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Aloha to Maui 🌺🌺
29. mai 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Time to relax on Maui! Some people say it is their favorite place on earth and I must say it is definitely a wonderful place! Robert and I spend 2 weeks here and it was truly amazing! We both learned how to surf, spend time at gorgeous beaches, snorkeled with sea turtles 🐢, drove the road to Hana, went on a volcano „hike“🌋, ate some delicious banana bread, enjoyed the beauty of Hawaii 🌺 and met wonderful people along the way. If you ever go there you have to spend some time with „bob“ or Richard or whatever his name is. It is an app to download and it is a true experience driving the road to Hana with him. He gives so much back ground information about the people, the history and the culture of Hawaii which is very very interesting and made this trip even more special. (Credits go to Dominic who highly recommended it to me!).Les mer
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Back home in Antarctica - christchurch
11. juni 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
It was for so many reason the right decision to pick New Zealand as my final destination of my world trip. Not knowing beforehand that Christchurch is another gateway to Antarctica I coincidently booked a plane ticket to this part of the South Island. The plane going from Honolulu to Auckland was a little scary since we were mostly surrounded by water and in case of an emergency would not have any possibility to land. I don’t think I ever had such a weird feeling in my stomach on a plane which also did not change when we had turbulences 4,5 hours in and still 4,5 hours to go.
But I made it safely to Auckland, stayed there for one night and then took a place directly to Christchurch, which is the biggest city on the South Island - little did I know at the beginning of this trip that I would visit this city 5 times in total.
The first day in Christchurch I went to the Antarctic center and I loved it! They really wanted to make this experience as true as possible. Watching all these movies about this amazing place and talking to a lot of people there I just felt at home and actually felt like I experience the trip to Antarctica once again. Also I had the possibility to sign up to win a trip to Antarctica worth 35,000 dollars for two people so wish me luck :D
They also have a room that simulates a snow storm in Antarctica which is pretty cool and pingu found a new friend called little blue. Christchurch itself is surprisingly a very modern and clean city. Most buildings don’t seem to be that old because they had a very bad earthquake in 2011 and it took a while to rebuild the whole city! I also had a look at the art gallery and enjoyed the botanical garden since Christchurch is also known as the garden city of New Zealand. Overall I had a great time here!Les mer
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Oamaru - first penguin encounter
21. juni 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C
Next stop and only 3 hours away from Christchurch was Oamaru. I mainly wanted to go there to spot some penguins in the wild. 🐧 Oamaru is a little cute town on the east coast of the South Island and since you can sometimes spot penguins just walking around the city it is also called the penguin town of New Zealand. On the first day there I just walked around, went up pretty steep streets (sometimes even steeper than in San Francisco) and found wonderful spots over looking the city. The next day I really wanted to find some penguins so I started the 45 minute (one way) journey to spot some yellow-eyed penguins which is the rarest penguin species in the world. Apparently bushy beach is known to be the best place to spot them at sunset. Luckily the weather was good but during sunset it got very cold so I had to bundle up quit a bit - after all it is still winter here.. I spotted some seals and a lot of seagulls but unfortunately the first time I was there I did not spot any penguins. But i usually don’t give up that easily and I was eager to see some penguins so I went to the same spot twice, and got a lift back from locals twice which luckily saved me the walk back. And in the end I was rewarded because I was able to spot one lonely penguin! Guess three times is a charm after all :) Even though I did not see as many penguins as I liked to i still managed to see the rarest penguin species in the world- pretty amazing! I enjoyed my time in Oamaru very much and also met very interesting and lovely people there.Les mer
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Dunedin - even more penguins 🐧
23. juni 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
On the hunt for the little blue penguins - the smallest penguin species in the world I left Oamaru 2 days later and travelled further south to Dunedin which is the second largest city on the South Island. A guy I met in my hostel in Oamaru also wanted to go to Dunedin so he offered to give me a lift which was nice. It was great company and for once I didn’t have to take the bus. We also stopped on the way at the famous Boulders (must do on the drive to Dunedin) and had some crawfish at a little café which was actually really good and the best lobster I have ever tasted. We then walked around Dunedin a little bit and I had to stock up on some winter clothing since it got colder and colder traveling further south.
The next day I started early in the morning and took the bus to Tunnel beach. It was a perfect day with lots of sunshine, making this hike around the coast even more picturesque! That evening me and my friend went to the Albatross Center in Dunedin since I booked a penguin tour to see the little blue penguins. And wow this encounter did not disappoint. I did not only learn something about Albatrosses and penguins but also a lot about Māori history! Loved the whole experience and would always come back! The highlight however was that we saw the little blue penguins waddeling from the ocean back to the beach to rest for the night. They were sooo cute and this was definitely one of the highlights of my trip!Les mer
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ReisendeOh sind die süß.
16.07.2023SvarOversette
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Queenstown - the adventure capital of NZ
26. juni 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Initially I wanted to go to Steward island to see some Kiwis (the flight less birds and symbol of New Zealand) in the wild but it seemed so difficult to get there and also pretty expensive so I decided to change my plans last minute and go to Queenstown which is the adventure capital of New Zealand. You can do whatever your adventurous heart desires here: bungee jumping, skydiving, paragliding, heliskiing or helihiking, skiing, snowboarding.. just lots of extreme sports. Did I do anything of this? Not this time.. I think I had a lot of angels along the way and I didn’t want to use them all. Also I talked to a bunch of people and they all said that they had ear problems after skydiving or bungee jumping because of the pressure and I think it’s the best decision after my ear problem on San andres to give my ears time to fully recover. Especially because I will be flying a lot again to get home! On the bright side i also saved my mom from suffering a heart attack 🤣
And even though I did not do something extreme I still very much enjoyed Queenstown. On one day I planned a tour to the Fjordlands of Milford Sound which was really spectacular! But let me tell you how lucky I was. So I had that trip booked the day after I arrived in Queenstown. Again being way to social I of course met some people on my first night in Queenstown, had some beers with them and then stayed up late - so I missed my bus the next morning… the tour to Milford Sounds was one of the most expensive tours I booked so far 🤦🏼‍♀️ totally my fault and soo stupid. So I called the company, asked if there would be another possibility to get there the same day and they said I will probably miss the boat and everything on the way because it is all timed… so I asked them if I could do the tour the next day and sure enough I got the last spot on the following day! Sooo lucky! And I was even more lucky because turns out that the weather had been bad the last 5 days before and on the day I actually went to Milford sound we had beautiful sunshine and I even made a new friend from Australia on the bus! We just had a wonderful time and the Fjord was amazing with lots of beautiful waterfalls, landscapes, animals and sunshine ☀️.
The next day I followed a recommendation and went to the Kiwi park in Queenstown to finally see some Kiwis. The park itself was really nice, I also saw some other birds, did a free honey tasting (since new Zealand is known for its Manuka honey which has alot of anti-inflammatory properties) and joined a bird show. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take pictures of the kiwis because they blind from the flash or light. However I saw a kiwi at the bird show :D that’s the best I could do!Les mer
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Franz Josef - views of the Southern Alps
29. juni 2023, New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 7 °C
On the way to Franz Josef from Queenstown I was able to have some amazing views over the Southern Alps (Video). I then stayed in the most amazing hostel so far! I just loved this hostel and the people there. The glow worm hostel surely did not disappoint! The first full day I stayed there I was able to do some very picturesque hikes in the area. I was able to see the Franz Josef glacier, passed mirror lake and hiked a total of 5 hours with great company. The Franz Josef glacier is not as spectacular as the Perito Moreno in Argentina, but it was still a great experience since the people left the original fences there and you could clearly see how reduced the glacier is by now compared the 1904. Crazy!
The glow worm hostel was one of the most amazing hostels since we were all able to jump into a hot tub after the hike, breakfast was free and they always made free fresh vegetable soup at night for everyone! And the most unexpected thing was that the owner which is a kiwi organized a stretch limousine for all of us to go to a bar. So funny since the town of Franz Josef is so small and we probably drove circles since the walk to the bar would have only been 4 minutes. Still a really fun experience. We all got a free shot at the bar and I was responsible for pouring the shots.. professional haha
I just loved this place and also the wonderful sunrises and having Mountain View’s at breakfast! Unfortunately I didn’t stay in Franz Josef that long since I really wanted to get to Greymouth and take the Transalpine train back to Christchurch. The bus ride to Greymouth however was also very beautiful and we managed to stop at Hokitika for a little bit to have coffee and walk around town.Les mer
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Brewing Beer in Greymouth
2. juli 2023, New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 9 °C
Last stop on the west coast of the South Island was Greymouth. I actually just stopped here to take the TranzAlpine train back to Christchurch since this train ride is supposed to be one of the nicest train rides in the world! What most people don’t know about Greymouth it also a nice city to go on a beer brewing tour. They have great craft beer for instance ginger and honey beer (since New Zealand is also know for its honey), IPA and hazy beers. Honestly they are all pretty good but I really liked the IPA. The tour was very informative and even though they closed the beer brewing part in 2020 due to the pandemic it is still a museum and you can do a beer tasting there. We were even able to pour our own beer - look at that great video. I know I know in Germany the foam is usually more haha but in New Zealand they said it is supposed to be about a finger thick.. I think I did a pretty good job for the first time :D Since I only had one night and a morning in Greymouth that was pretty much everything I did and just walked around the area around my hostel which was also nice. But i met a very nice girl from Philadelphia in my hostel and we took the train together to Christchurch on the next day :)Les mer
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Taking the Tranzalpine train
3. juli 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
The tranzalpine train from Greymouth to Christchurch is the most scenic train ride in New Zealand. I booked this train because my mom suggested it and wow did I not regret this decision. Not only did Jen (the girl I met at my hostel) and I have a great overall time on the train the ride to Christchurch was just so picturesque. Going through the mountains and crossing Arthur‘s pass was truly incredible. I think the pictures I took and the video of the train winding itself through the mountains speak for themselves. The train ride was overall 4,5 hours and it was definitely different to take a train for once and compare it to the trains in Germany. And since a train ride is usually long and boring Jen and I decided to treat ourselves to come cheese and sparkling wine. The amount of people looking at us like we were crazy was just so funny! Will never forget this amazing train ride and the great company :)
Also we spoke at the train station back in Greymouth with an older lady and she gifted us two necklaces which was sooo incredibly sweet. She said she always has these gifts with her and when she meets inspiring people she just give them a necklace. Love this and still have the necklace as a lucky charm which me :)Les mer
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My favorite place in NZ - Lake Tekapo
10. juli 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
After spending some more time in Christchurch I took the bus to Lake Tekapo. Originally I did not even plan this trip since it is a long journey back and forth from Christchurch to get there. Also I thought in the winter time it’s not even worth it. Most people want to go there during the spring to see the beautiful lupines blossom! With the blue lake in the background this is a perfect place for a photoshoot.
But now that I’ve been there I think lake tekapo is a year round location where you can go to! The lake and the surroundings are just incredible and it is handsdown my favorite place in New Zealand. Everywhere you look there are picture opportunities and you cannot even believe that it is real. I spend almost 3 full days in Lake Tekapo and I think this is the perfect time you need to explore the area and also do some stargazing :)
On my bus I met a girl haha this time from Liverpool and we spend the next 3 days together which was amazing. Racheal has just been such a sweetheart and I loved spending time with her. As time passed we also added new members to the group and I really enjoyed getting to know these girls , their stories and exploring the area with them. On the first day we walked around the downtown area, took many pictures of the famous church of the good Shephard (probably the most photographed church in all New Zealand) and hiked Mt. John which is one of the most popular hikes you can do to have a great view over the lake. Unfortunately the cafe on top of the mountain was closed that day but we still had a great time, especially because the weather was incredible. That night we all went out to look for the Milky Way.. I knew it would not be easy to take pictures of the stars but I was eager to at least get some good shots! And wow! The feeling was just incredible, seeing so many stars at once and we did see the Milky Way! Unfortunately pictures sometimes don’t fully represent everything but still I think I did a fairly good job at capturing the moment :) overall I just loved spending time with the girls and we all had a great connection. I think this made Lake tekapo even more beautiful :)Les mer
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Lucky again - whale watching in Kaikoura
15. juli 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
After the 3 wonderful days spend at Lake Tekapo I took the bus to Kaikōura, which is supposed to be the ideal place in July to spot some whales 🐋! I spend three nights in Kaikōura and really enjoyed this place! On the first day I walk the whole Kaikōura peninsula to spot some seals and just had a great time going for hikes in the sunshine! Yes, again the weather was in my favor! It was just beautiful! The day after I had booked a whale watching tour with whole watch kaikoura! And again I was incredibly lucky. I saw on that tour 8 sperm whales and soo many dolphins. Wow! Even the tour company said this has been the best day for spotting whales in a long long time and it has not happens since years.. usually they only see 1-3 on one tour!
Feeling so incredibly blessed to start my trip with the emperor penguins and end the trip with so many sperm whales! It was just a breathtaking experience and I loved it. Kaikoura overall and with everyone that I met there has been a perfect ending to my trip and it came back full circle since I met a woman in my hostel that had also done the Antarctica trip too! :) Ready to go home now and share these amazing experiences with my family!Les mer
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Going home and 3 hours in Singapore!
19. juli 2023, Singapore ⋅ 🌩️ 28 °C
After Kaikoura I spend one more night in Christchurch and had an amazing last New Zealand breakfast the next morning before taking my flight in the afternoon to Auckland.. 1/3 flights to then eventually get to Frankfurt. An over 30 hour trip.. After I arrived in Auckland I had a last meet up with my new friend Emily from China which I also met at lake Tekapo. We walked around Auckland, had a great dinner together, some drinks and icecream. Yes we might have went a little over board but we both were just so sad to not see each other again for a while now..
Emily was so sweet to drop me off at the airport and I took my flight to Singapore. Singapore airport is known to be one of the best airports in the world, so I did not worry about the layover here. Just going from the arrival section to the gate was so much more difficult in my head than it actually was. The airport is perfectly organized and all the people were very friendly. I even had some time to look at the butterfly garden! Overagreat experience!Les mer
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Home sweet home
19. juli 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
Wow what a trip it has been! After over 30 hours of traveling and two 13 h flights I finally arrived back home! Cannot wait to see how life will look like in the next months and so excited for everything that is coming next. But for now it’s only quality time with mom since we have so much to catch up on! Interestingly not a lot has changed.. but still so much. I took a picture at the beginning of my trip before I left and one after where you can clearly see that not a lot of things have changed except for the fact that I met so many amazing people on the way which I now call friends and pingu found a new friend too.Les mer
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ReisendeWas eine Reise Melissa, du bist super.👍🏻🤗😍
21.07.2023SvarOversette
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Reisens slutt
18. juli 2023