New Zealand
Hurunui District

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    • Day 15

      Unser letzter Tag im Camper 🚐

      December 11 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      Wie auch gestern startete der heutige Tag mit einem Spaziergang durch die Stadt, in der wir die Nacht verbracht haben. Kaikoura hat einige süße Shops und Souvenirgeschäfte zu bieten, ebenso wie einen kleinen Lookout bei der Kirche über Stadt und Meer - Da konnten wir auch zum 1. Mal Delfine in Neuseeland sehen. Im Laufe des Vormittags sahen wir immer wieder Delfine vor der Küste schwimmen und spielen 🐬

      Weiter ging es auf die Kaikoura Peninsula, wo eine weitere Seelöwen-Kolonie ihr Zuhause hat. An der steinigen Küste tummelten sich gleich mehrere hundert Seelöwen unterschiedlichster Größen und Alter 🦭

      Zum Abschied von Kaikoura probierten wir zum ersten Mal neuseeländische „Real Fruit Ice Cream“, die entsteht, indem in einem Mixer Milcheis und frische Früchte vermischt werden. Unser Fazit: Das wird ganz bestimmt nicht unser letztes Real Fruit Eis bleiben 🍦🍍🫐

      Am Nachmittag ging es weiter Richtung Christchurch, wo wir morgen unseren Camper zurückgeben und noch 2 Tage in der Stadt verbringen werden. Am Weg machten wir noch einen kleinen Stopp beim Gore Bay und den Cathedral Cliffs😊
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    • Day 38

      Dag 35 + 36: Milky way

      January 14, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      De afgelopen twee dagen stonden met name in het teken van kilometers maken. Onze laatste stop voor dat we naar christchurch gaan ligt namelijk aan de noordkant van het Zuidereiland. Het gaat hier om Kaikoura dat in heel NZL bekend staat als de beste plek om walvissen te spotten.

      De eerste stop richting het noorden is Lake Tekapo dit meer staat bekend om het mooie uitzicht op de bergen en het hemel blauwe water maar het meer is voornamelijk bekend als de beste plek om sterren te kijken in het land. Sterker nog het schijnt een van de beste en donkerste plekken ter wereld te zijn om sterren te kijken. Een belangrijk onderdeel van sterrenkijken is een heldere lucht. Het was even spannend maar uiteindelijk was de lucht helder en hebben we zo een 1,5 uur lang naar de sterren gekeken. Helaas is een uitzicht op de sterren lastig vast te leggen maar geloof me het was ongelooflijk mooi, het is der zo helder dat de contouren van de Melkweg duidelijk zichtbaar waren!

      Gisteren was een weinig bijzondere dag op onze reis. We hebben lekker wat kilometers gemaakt en zitten nog maar 1 uur rijden van Kaikoura af. Wel nog even een duik genomen in zee want we zaten immers aan het strand met de camping.
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    • Day 169

      Last week in Grasmere

      April 5 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      Nous avons passé notre dernière semaine au Lodge ! On a construit une table pour l’endroit des kayaks pour pouvoir poser le barbecue ! On est assez fiers du résultat qu’est ce que vous en pensez ?

      C’était la semaine des dernières fois mais aussi des premières fois puisque nous sommes allés nous baigner pour la première fois dans la rivière ! L’eau était très froide mais c’était drôle 🏔️❄️

      On a fait la première et dernière balade à cheval avec Heather dans les montagnes.
      C’était chez les agriculteurs du coin dans une petite fermette de 36000 hectares 🤪

      On a aussi fait Cave stream une balade en spéléo dans une grotte avec de l’eau jusque la taille. Malheureusement je n’ai pas de photos à l’intérieur parce que je devais avoir les deux mains libres pour me déplacer ! (Voir dernière photo)

      On s’est aussi levé très tôt pour aller voir le lever du soleil au Fishing rod une colline qui surplombe Grasmere. Le temps était nuageux avec du brouillard mais quand nous sommes montés nous avons eu une belle surprise : le ciel était bleu au dessus des nuages ⛅️

      Je vous laisse avec deux vidéos ! Celle de la semaine et la vidéo de la visite de notre appartement ! 🏠
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    • Day 10

      Kaikoura to Pegasus (Christchurch)

      November 29 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      Our first rainy day, had a lovely breakfast in Kaikoura and then headed off along the coast road before heading inland, up & down mountains before arriving at Pegasus winery where we met up with Alison’s college friend who we will be staying with for the next few days . Great concept at the winery, where you choose items from the deli & they serve it to you in a picnic basket along with a little glass vase of flowers. The gardens were very English, which felt odd seeing summer flowers in November. Have now ensconced ourselves with Teresa & John in Pegasus’s about 20 minutes from Christchurch.. tomorrow we celebrate Teresa’s birthday & are gate crashing a family lunchRead more

    • Day 95

      Māori new year

      July 16, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

      Deutsche Version in den Kommentaren
      Version française en commentaire
      Hi guys ! We spent last weekend in Christchurch and rented a Tiny House there. Normally we have Sundays and Mondays off and our plan was to head to Christchurch after work on Saturday. As we were working on Saturday it started to rain, quite hard, so we were told to finish work early and we left around noon. When we arrived in Christchurch we did some errands and when we could go to the Tiny House we got ready and went to a whiskey bar in the evening. The next day we were able to sleep in and then spent the day each to our own. Lucas enjoyed being in a house again and relaxed there, enjoying the peace and quiet. Emily went out and about, exploring Christchurch and shopping. On Sunday night we went to a rooftop bar and had a beautiful view over the city. On Monday we did our weekly shopping and went to our favourite restaurant in Christchurch, an Indian-Nepalese restaurant. The two men who work there already know us and just asked "as usual?" - "as usual!" we said, looking forward to Dal Bhat, which reminds us of our good times in Nepal. Sitting there waiting for the food, we are already planning our next trip to this special country. But now we are still in New Zealand and we haven't seen much yet, so we quit our jobs on Wednesday. Next week will be our last and so seven weeks of cutting vines will be over.
      Friday was a national public holiday, for matariki. Matariki is the name of a cluster of stars that appears in the sky in New Zealand during the winter. This apparition marks the beginning of the Māori new year. We took advantage of this extra day off and the good weather to go on a little hike and climb up mount Cass. It was a lovely 3 hours hike in the fields, surrounded by sheep and beautiful scenery. We got a bit frightened when we had to cross a field full of bulls, but they turned out to be friendly. In the evening, we went to a nearby town called Kaiapoi, where there was some matariki celebration happening, with live music and food stands, and even fireworks. We were hopping to try out hāngī, which is a traditional Māori dish cooked in a hole dug in the ground with heated rocks. Unfortunately, it was sold out when we arrived. We'll find some other place to try it out, and let you know how it tastes !
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    • Day 259

      Back on my feet

      June 19, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      Kia ora from Cheviot,

      The last few days I've been living by the motto 'shit happens' because reckless-me managed to crash my car on friday...

      I wanted to drive up to hanmer springs and well, shit happened. I went to fast into a corner and the gravel on the road made me lose control of the wheel. I skidded and ended up crashing into a bank, landing in the ditch on my side of the road.
      I got really, really, reeeeaaally lucky I guess, it was a head on crash, meaning I walked away only with a stiff neck, some strained muscels, and maybe just a slight concussion.
      I haven't had a mechanics looking over it yet but it's pretty obvious that reparing it would cost more than buying a new car, so I sadly have to say goodbye to my home for the last 7 1/2 months. That is actually a hard thing to do, it grew on me my little car, my bed, everything I built for it, the drawer and the table and the fairy lights inside... It was more than small but also my cozy little den and I loved it very deeply.

      But, like I said, shit happens and live goes on (luckily😅) and I was really freaking lucky in multiple ways: Just a day before I crashed, Aaron, a guy that saw me sleeping out in my car in frosty temperatures, offered me to stay in a sleepout he had just renovated and that he wanted to rent out to backpackers anyway. That guy has the biggest heart, honestly. He took me in, gave me tea (Kiwi for dinner) and made sure I'm not missing anything. He lives there with his two cheeky kids and two cheeky dogs, lovely family. So after my neck got checked out from a doctor he took me in again and started organizing everything around my disorientated self. He and his dad helped me get all my personal stuff out of the car in case it got raided. Then he took me back in and started helping me finding a new car, drove me to Christchurch the next day to check it out with me and right now I'm waiting for the girl that is selling it, to actually get my new van. And even though I wanted to hitch-hike, Aaron made sure I could get a ride with some mates of him that just got back from a fishing trip. Funny lads😂.

      The Van honestly has everything, it's self contained hence has a cooker, a sink with fresh and waste water tanks, a toilet that no one uses ever, cooking utensils, even some food and spices from the former owner and the best? It has a solar pannel on the roof and God, even a solar shower! Is that crazy or what.
      I'm still a bit anxious about it all, it's reeeally cheap, 3500 NZD so hoooopefully it's not a scam. The girl selling it is also a backpacker and she says that she has to go back to the US ASAP because of a family emergency, hence the price. She doesn't seem like someone to consciously try and scam somebody so I just hope the motor and mechanics are gonna be fine.

      Yeah, it's been a crazy couple of days but Aaron and his family and friends helped me through everything and are getting me back on my feet. It's honestly incredible!
      Now I just need to find work to make some money until my dad is gonna come visit me in the beginning of June. Of course mom and dad made sure immediately that i have enough money to get by and be able to buy a new car. What a lucky lucky girl I am...

      Now back to where I left off in the last Footprint. I actually stayed in picton pretty long, I met up with Max again, we had a great time just catching up and talking shit, were a funny couple of days. Very enlightening😂
      After that I got my first workaway job on a vegan animal sanctuary between Picton and Blenheim in the wetlands. A good and valuable experience, tried out vegan for three weeks with some minor fallbacks but it had me amazed how awesome vegan food can taste. As soon as I'm living somewhere again and I'll be able to cook in a kitchen I'm gonna eat waaayyy more vegetables and try to cook vegan. And I'm saying that as a former crazy carnivore, very limited in my eating options so that is saying something!

      We worked 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, every morning and evening the feeding and cleaning routine/walking the dogs and then some odd jobs around the farm. Was great to be around so many animals and to spent so much time with the other volunteers that were kiiind of my age. Was good for me, the constant social contact🤭 I then understood that before, my downs, were probably mostly caused by lack of social contact and that was a really important realization.

      Now about the animals on the farm, they were all either wild and had been taken in for adoption and a saver live, or were saved from getting killed or mistreated. There were donkeys and a pony with diabetes that couldn't eat grass, bunny's, one of them blind, some birds, lots of wild cats, greyhounds and another dog that was beaten up by his owners, a really scared one that was but still nice and not aggressive. Uff and they had two chihuahuas, they were honestly taking my last nerve😤 barking at EVERYTHING and I mean everything, I was the only one that had them halfway under control but man, they didn't seem to have three braincells... NOT my kind of dog! Bernie on the other hand (another dog) was the pretty much the opposite, that funny dog running around with me all day, major case of adhd, his eyes bulging over with concentration on the stick he wants you to throw over and over and over again. Could have just thrown him in my car and dognapped him, such a cutie!

      On the fields they had sheeps and cows and alpakas, two pigs happily drowning in mud aaand my favorite was the goat in a pen with the chickens and turkeys. That was a cheeky little thing, always trying to steal the chicken food and always looking for more scratches.
      Yeah yeah, had a good time there. Problem's just that I get bored soo fast of everything, espacially the work I'm doing, that is gonna be a problem later when I have to find a permanent job, I'm sure. But she'll be alright, I'll see what happens.

      After that I traveled around the eastern parts of the marlborough sounds a bit, stayed in Whatamango for a day, went on a trip over gravel roads to Port Underwood and Whites Bay, down to Rārangi. With some trips and hiking along the way obviously. Stunning, the marlborough sounds, gotta see it for yourself.
      I did wanted to rent a kayak and paddle around the sounds a bit but they are only allowed to rent them out to two people, man that was a bummer.

      So I made my way down to kaikoura and got the full mountain-sea experience. Kaikouras a cozy little town directly at the sea with snow-topped mountains framing the background, it's supposed to be a great whale and dolphin watching spot, THE whale watching town as far as I know. And I did see two whales, take a look at the picture it was incredible!
      Spent a few days there, sleeping on the side of some road and decided to go down to Christchurch to try and make some street music. Well I got to Cheviot and you know the rest of the story.
      Maybe I can find some work here, I'll see. Maybe in the vineyards.

      Oh yeah and I got the nitts from the family I worked for in Tolaga Bay, that's been a fuss the last month! Tried getting rid of them with two different lice treatments. Four treatments over the last four weeks and they are still hanging in, in my bird nest up there. What can I say, at least I am an awesome host🤷‍♀️😁 gonna try out a third one tomorrow, fingers crossed.

      Was the first time homesick, although you can't exactly call it that. I was just wandering through this little town cheviot here and got to this hill reserve. A forest full of oak trees, beautifulbeautiful oak trees in all there orange-brown-yellowish glory. And that's when I realized how long it has been since I felt my "Heimat". I just have to use the German term here because I did feel 'at home' in Raglan for example. But the term 'home' just can't compare to that feeling of "Heimat" that can be triggered by all of your senses, by a smell, shapes and colors, sounds, and even tastes. And those oaks are so deeply rooted to my childhood that I saw them and started crying and laughing all at once. I wasn't feeling sick at all, I was just taken aback by this beautiful, melancholic feeling that was so familiar and that I didn't know I was missing.

      I'm looking forward to seeing my dad again and traveling with him. It's kind of crazy, just a few seconds before I crashed I was thinking about how it's gonna be when my dad and I are gonna travel together in that car and how well that car has gotten me everywhere, how well it had worked. And then I crashed.
      Someone was thinking
      Hahaaaa CURVEball
      Funnyfunny
      Oh well

      So far...

      P.S.:
      For more photos scroll down👇😁
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    • Day 52

      J50: Bon on y va a Kaikoura ou quoi?

      March 3, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      On a profité d'une bonne douche chaude hier soir, il ne reste que Lino (ce petit crado) qui a skippé cette étape. Préparatifs habituels, puis on décolle. On remonte gentillement vers le nord après avoir rejoint la côte.

      On appréciera spécialement la route (qu'on avait déjà faite dans l'autre sens mais on ne s'en lasse pas) qui vient de l'east-cost vers le parc national. Celle qu'on prend du coup pour retourner vers la côte. Il fait grand beau ce matin.

      Habituelles pauses vidange/courses (on a dit qu'on avait acheté un nouveau transfo plus puissant vu que le mixer de Lino a grillé le précédent?)(du coup ça consomme maintenant en fruits et légumes ce petit vorace!), agrémenté d'une pause lessives.

      On rejoint donc la mer une nouvelle fois, c'est rigolo d'alterner montagne/mer comme ça si souvent.

      Le seul arrêt touristique de la journée, ce sera d'emprunter la tourist-drive (oui, oui), qui prend la tangeante par rapport à la highroad et permet un petit détour par la côte et Cathedral gull.

      On s'arrêtera sur ordre de Lino (ce petit filou qui a skippé sa sieste et s'est litéralement endormi sur sa panade de 4h), dans un freecamp sur notre route.
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    • Day 87

      Die Reise mit dem Camper beginnt

      December 22, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      Heute morgen haben wir ein letztes mal auf unserer schönen Terrasse gefrühstückt.
      Diesen Ausblick werden wir sehr vermissen!!
      Gegen 12 Uhr wurde Daniel vom Caravan-Mann abgeholt , denn unseren Mitsu haben wir gestern an den Händler zurück verkauft. Auch auf Kiwi Art, einfach so ohne zu kontrollieren hat Daniel den Wagen abgestellt und einen Scheck bekommen. (Da der Händler nicht so viel Bargeld da hatte, hat er Daniel zur Bank gefahren um dort den Scheck einzulösen).

      Nach einer längeren Einweisung kam Daniel mit dem Campervan angefahren. Er ist echt riesengroß und ganz schön luxuriös!!
      Nachdem wir all unsere Sachen (viel zu viele Sachen 🙈) verstaut hatten, machten wir uns auf den Weg nach Christchurch um Niels abzuholen. Er sollte am Sonntag gegen 24:00 Uhr ankommen. Wir freuen uns schon sehr darauf, ihn wiederzusehen!
      Der Abschied aus Nelson fiel uns aber dennoch sehr schwer. Es war eine so wunderbare Zeit, die wir hier verbracht haben.

      Auf unserem Weg Richtung Christchurch übernachteten wir mitten im Wald auf einem kleinen Campingplatz. Das war eine sehr ruhige und gemütliche Nacht.
      Am Morgen gab es noch eine große Freude für uns. Wir haben mit all unseren lieben Eisenblätterstraßen-Nachbarn telefoniert. Über die Videofunktion konnten wir ihnen zuwinken und ein klein wenig an der Hausweihnachtsfeier teilhaben. Marco hat uns sogar ein kleines Weihnachtsständchen vorgespielt.
      Es war so schön alle zu sehen🤩😊
      Was Technik so möglich macht. Da stehen wir irgendwo im Nirgendwo in Neuseeland und videotelefonieren mit den lieben Nachbarn. Super!!

      Fröhlich fuhren wir dann weiter und machten uns einen schönen Tag in Christchurch.
      Am Abend trafen wir dann auch noch zufällig Silke, René und Jannis+ Nico. 🤩
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    • Day 79

      Hurunui Nr. 3

      January 17, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      Die Temperaturunterschiede zwischen Tag und Nacht sind enorm. Heute früh war wieder Reif auf der Wiese und tagsüber waren es gefühlte 30°C. Seit Tagen ist schönes Wetter und hohe Temperaturen stören mich überhaupt nicht 😃

      Der Weg ging in dem Tal weiter mit wunderschönem Nebel über den Wiesen. Nach 1h konnte ich Handschuhe, Jacke und lange Hose ausziehen 😉

      Dann folgten wir dem Hurunui River über viele Kilometer, was bei dieser Hitze sehr angenehm war. Das Highlight des heutigen Tages war ein natürlicher Hotpool. Da ich die Erste dort war und allein, konnte ich in Ruhe ein Bad nehmen (Badesachen habe ich aus Gewichtsgründen natürlich nicht dabei 😉)

      Von da waren es noch 1,5h bis zum Hut. 16h war ich dort und machte mir erstmal einen Kaffee und wusch Socken und Shirt. Die waren im Nu wieder trocken...

      Heute sind zwei deutsche Mädels im Hut, die den TA in entgegengesetzter Richtung laufen, north bound. Die treffen nicht so viele TA Hiker und wenn, dann nur für eine Nacht...
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    • Day 42

      Kiwi Tal

      December 15, 2022 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      Da ich in Boyle einen vollen Resupply machen konnte und das Wetter nur einen Regentag zum Start versprach, entschied ich mich den Harper Pass anzugehen.
      Dort sind Kiwis und Keas anzutreffen, wenn man denn Glück hat. Die Kiwis sind allerdings nachtaktiv, das schaffe ich wohl nicht nach einem Wandertag.
      Der Start bei Regen an einem Highway entlang war schwer, der Wechsel in das nasse Flusstal schien aber auch nicht besser. Nachdem mich zwei Trucks passiert hatten, ging ich mit Freude durch den Sumpf. Hier hätte ich keinen Bock Rad zu fahren, mein Nachbar Manfred hat so beide Inseln erkundet, keine Ahnung wie er Bergstraßen mit Trucks aushielt.
      Der Trail war schlammig und mit vielen Flussquerungen als es gegen Mittag aufklarte, verzog ich mich wegen der vielen Sandfliegen in eine Hütte zum Essen und machte danach die letzten zwei Stunden des Tages.
      Gestern hatte ich zwei Pizzen und trotzdem konnte ich den Hunger heute kaum stoppen, ich aß gefühlt meinen halben Futtersack.
      Malcolm kam später und gegen Abend auch Tom und Kate, worüber ich mich sehr freute.
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    Hurunui District

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