The capital of penguins

After having made two beautiful knives by ourselves, we went off in the direction of Christchurch and the Arthur’s Pass.

Not wanting to confuse your minds, FYI: that was on the 18th january 13. On the following day, we woke up with a mind-blowing view over a nameless lake and the mountain chain that surrounded it. Having had a good start into the day, we drove straight into civilisation and visited Christchurch, the city where my parents got married 25 years ago.

It is impressive to see the implications of the earthquake that happened not a long time ago. The centre of the city is still closed for visitors and inhabitants of the city alike, and it is very sad and frightening to actually experience and understand the gravity of the event. Luckily enough, people from Christchurch have started a project called Re-Start, where they re-opened shops and cafes in containers to form a vibrant, new place to meet up and carry on with life.

After spending some time in the city, Yannick and I went to see the Banks Peninsula before continuing to travel south and sleeping over night in a tiny backpackers in Geraldine. Thereby, our Chliiniis performance has been excellent – we now have done over 5000 kilometers without facing further problems. We love our car, thanks mate! :)

But the highlight of these days was still to come: yesterday we then arrived in Oamaru, which is a REALLY lovely place you should stop at for a few days (or a lifetime.) It’s got some historic places and a fascinating street art culture, as well as some great food (finally: some real cheese and bread – what more do you need?) and most important: two different penguin colonies! Of course, we couldn’t get to see them fast enough. Sometimes, you would think that some people are facing serious mental problems (called obsessions). But yes, they are extremely cute, being the smallest penguins of the world!

Of course, it’s possible that our immediate liking of the city is also partly due to the warm welcome that Therese (an old friend of my mum’s) and her energetic boy Finlay provided us with. They are just excellent people and we are very much enjoying our time with them right now!

So off to the elephant rocks (limestone formations) now!

Love ya and leave ya.

Yannick and Anja

Trek No. 2: Mission accomplished!

Mission accomplished!

Wow, so much to tell you about! Perhaps the post with the news has been delayed because we feared not to be able to describe you properly what we have seen. Because, honestly: how would YOU tell your friends about gazing into the huge eyes of a baby seal? How would YOU give credit to an incredible sunset, experienced on top of a hill overlooking a national park? And which expressions would YOU use to characterize all the friends you’ve made in the meanwhile?

Anyway, we let it up to you to imagine what we felt by doing the track, because we know we are unable to word it. But we can at least put everything in it’s order.

After having spent some time in the beautiful city of Nelson, it was time for our second track. This meant packing our backpacks for the second time to spend four days alone with mother nature. Because of us, or because of the chocolate we took with us, our group gained not just a few members: we started with Andreas and added one Dutch girl, one German girl, one Argentinian guy, two Kiwis and another two Kiwis to our tramping party. It was so much fun.

On our way we saw penguins (guess what: they are Yannicks favourite!), New Zealand fur seals, possums, and many other native birds.

After the track, we spent two relaxed days in Takaka, where from we explored the “Golden Bay” and the Cape Farewell. Unfortunately, the supposed-to-be-all-day-present-sun never showed and the weather was pretty bad. But nevertheless, that’s not a valid reason for a bad mood! :)

After the roadtrip back to Nelson (we had to re-visit our new friends, of course!) and to Punakaiki and the pancake rocks, we spent three nights in Greymouth. The hostel that we’ve been to was just fantastic, offering free kayaks, bikes and much more. We spent some fabulous days there.

Trekking Tour

Finally, FINALLY: we’re on the South island! The “centre of the world” is supposed to bear even more beautiful and stunning views and places than the North island. We sincerely doubt that this is actually still possible, but anyway, we’re very excited to explore it! But first of all, you’d probably like to know what we have been up to till today. So everything in it’s chronological order:

After New Years Eve’ in Taupo with Andreas and a couple of hilarious Scottish lads, we have already been quite productive on the first day of the year and successfully prepared our first Trek. On the 2th january, we wanted to get up early and have a head start for the Trek – but be aware of the beginning “we wanted” in this sentence. Because we couldn’t. Or, rather, we intended to – and encountered a flat tyre in the morning. And since it is a Public Holiday in New Zealand, it’s extremely hard to get a break-down assistance and more importantly, a new tyre. But we did it! :)

But the bad luck continued on this day – we took the wrong direction and hiked about four kilometers for nothing. A very kind English couple gave us a lift back to the beginning of the Trek, which we started tramping in the early afternoon. The huts were simple and “basic”, (without hot water, electricity or flushing toilets), but as the atmosphere among the Trampers was really great we didn’t care much. And the nature surrounding us was just breath-taking. Mind-blowing. You couldn’t possibly describe it – wait until you see the photos of our professional photographer Andreas (1700 shots in 4 days)!

After the Trek we headed South to a cosy backpackers in Ohakune, where we did a lot of washing! (The clothes and ourselves needed both a clean wash)
After that, we drove straight to Wellington. The New Zealand Capital is quite a bit more charming than the economical centre Auckland. We spent the two days seeing a few exhibitions (Te Papa museum; Weka-Workshop) and did some sight-seeing. Our last meal on the North Island consisted of a wood-fired Pizza and a “real” hot chocolate – not bad at all! We then went to see Skyfall in the cinema (and this time, we managed to stay awake throughout the film -.-) and took the Ferry at 02:25 am to the South island!

Yeah, so this is it – and the next time you’ll hear from us we’re going to have done the Abel Tasman Trek as well! Send us some good weather, please! :)

xxx

Anja & Yannick

Coromandel Peninsula

Wow, how fast the time goes by! It’s REALLY been a long time since our last post on our blog – please accept our sincere apologies for the extended silence, but we were very busy. Very busy indeed.

After leaving Rotorua and its fabulous smell we climbed the famous Mount Manganui (which is more of a joke than a real mountain, given its height of about 200 meters) and were confronted with a fantastic view over the Peninsula. The mountain-adventure was followed by a quiet night in a really cosy hostel in Te Puru, where we have been welcomed with home-made cookies and fresh strawberries from the garden. Nice one!

Fresh strawberries grow in the garden of the fabulous Jacaranda Lodge in Coromandel Town as well, where we stayed for two weeks with our host Robin Münch. Being a fascinating but very precise person we had a great time helping her with different tasks around the B&B and in her garden. It was very impressive to see how this tough woman manages all the work on her own – including the home-made production of countless goodies from fresh yoghurt, bread and jams to all kinds of delicious dishes (thereby using, of course, nearly every single ingredient grown on her own farm!).

On the 24th december, we finally re-met Andreas, with whom and whose friends we enjoyed a lovely Christmas BBQ. However, the idea of a Christmas party at the beach was not what reality was like, since it literally poured down and rained cats and dogs throughout the whole evening. Nevertheless, we had a great time and topped the evening with a highlight of icing and decorating the most beautiful Christmas biscuits ever.

Finally, on Christmas day, we hardly ever left Robin’s side and the kitchen of the Jacaranda Lodge. The special Christmas breakfast and the big BBQ in the evening required a lot of hard prep’ work, but was quite fun. And the outcome was nothing but DELICIOUS!! That was good teamwork. :)

But of course we did not just work during these two weeks in Coromandel, but enriched our stay with afternoons spent at the probably most beautiful beaches of the whole peninsula (Waitete Bay and New Chums Beach) and in the Kauri forests, where we even discovered a Siamese Kauri.

Robin and her daughter-like employee Jessie have become good friends we would love to meet again in some indefinite future. They are the main reason why we enjoyed our stay at Jacaranda Lodge to the highest degree and are just fantastic people.

After these 14 days in Coromandel we finally said Good Buy to everyone and left the Peninsula. A three-hours-drive later we did at last reach the “big” city of Taupo. Visiting the Huka Falls and the great fireworks at New Years Eve’ brought us great pleasure, but left us with even greater anticipation for the before coming Tongariro Trek! The National Circuit is one of New Zealands Nine Great Walks and must be absolutely stunning. Anjagorn, Yannigolas and Samdreas are definitely looking forward to arriving there and starting this next adventure tomorrow morning. And who knows what’s waiting for us in Mordor-Land.. (hopefully not too many Orks, as Yannicks archery skills are not that brilliant! ;D)

– We hope you had a start in 2013 as exciting and promising as ours has been! I should probably get some sleep now in order to be fresh and fit for the big day. But be sure to hear from us soon!

Sweet as. Cheers Guys!
Anja & Yannick.

Rotorua (The city that smells like rotten eggs and is supposed to be advantageous to the male sex life)

Thursday morning, departure from Raglan to Rotorua – a journey of about 150 kilometers from the west coast to the east. For the first time we took along a hitchhiker from India, who entertained us more or less during the drive. Currently we are staying at the “Funky Green Voyager Backpackers”, which is far better than it sounds! :)
On Thursday evening, we went to see “The Hobbit” in the cinema, a film that has been produced here in New Zealand. The countrysides you can admire during the film are mostly located on the South island, which makes us wanting to get down there as soon as possible.
On Friday, we hiked through the local Redwood forests and got a birds-eye view over the beautiful city of Rotorua. In the evening, we participated in a local demonstration of the Maori culture including the Haka war dance, the ceremonies, a long explanation about local plant and animal life and last but not least a real Hangi meal! (It was delicious.)
And not to forget: we spotted our first glow worms! :)

Today, we did two “Zorbs”, an adrenaline adventure invented here in New Zealand. Take a look at the photos and you’ll get the idea behind it. This afternoon we’ll enjoy the beautiful weather and chill out at the lake side. But you’ll hear from us soon, promise!

Cheers and thanks guys,

Anja & Yannick

Certified Open Water Divers!

We know it’s been a long time since our last post. But we were really occupied with that dive course, that’s for sure! But nevertheless we’d like to give you a brief update about the past few days in the Northland.
After visiting the Cape Reinga in the North, we descended on the East Coast of the Northland to Russell, where we stayed at Pukeko Cottage in a homely Backpackers (There are only 5 beds available) with Barry. He’s a great guy and we enjoyed our stay very much (Once in a while it’s quite nice to NOT have to pay all the extras like Wi-Fi, laundry facilities or the mustard for your salad’s dressing), even if his big curious dog was quite smelly. After strolling around in the city we got our medical checks done and studied over the weekend for our Open Water Diving Course – because there’s quite a lot you have to know before actually going done for 18 meters. So we did all the exercises like the most geeky students prior to starting the course, which was appreciated very highly  by our instructor Karlean (so we could start straight away). We had good times with her and the rest of our group (Lara, Parker and Nicola – you’re great people) as well as Paihia Dive’s Team (Craig & Lisa – the scallops were delicious, thanks for that!).

During all these days we stayed at Captain Bob’s Hostel in Paihia, where we got used to this nice flat sharing atmosphere with all the (German) people we met on the way. Pizza, Chili con Carne and an interesting Vegetable-Snapper plate were on the menu – we always had dinner together. Awesome place!
Yesterday evening we finally decided to move on downwards. We still did about 130 kilometers till Waipu and a stunning DOC-campground. And we have a new (temporary) fellow traveller that’s coming along! Nicola’s the newest addition to our group, and maybe Andreas will join us later in Raglan. :)

Today we did another 160 kilometers to arrive in Auckland and meet up with Michael, the guy that sold us our car. He’s getting it fixed right now, so we’re here for another three days. That sucks, especially now that we got the taste of the Roadtrip feeling and the breathtaking landscapes that wait to be discovered by us! But anyway, we might as well use that time to explore some of the islands around Auckland (Waiheke, Rangiototo). Anyway, we’re still alive and safe and sound as well, so don’t worry! We’re having a great time!!

Cheers Guys,
Yannick & Anja

Adventure Northland

After a rapid departure from Auckland, we travelled about 200 Kilometers North on Monday evening. We were and still are a bit worried about our car, but this will hopefully work out fine in two week’s time. And till now, it was only worries and not real problems that we faced, so everything’s fine. Afterwards, we spent our first night in our car named “Chliini” (a nickname that reveals its humouristic background when spoken out aloud with a thick french accent hahaha) on a luxury camping ground. After a quick walk in the Kauri forests the following morning, we travelled once again 200 kilometers up the Northern coast – and arrived in Pukenui, a “big city” with one supermarket, one bar (Party hard!) and 20 locals. But the view from the breakfast table is breathtaking, so who cares?

Today we’ve done another 100 kilometers to finally reach the northernmost point of New Zealand, the Cape Reinga. There we took a route a little bit less flushed with heaps of tourists, and found a wonderful private bay where we spent the rest of our day. It was the same spot where we met two “working” Kiwis that finally showed us how to hunt for local sea food in the ocean. One of us (not telling you who – but it’s the one with long hair) actually managed to successfully collect “prossels” for dinner! :)

 

We’ve bought that car! The adventure starts now! :)

Before buying the car that we’ve seen yesterday evening, we wanted to compare it with other offers. Therefore, we went to another car fair at Alten Road, where we had to realize that the offer by Michael was really the best one so far – and so we closed the deal! Our beloved car is a Daihatsu Pizar, aged 15 years old (1997), and it will carry us soon to the Northern Part of the North Island (Cape Reinga here we come!), where we will witness the Pacific ocean meet the Tasman sea. We can already smell that adventure! ;)

Soon our own car?

Today, we admired Auckland from the Mount Eden, where from we also heard and saw New Zealander do the “haka”. In the afternoon, we looked for a car. For a start, we had an appointment with a weird man and a Toyota Estima which didn’t convince us. After that, we visited a seedy car fair and the Auckland Museum too, because this one was at 20 minutes by foot from the car fair. Finally we went back to the Backpackers to meet the last car owner, who made a pretty good  and serious impression. Will this be our next car ? Well who knows?

Day of the Sky ;-)

Not a bad start, I would say.. second day in Auckland, and already too many ideas of what to do! So we thought, why not do a theme day. We did our very first skydive (which was reeeaally amazing!!), visited the Skytower and today’s eve it’s agent 007 (Skyfall) that will entertain us. We finally start to realise what lays ahead of us – so great!