NEW ZEALAND

Who would have thought! After exactly 7 months of planning and preparing for my trip to the other end of the world and countless moments where I thought to myself: My departure? Oh, that's still ages away, it happened faster than expected. On September 18th, I left the country that had driven me away and at the same time the people I love the most. New Zealand was the destination, the small beautiful country beyond the horizon, beyond the vast ocean. After 23 hours and exactly 20,000 km, I landed in Auckland and the adventure began. After grabbing my 19 kg backpack from the conveyor belt, I walked to the bus and that's where I met the first girls, both from Germany. Check-in at the hostel was at 2 PM and when did I arrive again? Oh yes, early at half past four in the morning... So, after a shower, two coffees, and several I-have-arrived-safely messages, I set off with Adina, a girl from the bus, on my way to Auckland City!

Auckland is really not a beautiful city and everyone here will tell you that. However, Auckland is like a hub where the whole world comes together and arrives for the first time (and usually leaves immediately). The worst thing is, no matter where you are, whether in the hostel, supermarket, café, or at the harbor, there is no escaping the German language here. The Germans are everywhere.

After we had overcome this shock the next day and took care of our phone number, we went to the Sky Tower, because as it is known, everything looks less scary from above.

Auckland definitely does not represent New Zealand and everyone is glad to get away from here and finally see what they came here for!

Around Auckland, there are many small islands, each different from the other. We went to Rangitoto and Waiheke Island.

Rangitoto Island is a small island 20 minutes away from Auckland. The island is uninhabited and apart from a few toilets, there is nothing. If you miss the last ferry back to Auckland at 4 PM, you have to reenact Tom Hanks and Wilson for a few hours, because that's exactly how you feel there. Pure nature! Rangitoto is a volcanic island that formed 550-600 years ago. You can explore the lava caves there, the rock that used to be hot lava. We also hiked to the top of the mountain. It's quite exhausting for flatlanders like us, but definitely worth it!