Meet Amanda!

Hello hello,

after I said goodbye to Viktoria, I went up north to meet with Amanda again -  the girl I met in Australia. I left Queenstown on Sunday evening and was to meet with Amanda on Wednesday in Blenheim. Apart of driving a lot, I decided to do a hike that allows me to stay in one of the huts overnight in the mountains here.

Mt Fyffe was on the way and had such a hut so I packed my things and went. I packed the same things I would take with me on a longer hike without a hut - to look how it all works out. I've had with me:
4.5l water, a tent, a sleeping bag, a mattress, a hoodie, leggings, food and none of it was optimized for weight or being carried on a mountain.

I even had playing cards with me, in case someone would be up there..

The hut actually wasn't on the very top, so I left my stuff there and went the last bit up for an hour to see the sunset.

Originally I wanted to wake up super early and also see the sunrise from the top but after that sunset I decided it wasn't worth the effort.

After the mountain I went to Blenheim and met Amanda at a supermarket. We got some groceries, went to her couchsurfing host and I washed clothes and dishes there. The host, Christian, was one of this restless DIY people who repair a lot of stuff. He provided me with a 'new' car radio since the old one always switched to CD-mode when it wasn't supposed to. Super helpful dude, thanks a lot!

Otto needed new rear brake pads which a mechanic did for us early in the morning, we left afterwards towards the 'Bay of Many Coves' because it looks like a very beautiful area on the map.

Entering the national park, we got even better views. The road there was tiny and windy so we have been slow but time is the one thing you shouldn't lack here.

Unsure about what we actually want, we stopped at one of the many bays, had some food and made some more plans.

Later I swam in the water, it was the warmest I have ever swam in here so far. All the bays dont allow so much water exchange so it heats up more then the rest. I'd provide you with a screenshot but am fighting with this very limited library computer I'm typing on - just search for 'Bay of many Coves' on google, you will be surprised by the topology!

We decided to keep going, the plan is to go around the island, counter clockwise.

Otto was too warm, we thought the engine might be too hot. We checked the coolant, but that was A-OK. Our mission in Nelson was to fix Otto as soon as possible, we went to many different mechanics and in the end Otto had... respiration problems. His exhaust pipe was somehow blocked, so the mechanic cut a piece out, welded a new one in and Otto was good to go on the same day!

Amanda said she is all in for hiking but we should start easy. The Abel Tasman national park is famous for it's gorgeous beaches, so we went there first for some walks.

After a rather easy hike, we increased the challenge and went up a real mountain. We got to see this lake all the time. On this very day there was a motorboat race on the lake and I can tell you, they are extremely loud. It's like a jet flying above you, just that it won't go away.

With all the noise from the motorboats and the fog that took the great view from us, I feared Amanda would get a really negative impression of the first hike but luckily the race was over eventually and the fog cleared up!

Later we went to see some seals close to Westport.

We could access the beach from one of our camps at night and I decided to give Ottos 4 wheel drive a test!

Here on the west coast are the famous pancake rocks, the are called like that because they look like pancakes layered on top of each other. But before we actually got there, we picked two hitchhikers up and went with them to a really short track ending at a fascinating beach.

After the beach we went to our final destination for the day, the pancake rocks!

You see a slight rainbow in the pancake picture above? There is actually a blowhole, splashing out water from time to time.

Later that evening we went to our camping spot, which was totally gorgeous but before that we had a beer in the local pub close by.

Today we went to a cavern we missed on the way. It was just 15 minutes back, so we figured why not?

Amanda and I will continue our journey around the island, she will leave the country on the 8th, that is in 6 days. We will see if we can make it, we are by far not the fastest around here.

You guys will probably not get an update before that, I'm usually happy when I have reception..

Love and peace,

Laurin