On the way to the south (09.01.-10.01.2017)

After saying goodbye to Mike and Tanja, we went shopping to get some supplies for our upcoming road trip. Then we continued to Battle Hill Campground in Akatarawa Forest (somewhere between Levin and Wellington). Once we arrived, we decided to only have bread for dinner despite having a new gas cooker. We chatted a bit about our upcoming journey on the South Island and observed a group of strange New Zealand guys who seemed to enjoy driving cars, bathing in rivers both clothed and naked, and peeing in the woods. A little later, still a bit disturbed by this sight, we went to sleep.

The next day, we headed directly to Lower Hutt as we had written to our former Wwoof host Conrad to pick up a forgotten USB stick. Conrad kindly offered us to spend the night at his place, which was a lucky coincidence since we didn't really know where we should sleep (close enough to the Wellington Harbor). 

In the afternoon, we hiked up Mount Victoria in Wellington and bought German beer and chocolate which we then took to Lower Hutt in the evening.

For dinner, we prepared zucchini fritters, pasta with tomato sauce, and sausages, and Conrad gave us some insider tips for the South Island. After that, he suggested making a fire on the rooftop terrace, which we immediately put into action. Equipped with beer and chocolate, we sat outside comfortably and chatted for a bit too long (the ferry was scheduled to leave at eight o'clock the next morning) and eventually went to sleep after a hot shower.

Jasmin