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An unforgettable Journey
  • Semmy und Pascal
  • Semmy und Pascal

An unforgettable Journey

We are taking a sabbatical from October '22 until Mai '23 and will be travelling Southeast Asia. First destination of our Travels will be Bangkok, Thailand. We are looking forward to a transformative adventure. 😃
Semmy & Pascal En savoir plus
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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki

    7 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ ☁ 18 °C

    We visited the famous Pankace Rocks and Blow Holes (where we also ate some pancakes, of course!!) and did a Kayak Tour up Pororari River followed by a short hike on Truman Track. We stay two nights on the wonderful Camp Ground at Punakaiki Beach Camp. The backside of Fantail is facing the ocean. We watch the sun go down with a glass of wine in our hands. Life is good.En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Journey to the Southern Alps

    8 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    8:20 get up, take shower, get van ready (waste water, fresh water, etc.)
    09:40 departure (218 km west coast drive on HW6 southbound)
    Stops: just before Rapahoe Beach (drone video), Greymouth (shopping, gas, coffee) Hokitika (tramezzini breakfast, unfortunately we didn’t see any glow worms), Lake Lanthe (drone flying)
    15:20 Arrive at Rainforest Retreat Holiday Park at Franz Josef Glacier
    17:30 washing clothes, jacuzzi time
    19:30 Prepare dinner
    20:00 BBQ (steaks, chickpea salad and leftovers)
    23:45 sleep    En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Fox Glacier and Lake Matheson

    9 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    A little bit exhausted after hearing literally EVERYTHING about New Zealand’s Flora and Fauna for 12h strait from our ecstatic tour guide Kath(rin) who is a dear but nature loving freak- not shy of repeating whatever there is to know about all types of ferns and LBBs ten times. We loved it very much though. The places she brought us were mesmerizingly beautiful. 😍En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Milford Sound - Te Anau - Queenstown

    13 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    8:30 Breakfast (pancakes 😋)
    09:05 En route to Milford Sound
    9:10 Stop at Lake Gunn
    10:30 Arrive at Milford Sound Pier
    10:45 boat tour (incredibly beautiful!! đŸ€©)
    13:00 Milford Lookout Track
    13:45 Return
    14:45 Stop at Hollyford Valley Lookout (worth it!)
    14:55 Stop at Routeburne Track (for information only)
    16:15 Stop in Te Anau for a swim at Peacock's Landing
    17:20 Semmy drives on (1st time driving!) Pascal books a campsite by phone (finally reception again!)
    19:20 Arrive at Driftaway campsite (best campsite si far!!)
    20:30 Dinner at the Frankton Arm Tavern where we meet Marlon and Corinna for a few beers đŸ»
    23:50 sleep    En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Drive to Lake Pukaki

    14 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ ☁ 16 °C

    08:15 wake up, breakfast (toasted sandwiches with eggs and baked beans)
    10:45 Drive towards direction Twizel
    11:30 Arrival Gibson Winery (spontaneous wine tasting and winery tour, followed by lunch)
    13:25 Departure
    14:30 Stop at Clutha River Bendigo Freedom Campground (drone flying)
    16:30 Omarama (drink coffee, try to call InterislanderFerry service, grocery shopping)
    17:00 Twizel
    17:30 Stop at Lake Pukaki Viewpoint
    17:50 Arrival Glentanner Park (Pasccal gets a haircut, laundry)
    20:20 Dinner (pasta with parmesan and bread)
    24:00 sleep    En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Lake Tekapo and the Dark Sky Project

    16 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Wonderful relaxing sunny day by the lake and on the water in a kayak. Had really good super hot Thai food and booked a stargazing tour from 00:00 to 01:30 at the Dark Sky Project at the crater. We had a crystal clear sky view without any moonlight and saw the Milky Way and many of it's Stars through the telescope. It was absolutely amazing and we even got to see a HUGE shooting star. What a lifetime experience!!En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Marlborough Wineries & White Bay

    20 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ ☀ 24 °C

    Free wine tasting before noon at Villa Maria winery!! 😂 The reserve, and single wineyard wines were okay but quite acidic. Afterwards we visit Hans Herzog winery (25 NZD p.P. for 4 wines, alle very good)

    In the afternoon we head on to the Coastal Drive towards Picton. Our plan is to enjoy our last road trip on South Island to Whatamango free Campsite before taking the Interislander ferry the next day back to Wellington on the North Island.

    After a short, very beautiful winding coastal drive (some short stops for drone videos in between) we come to a narrow, unpaved gravel road with steep climbs. After a couple of minutes we reach a road sign that shows these conditions will remain for another 21km. Unsure whether it’s a good idea to continue with our vehicle we stop and think about what to do. Luckily a DOC ranger drives by and confirms that it makes no sense to continue in our vehicle on this road. So we turn around and decide to book into the nearby Whites Bay DOC Campsite and spend the rest of the day on the beach. It was the best decision and we had a wonderful peaceful time there.    En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Picton - Interislander Adventures

    21 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ ☀ 26 °C

    After pancakes and sandwiches for breakfast we walk 50m from the Campsite down to Whites Bay beach to take one last bath in the sea. At 13:11 Pascal gets the following Email from Interislander:

    “Kia ora,
    The Kaiarahi has developed an engineering issue and we have made the call for safety reasons to take it out of service for the next few days while we complete repairs. We have no space to move your booking and unfortunately, we will have to cancel and refund your fare. We apologise for the disruption to your travel plans. Ngā mihi nui
    Your Interislander Crew”

    This leaves us with a huge issue because we now have no fare back to the North Island where we need to handover Fantail on the 23rd to Jill (next customer booking on 25th) AND to catch our flight to Papeete (Tahiti) on Feb 28th! We try to Call the hotline but there is no response at all.

    At 13:50 we take Fantail and start to drive to Picton (through Rarangi and then on HW1). At 14:25 we arrive at Interislander Terminal to get Waitlisted. We do not get a concrete date but the service staff tell us that there’s a small chance to get on the ferry next day at noon. To be sure we exhaust all options we walk over to Bluebridge Terminal but they also have a broken down ship and there is even more chaos. A handwritten sign outside reads: “Sorry no new bookings. Standby only available for those on our cancelled sailings. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Sincerely the Bluebridge Team”. Quite a bit dejected we decide that it makes not much sense to stay longer by the port. We check-in at Tasman Holiday Park (a very nice campsite with a pool!) where we want to spend the night and inform Jill about our situation.

    As agreed on the phone with Jill we plan to drive back to the Interislander Terminal the next morning to insist we sail with one of the two vessels planned for 22nd.
    Before going to bed Pascal finalizes Julia’s Birthday Video to have it ready for submission.    En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Thank God - We are sailing North!

    22 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    After a nervous night we get Fantail ready to take off to the Harbour again. As we’re not sure whether we will actually make it onto the ship today, we book ourselves in for another night at the campsite - just to be sure to have a place to stay plus electricity if the situation prevails. After having paid we drive off into uncertainty.

    At the Interislander Terminal there is chaos. Other Tourists as well as locals try to get waitlisted while motorcyclists and pedestrians are more lucky. We approach the service desk and explain our situation again. After what felt like an absolute eternity we receive a preliminary ticket for the 12:30 ferry. The service lady tells us that we can show this at the check-in terminal and they will then let us know if we can get on the next ship (or not). With newfound hope we get back to Fantail and get into the queue. At the gate we receive the info that we won’t make it onto the 12:30 ferry but are invited to queue in the standby lane which is next to the boarding lanes (i.e. for those who have a valid ticket). Whilst parking our vehicle we spot an oddly familiar logo on another camper van. It reads: “Kiwi Burrow” and must be Jill’s other camper with a group of 6 from Canada who are also stranded due to the service disruption!!

    We say hello to them and take a picture together which we send to Jill to cheer her up as well. After all she must be even more stressed than we are! After waiting for at least 4h in line and seeing the midday ferry arrive, get loaded with vehicles (a lot of lorries also!) and then sail off to Wellington. We decide to get something to eat (we’re almost hangry) as we now only can hope to get onto the afternoon sailing. Luckily Fantail is already well positioned in the standby queue. As we walk into the city center we received an E-mail from Interislander:

    “Hello guys,
    I am delighted to let you know I have managed to make you a confirmed booking on the 6.30pm Sailing tonight.
    The Ship is running several hours late. Final check in is 8.30pm, although you are welcome to check in any time after 4.30pm.
    I hope you have had a nice holiday in New Zealand. Despite having the disruption of the Ferry.
    Kind Regards,
    Carmen.”

    We can’t believe our luck and the feeling of pure happiness is kicking in. Knowing that we now have a chance to make it back to Rotorua in time to hand back Fantail!!

    We walk over to Tasman Holiday Park to cancel our campsite and then have a wonderful late lunch/ early dinner at the Waitohi Sports Bar and treat ourselves to a few beers.

    Late at night we make our way on to the ferry and sail up north again. 😌    En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Handing back Fantail after 3.596 km

    23 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    We reach Capital Lodge Motor Inn Campsite in Wellington (3rd time in the city!) at 1:00 am and go to sleep right away. After a very short night we have breakfast (Last time crumpets with Nutella!), prepare some sandwiches and get Fantail ready for our last sprint to Rotorua. It’s raining consistently and we just keep driving. At around 2pm we get hit by a stone right in the windscreen….Boom!! đŸ’„ đŸ€ŠđŸ»‍♂

    Pascal loses it for a moment and hands the steering wheel to Semmy at the next gas station. Yep…luck was not on our side. Anyway, we continue to drive up north and call Jill on the way to let her know what happened. We reach Rotorua RV Center at ten to 3pm and get our camper checked (dash camera fitting, toilet flush, warm water heater) as requested by Jill. Afterwards we drive to the Airport to get a Kia Sportage rental car from Hertz before we check in at one of the most bizarre motels in the country: Golden Glow Motel

    Here we meet Jill and her Husband in the evening and officially say farewell to our beloved Fantail. đŸ˜Ș

    We finish the day with some delicious Thai food and finally get some much needed rest. 😮    En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Hobbiton

    24 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Our plan to visit Te Puia (Māori village and geyser) didn’t work out as there we no more free slots available. We turn around and adjust our plan for the day while having breakfast at the French Café in Rotorua (Cappuccino, Baguette and ham&cheese Croissant). Here we book us in for a visit at Hobbiton film set for the afternoon. What a great alternative!! And we got away with speeding also thanks to a very fair NZ police officer. Lucky us 🍀 😇En savoir plus

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  • Semmy und PascalAn unforgettable JourneyVoyageur

    Te Puia & drive to New Plymouth

    25 fĂ©vrier 2023, Nouvelle-ZĂ©lande ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    Te Puia - finally!!!

    ok…we booked ourselves a slot yesterday while searching the internet for cool activities đŸ€“

    We also made plans to visit Josien at Mt. Taranaki the next day. So we drove southwest to New Plymouth.

    The place was really cool but our hotel room (Quest Hotel) smelled like someone fried up a whole pig in there.

    Fuck - it was aweful!! 😂    En savoir plus

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