After we couldn´t reach Nicky aso. to catch up we
decided to leave the next day already.
Day 267 – 269 / LAKE TEKAPO
Arrived there we
immediately bought some WIFI access and organised the next days. With
activities planned and a roof over our heads for the next days it´s just more
relaxing ;)
Day 268 / MT. COOK
The day after, we went up
Mt. John in the morning before we drove to Mt. Cook in the afternoon for a
glacier expedition. This activity sounded really great on the homepage and in
the flyer and as well the costs seemed to promise something good, so we
thought: Let´s do it! We were supposed to drive on a motor boat on the glacier
lake and get really close to the glacier, seeing and touching icebergs and even
fishing some ice (or ice crystals) out of the water. That was what´s
promised... unfortunately this event was rather disappointing :( We didn´t get to the glacier closer than 400 meters, no
icebergs or ice crystals at all and in the end we didn´t even spend the full
hour on the lake. A lot of people were asking but no one really complained.
After all we decided to tell our feedback to the office staff. Price
performance ratio didn´t match and after we complained via email to the boss
(that was the instruction) we got ALL our money back – INCREDIBLE! That´s what
I call service! But we as well could read between the lines that this activity
should actually not happen anymore as it is too dangerous nowadays to drive
close to the glacier and no one has seen icebergs in 7 month anyway. Whatever,
we were happy that we mentioned it :)
Day 269 – 271 / DUNEDIN
From Lake Tekapo we headed
off to Dunedin. Passing by the „Elephant rocks“ (Aslans camp in „The chronicals
of Narnia“) we couldn´t miss the stopp in Moeraki. A very important place to
me, which I definitely wanted to see, as it was a postcard of the Moeraki
Boulders (stone balls on the beach which they don´t know where they come from)
I got as a teenager which started my couriosity about New Zealand – funny,
isn´t it :) Even as it rained I was very happy I´ve been able to
see them (it´s only possible at low tide – and as we know about the other 2
little problems we had :)). In the evening we did some bar crawling in Dunedin
but already were quite happy after 3.
We checked out the city and
the Otago Peninsula the next day. On a beautiful beach we were able to watch 2
sealions really close (about 10 meters). We as well visited Dunedin´s railway
station and the „Nzl´s sports hall of fame“, which is within the building, as
well as an art gallery.
As we started quite late in
Dunedin the next morning (because we still visited the steepest living street
in the world = Baldwin street) we had a long day ahead of us. Mainly because we
decided on short notice (and recommendations) that we take the drive via the
Catlins and Invercargill to Manapouri – which means: far south :) And if you drive through Invercargill you HAVE TO make a quick
trip to Bluff hehe.
Day 271 – 273 / MANAPOURI
9pm we arrived in our own
little hut and just went to bed.
A cloudy day was awaiting
us and after we checked out Te Anau and Manapouri we booked some activities.
Milford Sound for the next day and Glowworm caves for the evening. After a
short walk we had a look at the Wildlife Center and New Zealand´s birds,
including the only alpine parrot, the Kea. On the way back we saw deer (which
they breed here) and our first black sheep :) Wooohooo! At 7pm we started with the boat over the lake and
into the caves. It was nice to see glowworms again and as well the caves were
great.
7:30am in the morning we
happily started the 2 hour drive to Milford. Unfortunately it turned out that
the rainfall was too heavy in the fjords so we had to turn around after 80km as
the street was closed :( What a disappointment! Of course we could have checked
that but as we started that early and the weather looked good... Well, at least
we saw a BEAUTIFUL Rainbow :). Now, what to do? Staying in rainy Manapouri or Te Anau
and wait or getting the money back and drive to Queenstown to do the trip from
there with a Bustour? We went with the last option as we didn´t want to sit
around and „waiting“ in Queenstown is much more fun ;) Beside that Martin´s
birthday was coming up and we didn´t want to celebrate that in a backwater ;)
Day 273 – 277 / QUEENSTOWN
Exactly like the first time
I arrived in Queenstown you immediately get caught by the vibe of this town J So much LIFE in the streets, the cafés and shops... simply
great after the rainy south. Completely done from the drive and the early start
we didn´t do that much, just booked Milford Sound again.
First thing in the morning
we had a sleep in and a long breakfast. Martin headed of to climb a mountain
while I was going for a run and organised the last presents. After 3 hours he
was back already – it was SNOWING on the summit! Aaaaaaaahhhhh! It´s supposed
to be summer! I was completely wet as well after my run so we just got ready
and went out to eat Fergburgers (biggest and best burger ever :)) and to do some pubbing (we went to an ice bar where even the
glasses are out of ice :)). But on the way there we got distracted by „Happy
Travels“ and when we left again each of us has booked 3 activities :).
With a little hangover we
went to town again for another Fergburger and to get some stuff done online. As
we prepared for Milford Sound in the evening we found out that Baba Black
Sheep´s battery was empty. Nothing – crap, but nothing we could do at that
time.
Day 276 / MILFORD SOUND
Saturday then we started
really early as the bus to Milford Sound left at half past 6 already. Kind of a
pity. You have your own car and you want to be independent and in the end you have
to join a bustour as well. But it has pro´s as well: we didn´t have to drive, a
lot of stopps, we saw Kea´s, had better weather and the street was open – JUHU :) So we finally could see the great waterfalls aso. Besides that
I have to admit that I wasn´t THAT impressed. Milford Sound is supposed to be
one of the „must do´s“ in New Zealand (like everyone says). I hope I didn´t
loose my excitement because of all the nice places I´ve seen already but I
think it as well depends on what you like and what touches you. I found it
really beautiful but in my opinion other places are even more.
Back in Qtown we took Baba
Black Sheep for a „walk“ (with help from our hostel manager) to recharge the
batteries – all good again :)
Day 277 / GLENORCHY
And another activity was coming
up – in Glenorchy. Martin signed up for canyoning while I was going on a 2,5
hour ride. With BEST weather both were a great success and I still can´t
believe that I was riding again after my confirmation :) Happiness on earth... In the afternoon we drove back to
Queenstown for one last Fergburger and then Wanaka.
And that´s it again fort
his time :) A lot has happened the last 4 weeks – AMAZING! It´s
fantastic to travel New Zealand again even if I have visited a lot of places
already it´s completely different this time. You stay in other hostels and
because of this you see a different part of the place, you are more flexible
with the car but it is as well more difficult to meet new people. Both ways to
travel have pro´s and con´s and I feel really happy that I have had the chance
to experience both of them.
Well, that´s enough now. I
wish you all „MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR“ as the next Newsletter will
be in January – just before I fly to Australia. So have nice celebrations with
friends and family, treat yourselves and most important have fun :)
Kia ora – Barbara
