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  • Nadja W.

New Zealand

A 177-day adventure by Nadja Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 28, 2016
  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Moving @Windisch

    October 28, 2016 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    So my last days back in Switzerland I spent not only packing my backpack for New Zealand but also packing boxes and boxes of my stuff to move everything to my dads! I couldnt actually believe it but I have to admit that in total for my whole apartment I had used 48 boxes!! Daaammmn!

    So THANK you so much mum for helping me!! *-*    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    First Step to destination NZ

    October 30, 2016 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    So this is it, everything that could be done is done and now the journey begins! Goodbye Zurich Airport, hello Auckland! 🎉

    One quick stop in Frankfurt with a last stop at mc donalds (Chicha you made me jealous with the curly french fries 😝), another stop in Singapore and 28 hours and some selfies later I finally did it!Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Hello Auckland!

    November 1, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Nach einer ungemütlichen Nacht von Frankfurt nach Singapur und einer tollen Flugzeugbekanntschaft von Singapur nach Auckland sowie einem zweistündigen Warten auf das Kontrollieren des Gepäckes habe ich endlich den Flughafen passiert und Auckland erreicht! 😄

    Das Hostel ist absolut cozy und lädt zum Verweilen ein. Auch Auckland selber hat viele schöne Facetten heute gezeigt (inkl. Joghurt zum Anrühren im Beutel?!), nur der Wind war fast so kalt wie in der Schweiz... ❄    Read more

    See translation
  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Second day in Auckland

    November 2, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    So my second day I started with exploring my area and found a cute little food corner with cafes and funky shops with great taste in music!

    Then went on a free city tour to get kind of an orientation around Auckland and some historical facts and it was great, although i was as always late! 🙈

    Later on I went to a cute little park (theres actually plenty of them around Auckland, very green city!) to get some rest as I feel totally jetlagged 😖    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Waiheke Island

    November 4, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    So today I bought a Ferry- and Busticket to Waiheke Island, which is like 30 minutes from Auckland and pretty expensive with its 45 dollars if you ask me. But it was totally worth it! So I met Kelly, an american girl, who totally changed my point of view considerig americans and we went on an adveturous trip on this paradise island! Amazing coasts, beautiful landscapes and a great company, what can I wish for more? ;)Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Bye Auckland and hello Paihia

    November 5, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Yes, Auckland was cool, but also quite busy and after a while you feel like you've seen pretty much everything there is to be seen... and I got this amazing opportunity of staying with - watch out - a cousin of an aquaintance of my mum! And therefore I left Auckland and went further up to Paihia, which is a lovely small town with so many hostels and even more german backpackers. Honestly, first question when I meet someone isnt "where are you from?" anymore but a "heeeeyy biste Deutscher?"

    So, first night upon arrival I walked along the beach side and met two locals from next town. What I didnt know was that the 5th of November is a holiday in the british empire. Backgroundstory is: a guy tried to blow up the british government 158 years ago and he was stopped just in time. So they are celebrating his failure of blowing some buildings up by making bonfires and blowing up fireworks - yep, fireworks.
    But it was actually really cool, we were about 30 people, from at least 7 countries sitting around the bonfire, eating marshmallows and having a good time! :)    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Exploring Paihia

    November 7, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    So I started hiking and I love it! I really had a bad memory of last july in Bali, as there were not really tourist information centres and if you decided to go somewhere you had to find it on your own as there were definitely no road signs... so I'm really in love with the system they have over here! Friendly staff, free maps and great hiking trails!

    Its amazing how you can wander around for a few hours, walking past waterfalls, rivers like the amazonas, suddenly land in the middle of swamps, passing forests that look like those back home, then again it looks like a rainforest - truly stunning varieties here!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Bay of islands

    November 9, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Soo my lovely host mum (or rather host grandma?) suggested a sailing trip and of course I was totally in as this is the best way to explore bay of islands! And it truly was stunning! There are so many little uninhabited islands, it felt like little greece but way greener!
    Sailing was really cool, I was even allowed to take the wheel for quite a time!
    We stopped for lunch on an island, but unfortunately I made all the pictures with my gopro on there, so I cant show you what it looked like, but believe me, I felt like I landed on a caribbean beach with shiny white sand and cristal clear, jade greenish/bluish water! *-*

    Other than that I feel pretty exhausted (yeah travelling can be exhausting I guess ^^) and so I spent the rest of the day chilling at the beach amd later cooking dinner with friends :)

    Oh and guess what?! I got my first sunburn: on my feet! Yup I completely forgot to put suncream on my feet although I spent the whold day barefoot on a boat - clever me!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Hello Wwoofing!

    November 13, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    So I left Paihia and that little bit of civilisation I had left (even found something swissish on the street) and went about 20 minutes further up to the farm of the niece of that woman I was staying with - to start woofing!
    Now for those of you who just had a question mark popping up in their head: WWOOFING (world wide opportunities on organic farms) is working on a farm for a couple of hours and getting some food and a bed in return. In my case its 4 hours a day of f.e. gardening/woodworking/cleaning/cooking, just helping the family with simple stuff they normally dont have time for :)

    I got really lucky! I am staying on a huuuge farm (although they say its one of the smallest in the country, for me its huge!) with a milking station, cheese factory, beekeeper/honeyproducer, timberfactory, mechanic and a kindergarten! Its lovely here! They have cows (even french ones - they're really famous here!), sheeps, pigs, chicken and of course a garden...so actually everything they need!

    The family is adorable! Anna, owner of the farm, is swiss and married to Bob. They have so many children, I have lost counting and the overview, and most of the family works and lives somewhere on the farm as well. In the house with me also lives Nidhi, a girl who works at the kindergarten and has rented a room here - she is currently teaching me how to drive and showing me around the area. And Bob is helping me with effort, trying to find a car as I don't know anything about cars - and we're going to have a look at two the upcoming week! So project car is going well!

    The only real drawback about living on a farm is that massive amount of mosquitos and sandflies! I don't know if everyone knows sandflies, but those are tiny devilish creatures which I firstly identified as cute little fruitflies - they are not cute and they are not fruitflies! They are the evil! My legs are COVERED with bites and they itch as hell!

    But other than that I really enjoy getting to know the kiwi style of a farming life! ;)    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    A familiar face in uncharted places

    November 16, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    So I met Beni and his travelbuddy Jakob! They were exploring the south island together and leave the country within the next week, so they rented a car and came up to northland to see firstly me haha and secondly at least a bit of the north island!

    As I have just started to work on the farm I had no clue of what there is to see up here either. But with some tips of Nidhi, the girl who is living with me, we were able to explore some places in Kerikeri, such as the stone houses, a river to go bathing - yes it was damn cold! - and a beautiful rainbow waterfall, where we had dinner!

    So thanks for the visit guys! ;)    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Roadtrip to Russell

    November 18, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    So, while still working on the farm in Kerikeri, Nidhi, who lives with me, is showing me around the area after work. And todaaay we went to Russell!
    First capital of New Zealand, which is beautifully calm, small and quite natty... and the best part is, you only get there by car-ferry!

    After walking from one end of Russell to the other one, we wanted to reward ourselfes with some ice cream and ended up in a swiss chocolate shop with a gorgeous and lovely argentinian owner! We talked for a while and she told us her life story - we walked out of that shop after a hot chocolate and we were completely amazed by this woman, coming from Argentina, living in New Zealand, running a swiss chocolate shop, selling cuban cigars! Bäm!

    We then went to an indian restaurant where I not only got an insight into indian cuisine but also ingo indian lifestyle, culture and society as Nidhi has indian roots!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Camping Trip to Matai Beach

    November 20, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    So i went camping with a friend to the most beautiful beach I've ever seen! White sand! White sand everywhere! It was astonishing! That part of the island was so small, you could walk from one side to the other side and you were in completely different worlds! One was just white sand as far as you could see and the other one was a pretty and green bay with a campground just above it. So you actually got out of the tent and had this wonderful view over the ocean!

    The weather during the day was perfect! Sunny, warm, a slight breeze that cooled you down -picture perfect! But to be honest, everything has a downside, which this time definitely was the cold night! I almost froze to death! I wasnt expecting it to be this cold at night! I wore everything I had with me - six layers of clothing and a sleeping bag and I was still soooo cold! ❄

    But luckily I survived - and while camping with a czech friend I met two french guys heading up north to cape reinga on that campground and they offered me to join them! So my planned two-days-trip go matai beach suddendly expanded to a five-days-adventure up to the north!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Cape Reinga - King of the North

    November 21, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    So I drove all the way up to the top of the top of the island, the northernest point of New Zealand: Cape Reinga.
    Its a really cool place, as you drive up there and suddenly you find yourself surrounded by sanddunes and youre asking yourself how the heck you ended up in the desert? And you keep driving and eventually you reach cape reinga, all green again, ocean on one side, hills on the other! So a really diverse but beautiful spot!

    And yes, of course I had to take one of these famous pictures with those signs around the world - couldnt resist! But to be honest I didnt find it that special and I was surrounded by tons of tourists that wanted to do the same so we left pretty quickly again...

    Oh and yes, I do look like a red tomato as I got a horrible sunburn on matai beach as I forgot my suncream at home and here in New Zealand you cant really leave the house without it! 🔥    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Spirits Bay

    November 23, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    So after the trip to cape reinga we decided to stay to days at spirits bay, which was a perfect decision! Spirits bay is the bay where the soul leaves the island and goes to heaven, as the maoris believe... and it truly is a magical place! There were majestic wild horses running around next to the campground and ducks actually sleeping next to my tent! And the beach was not covered with sand, but with tousands of little seashells that were washed in the salty water for decades to make them smooth! It was a beautiful trip.

    And as the boys I camped with were from France and werent really the best students in english, I was able to speak french for four days staight! So that language is refreshed as well! (Point exclamation)    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.
    1

    I SAW A KIWI!

    November 24, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Yup thats it! I made something soo many new zealand folks havent done yet: I SAW A KIWI! And I even touched it!

    The thing is, it wasnt a wild one... the kindergarten organises this event every year and I was lucky enough to actually be there at that time! There is a Kiwi rescue station about 1 hour from here and this guy who looks after the animals comes omce a year to the kindergarten so the kids know this famous animal. And he even brought a friend along: the other black small bird is a tui, also very famous for its sounds and rarely seen.

    And I mean, Ive seen pictures of Kiwis, I knew how they looked like, but I always imagined them to be those little tiny birds, maybe as big as a rabbit. But they are actually as big as maybe a pug! And they have feathers, but theyre really soft and it feels more like a fur than feathers... I sat there for at least half an hour, me and about 30 other small kids magnetised and absolutely fascinated by this fluffy bird!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Surfing at Taupo Bay

    December 3, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    On this farm, but one house next to me, is another wwoofer, Johannes, from Germany! Now I met Johannes once at a family dinner; we started talking and he tells me, hes a passionate surfer travelling the island, staying wherever he can surf. As I have never been surfing before, I couldnt really understand this kind of devotion and so he simply invited me to experience it on my own!

    So we went to Taupo bay, about an hour away from the farm, and I got my first surfing lesson! Apart from having sore muscels and drinking about 10 litres of salt water, I have to admit: its so much fun!! 🏄    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Christmas is coming?

    December 6, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Soo, its december! Wow, it feels so weird! Theres christmas carols in every shop, ads on tv about christmas and people having a barbeque on christmas eve, employees are forced to wear a red santa hat and you see plastic christmas trees everywhere. But a christmas feeling? No way!
    When I think of christmas time I think of christmas markets, lots of biscuits, gingerbread, the cold rainy weather with grey clouds everywhere and hot teas next to a fire covered in a woolen blanket - but not of 25 degrees, sunburns and barbeques!?

    So luckily the woman in charge at the kindy is german and so she organises stuff at the kindergarten like saint nicholas bringing sweets amd fruits on the 6th and christmas carols and she even created this annual small christmas market! So Im getting a bit closer to my christmas feeling, by helping selling waffles at the market, crafting dwarfs and magical boxes, baking gingerbread and packing saint nicholas' gifts for the kids 🎅    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Being creative at its best

    December 8, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    So today electricity went off completely in the whole town. Meaning there was nothing to do as everything was shut down and it was raining outsidd. So I decided to make the best out of this day and be creative!

    Not only have I baked an apple roulade (yes, with a manual shaker and yes, it took me forever and a day), Ive also started sewing curtains for my car and decoration stuff to make it a bit comfy! (Yes, I also drilled holes into seashells with a manual driller and it was a real patience-challenge as it took me an eternity!)

    About my car, theres news! So atm it looks like I can buy the car from one of the sons of the family and hes even gonna build it into a campervan! Yes, Ive struggled finding the right car from up here as most cars are being sold in Auckland. But Im really excited and happy it worked out in the end and I got some great support from the family here, as they know waaay more about cars than I do... the only thing currently missing is one mirror, and once that one is on, everything should turn out to be great! Fingers crossed! 🚗    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Tour around the farm

    December 8, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    After all this crafting and baking and everything Nidhi and I needed a break and so Honey and Hunter came over, both about 10 years old and also living in one of the houses on the farm and we went walking. I took this oportunity to make some pictures to give you some kind of idea about what it looks like here!

    As I mentioned before its a huuuugeee farm! And theres so many things going on (like kindergarten, timber- & cheesefactory, etc.) and on this farm lives the whole family Bermann. Which basically means, there are about 10 houses on this farm, every family somehow related to each other, and I have no clue which one belongs to which family and is whose grandchild, but it kind of works for all of them - and thats what is important! 🙈

    First picture is the driveway from kindy to the house I live.
    Second is the house Im currently staying at, the window on the first floor on the left is my room.
    Third one is the view from the kitchen onto the garden and the fields.
    Fourth is the house next to us, which belongs to one of Annas sons. In front of the house is a bus, Tim actually lived in this bus with hid girlfrienf for abour 1.5 years while they built the house!
    Fifth are the horses I go visit everyday, they are lovely and waaaay more friendly than the cows.
    Sixth is the quickest way bcl home from the cheesefactory: crossing a field. These stones seperate the fields and have been here for decades - and theyre still here despite all the earthquakes!

    ☺    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Tour around the farm Vol. II

    December 8, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Hunter, Honey and Nidhi showed me around the cottages of the farm that were once built to have sleepovers and now are ruins with tons of memories left... its huge and it has so many fields and forests and rivers, but this is to just give you some impression on what it looks like around the farm 🚜Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    My new car

    December 12, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    May I present you: MY NEW CAR!!
    Phuu so today was a really exhausting day as my car just came back from the mechanist and so I had to get everything done in one day! (Cleaning, sewing, cutting, organising, etc.) But in the end I made it! And I am super happy and super excited!

    Tomorrow I have a looooong way to drive! 5h to Auckland to pick up my dad! One big yay for my dad who made this long journey to NZ to see me!!
    And so I have to catch some sleep to be ready for tomorrow!

    Cheers!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Visit from home

    December 13, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Look at that! I drove all the way down to Auckland airport safely and my dad actually made it to New Zealand! What can I wish for more?! Absolutely happy!
    First day we just went checking out queenstreet and the skyline as those are the must-have-seens of auckland and finished the day with a glass of kiwi-wine! Cheers!Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Rangitoto

    December 14, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Of course we had enough of Auckland after a day and felt like we need to go a bit out of the city. So we decided to go on a trip to Rangitoto island! Its a beautiful small volcanic island, that errupted about 600 years ago - one of the youngest islands around New Zealand. Wonderfully green, full of volcanic stones and beautiful tracks. But the boat ride from the island back was preeeetty windy...Read more

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