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  • Nadja W.

New Zealand

A 177-day adventure by Nadja Read more
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  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Exploring the best Auckland has to offer

    December 14, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    So we made a little trip around the new wyneyard-quarter, further up to the tiniest park ever and in the evening we enjoyed the sunset up on mount eden. Its more a small hill than a mountain and it actually would be a small vulcano, but yeah, its called mount eden! And its an amazing view, you not only see the skyline with the famous skytower but also aaaaaaall those suburbs of auckland - and there are so many! Considering that there are 1.5 million people living in auckland and most of the buildings only have one floor....it kind of makes sense that its one of the biggest cities in the world!Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.
    1

    HOBBITON!

    December 16, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Yes, I did it! I dragged my dad to the most touristic spot of New Zealand: HOBBITON Movie Set!
    It costed bloody 80$ per person, what is waaaay too overpriced, if you ask me, but it was totally worth the experience! You really feel like youre in the middle of middle earth and surrounded by little hobbits, and tourists of course.Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Mount Manganui

    December 17, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We stayed two nights at this lovely campground just next to mount manganui (another mountain which is more of a hill than a mountain) and with a great ocean view!
    Of course we went up that hill, with another hundert of tourists in neon sport-outfits, as it was a total challenge to climb that hill in about an hour... ^^ oh and yes, I became a kiwi - I walked up that hill and past all these tourists in their jogging and hiking shoes BAREFEET! 👣
    Unfortunately and what is really not shown in those sunny pictutes, is that it was freeeeeeezing cold at nights and we had to buy a fluffy cozy blanket, so we dont freeze ⛄    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Maraehako Bay

    December 18, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Still heading east, I want to show you how beautiful the roads in New Zealand are! Not sure if you can see it with those pictures, but heading east, there are just curvy roads, surrounded by amazingly green forests! In one of our guide-books, it was written, there are not really spots to see on that road, the driving itself is what we're aiming for - and that was so true! Absolutely worth the long ups and downs of the road!

    We stayed at a campground for one night, again in the middle of nowhere, veeeeery windy, but directly at the beautiful beach with a campfire - can anyone top that? 🔥    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Blue springs

    December 19, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    After an hour of trying to get out of Auckland we finally made it on high way 1 heading south! Apart from confusing cities, what also needs to be said about New Zealand is the interesting placement of petrol stations! We passed about 5 petrol stations in the first 30 minutes od our journey, thinking we dont have to refuel straight away as we will pass another few.... mhm... we drove 2 hours straight, village through village, the petrol indicarion sinking lower and lower anf there was no petrol station in sight! Fortunately we made it to Cambridge just in time!

     So our goal was reaching Matamata in the evening and so we made several stops our way there and thanks to instagram one of those was blue springs! It was just like in a disney fairy movie! Wonderful colours, mystic fog, and stunning nature!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    East Cape at twilight

    December 19, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 31 °C

    Yes, we made it to east cape!! But first, I have to tell you the story of how we got there: so last time ee refueled petrol was in Cambridge and we thought it would be totally enough until east cape...but since the roads were like driving a swiss mountain pass, we used more.... we asked at that campground were the next fuel station was and she totally calmed us down, telling us its only 15km away. Great! So we drove there and on that very exact morning we arrived, they had a power shut down! No lights, no petrol, not even a coffee for our waiting time... power should have been back on at 1 pm... and it was back on, everywhere but the petrol station...so we waited...and we waited..and all the maoris (east cape is full of native kiwis) waited... and then power went back on! Buut the paying system broke down! And so we waited.... 3 pm the guy from the shop next to the petrol station told us that theres another one 50km further east, but they went out of petrol the day before! HAHA! So you see, we were absolutely in the middle of nowhere!
    And then a technician finally called this guy, informing him that he has to stop by to fix it and he will come...within the next 48 hours!!! That was when this friendly man called the other petrol station in Te Araroa and luckily they got some new petrol! So not knowinf if we'd make these 50km to Te Araroa we started driving - aaaaaaand we made it! Phuuu! Petrol was totally overpriced...but at least we got petrol! 😥

    In Te Araroa growd the oldest pohutukawa tree in the world with its 300ish years and it was massive! Now if you're wondering, what is a pohutukawa, its the new zealand christmas tree! As on christmas, the tree flowers with magnificent red blossoms!

    As it only was about 6 pm we decided to drive past the campgound and all the way down to the east cape on a gravel road, so we'd know where to drive tomorrow before sunrise. When we arrived there, we realised there were about 5 other cars camping infront of the 800 stairs to the lighthouse. So we simply decided to join them and camp there as well to safe some sleep in the morning! Gosh it was so damn windy! But totally worth it, as even then sunset was breathtaking!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    East Cape at dawn

    December 20, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 31 °C

    Phuu today was a bloody long day! We got up at 5 am to climb those 800 stairs to the lighthouse, only to realise that there were about 10 more tourists having the same idea! So we decided to walk through some bushes to an old military view point and greet the rising sun as one of the first people on this earth on the easternest point of New Zealand!! 🌅

    Ps: we woke up, surrounded by cows, wild horses with their offsprings and soo many cute little easrer rabbits 🐇    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Tolaga Bay

    December 20, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 31 °C

    So, as I said before, New Zealand doesnt really have a lot of interesting history.. so they made a big fuss about every little thing that once happened! This time its James Cook, who once landed here for a few days and then simply went off again. About a 100 places were named after him or one of his crew...totally over the top if you ask me. But at Tolaga Bay there was a lovely campground just at the beginning of the cooks cove walk. Of course, even though we already climbed 800 stairs this morning, we had to go on that 2.5 hours walk! And it was beautiful! We ate chips on a field surrounded by sheeps, had a little meeting with a big, black and rather angry looking bull, walked through holes in the wall and watched the sun set from the peak of a hill. Stunning!Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Lake Waekeromoana

    December 24, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    So we actually wanted to make a three-day-trip around the lake in the middle of nowhere surrounded by mountains. But unfortunately NZ-huts are not as well furnished and equipped as our SAC-cottages... theres running water, not drikable, and thats it! You'd have to carry your own kitchen equiptment, sleeping bag, water and food with you... which was unfortunately not possible for us. So we decided to make a 6h short-trip on christmasday, which was just as beautiful in the middle of the jungle! 🌳

    Unfortunately we were camping a bit further up than the ocean, in the windy mountains, and it got to an extend of cuddly 9.4 degrees! I was shivering that night!! ❄    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Mahia Beach

    December 24, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU GUYS! Hope you're enjoying your days off and have a lovely, winterish holiday! 👼🎄

    Of course we had to use that timing with the sun and the beach to make you all jealous with some typically touristy fotoshoots! 📷Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Raglan

    December 25, 2016 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Our last destination before heading back to Auckland we decided to be Raglan. A lovely, cute, small surfer town, famous for its black sand and great waves! Since almost everything was closed due to christmas, we spent the evening on the shore of raglan watching fireworks - yes, apparently thats a thing here, fireworks on christmas eve 🎆Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Windy Wellington

    January 5, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    NEW YEARS EVE IN THE CAPITAL! That was my plan, so I took the night bus from Auckland to Wellington, since I gabe my dad and Nicole my car to travel around the next three weeks. And it was the best decision ever! Fell in love with Welly at first sight! What a city! Small and compact, well organised, beautiful spots like the botanical garden and finally a city with a nice vibe! I stayed in an amazing hostel with so many lovely people and I couldnt have started into new year any better! (Although the firework on the pier was pretty shitty - but oh well) 🎊😍Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Taupo - Tongariro Crossing

    January 7, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    What a boring city compared to Wellington! But the only place to start an amazing hike and I definitely didnt want to miss out on that one: the Tongariro Crossing!

    19.4 km, 6.5 hours, mount doom from lord of the rings, 4 lakes, lots of volcanic steam and smelly sulfur smell and hundreds of people walking with you! Which was something quite annoying, especially when you had to pee, but it was okay since I knew amd expected that there will constantly be people in front of me and people behind me walking...and I couldnt blame them, its such an amazing walk!
    But my feet...hmmm...yeah they didnt really like it that much 🙈    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Rotorua

    January 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Aaah Rotorua! Such a lovely city...but smelly as! Since there are so many vulcanic steams and hot tubs it smells like rotten eggs wherever you go! In the hostel at night, in the restaurant for dinner, in the park during a nap - everywhere! Which is really horrible, but its absolutely worth it since its really nice bathing in natural hot springs! 🛀🍃

    Unfortunately as a safety reason I didnt take my phone with me, so I cant share this wonderful experience with you, but we went to Wai-O'-Taupo, which is a scenic walk through the volcanic terrain and it was stunnig! It was boiling hot, bubbling like in a witchs kettle and the colors of the chemical elements where marvellous!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Lynne's in NZ!

    January 18, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    After staying in Hamilton and Raglan for a few days I went back to Auckland to welcome my girl in lovely NZ! We stayed in Auckland for a few days, going to Waihiki Island, strolling through Auckland and even doing some Acro Yoga!!

    We then met my dad and Nicole, as their journey came to an end and they gave me back my car after three weeks of travelling around with it.

    And so one journey ends and another one is about to begin.. 🐾    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Northland

    January 21, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    So Lynne and I had a few days left, before Lara joined the clan and we decided to drive up Northland! We made a quick stop at the farm I was staying in Kerikeri and drove all the way up to Cape Reinga and Spirits Bay - which as always was stunningly beautiful!

    Unfortunately it was really windy at our stop in Matai Bay, it almost blew us away 🌬

    Our last night we spent in Helensville, which is an hour away from Auckland, as Lara arrived at 6am at the airport! Helensville is supposed to be a great spot for hot springs, spa, welness and just relaxation - well, at least now we know, that Kiwis think a bit differently in terms of spa; it was just horrible and they got 2 A4-pages of feedback, which took me longer to write down than the actualy amount of time we spent in this dirty hub! 💩    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Lara's in NZ!

    January 23, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    Weeeeeelcooooome to New Zealand! Once Lara arrived at the airport, we immediately started driving to Hamilton, to get a fat breakkie and catch up - and we had a lot to catch up!

    We then made our way down the west coast to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, where we got to go on a glowworm tour, exploring caves with torches and seeing millions of glowworms, once the lights were off!

    With a quick stop at the magnificent bridal veil falls, we continued our way to the east coast... 🚙    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Rotorua / Mt Manganui

    January 25, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Of course I had to show the girls one of my favourite spots in NZ: Rotorua! Eventhough it smells really bad in the city, it has so much to offer! We went to the redwoods, strolled through the city, walked along the Champagne lakes and took a swim in the two hot streams! Which is really the coolest thing on earth! So there is a river and this river is damn hot and you can sit in it for free! How awesome is that?! 🛁

    We continued driving to Mt. Manganui, my second favourite place on the North Island! Where we met some really weird and some really cool (ginger) people and Lara even made us Mc'n'Cheese!    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Eva and the Coromandel Penninsula

    January 29, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    So Eva, a friend of Lynne, is also travelling through NZ and spontaneously decided to join us exploring the Coromandel Penninsula! We had kind of a bad timing, as there were a lot of festivals during that time and so we had to sleep on Campgrounds...sometimes in Cottages and once we even got a whole house for us as a special offer!! 😎

    Coromandel is beautiful! Very touristy, but beautiful! The girls went surfing, we digged our own pool at the hot water beach, explored the Cathedral Cove and found a lovely winery with homemade woodfire pizza!! What a wonderful ending of this chapter, before leaving NZ and heading to Australia for 3 weeks... 🐨    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Back in Auckland

    February 24, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After 3 amazing weeks in Australia with my girls, I am back in Auckland, starting the journey on my own again. I had the lucky pleasure of being able to stay with Nidhi's family (the girl from the farm in Kerikeri) for some days before going on my adventure. They were so warm and welcoming, I felt like in an indian bollywood dream! And so I was able to relax, catch up with family, watch tv and chill - cause everybody needs that sometimes! 🕊Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Mt. Taranaki / New Plymouth

    February 27, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    On my way down from Auckland to the South Island I made a quick stop in New Plymouth to climt Mt. Taranaki. Unfortunately this mountain is very tricky, as weather changes so quickly on top. I went halfway up and it got so foggy that I had to turn around cause I was afraid Id get lost... So all days were beautiful in New Plymouth, I rented a bike, drove along the coast, went shopping and sat in many Cafés...but everytime I looked up to that mountain, there was this stupid cloud. 🗻Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Ferry to Picton

    March 3, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Hello South Island!
    After another quick stop in wonderful Wellington, I took the ferry to Picton at night! And it was breathtaking, cruising through these sounds!
    On the ferry I met two swiss guys from Zurich, that are currently travelling the world with their jeep, and we decided to continue travelling together for a bit! So the beginning of my journey on my own...is actually a chapter with two boys from Zurich!Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Abel Tasman / Farewell Spit

    March 6, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    So with the boys, I drove to the end of Abel Tasman, where we made a dayhike along the beach - together with about a 100 other tourists and about a 1000 sandflys! But the beaches were just beautiful! And we even got to see some seals!

    We continued driving up to the most north-western end of the island, called farewell spit. On a map it actually looks a bit like the head of a kiwi! Just a couple of weeks ago, there was a massive whale-stranding and you were still able to see the dead whales - which was really brutal! But the road along the beach was just stunning - hard to focus on driving while passing such beauty! 🌊    Read more

  • Nadja W.New ZealandNadja W.

    Kaikoura

    March 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    So when I was in Wellington on New Years Eve I met three israeli guys... and since they were leaving for Australia, I decided to leave the two swiss guys, as they were driving down the west coast, and drive to Christchurch and the east coast instead.
    Kaikoura is the place to be when it comes to wildlife animals! And so I decided to make a quick stop there! Quick...yeah thats what I thought!
    Kaikoura was the city worst damaged in the earthquake 2016 and the highway 1 from Picton to Kaikoura was still closed. Two other roads where closed due to flooding. And so I had two take a narrow and windy way through mountains to get to Kaikoura. Shortly said: it took me an eternity, as there were road maintenances everywhere due to the earthquake and I almost ran out of petrol... it was a nightmare! But with hindsight I can gladly say: I made it! And my day there was definitely worth this horror trip!

    Because the next day, before heading to Christchurch, I went swimming with dolphins!! 🐋 What an experience!!    Read more

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