The grand finale!

When you know that there are really only a few days left until the final flight, time flies even faster than it already does. And as if it had been planned, nature really gave it its all again.

I did the world famous Milford Track, where I met the keas, the smartest birds (IQ of a 6 year old child). Everything that wasn't riveted and nailed down was taken apart in front of the hut at daybreak. The rainy weather allowed for spectacular views as we crossed the saddle. I've never walked under a rainbow in my life! No, unfortunately there wasn't a pot of gold at the end of the arc. On the last day of the hike, we had to cross a number of streams that had filled up with water. At times I was in the water up to my knees. Luckily it was just wet and not cold. The track then ends in Milford Sound, one of the many fjords.

On the bus ride south we crossed the 45th parallel, which marks the lower quarter of the globe. However, it wasn't an ordinary photo stop. The bus driver had already announced that if you cross this line while traveling in his bus, you are required to take part in the naked run, i.e. to cross this line unclothed and with the appropriate momentum. I have great respect (not to say shit) for Bungy & Skydive, but as a regular sauna goer I really don't mind being naked. And that meant I was a lot ahead of the young people. I received the driver's appreciative praise because I was the first to leave the bus full of energy, even though I had only just joined this bus group that day.

In addition to the North and South Islands, there is a small third island in the very south. Stewart Island is known for its great opportunity to see kiwis, the nocturnal national animal. However, there is also a good place to watch penguins. And so we lost our chance to see the kiwis by walking towards the Cape for a good hour, shivering slightly for a good hour in vain looking for penguins (I still don't understand why there is a viewing platform to look at penguins if there are). really only left their caves in absolute darkness) and then walked back through the forest in the pitch black. The highlight was neither kiwis nor penguins. The absolute star was, in the truest sense of the word, the starry sky. Now I almost said, I've never seen anything like it. Not entirely true, because it was similarly impressive in the outback. But nonetheless, the night sky was gigantic. Thousands and thousands of stars, the Milky Way in all its beauty and other whirlpool-like galaxies. At another time of the year you can even see the northern lights here, similar to northern Scandinavia. That must be really wonderful.

Speaking of which. That was whale watching and swimming with the dusky dolphins too! ;o) I can't really describe it, you must have been there when around 50 dolphins swim next to the boat and show off their acrobatic skills or swim curiously towards the snorkel mask or when a bus-sized whale takes a breath to prepare for the next 45 Dive several hundred meters deep in minutes.

I spent the last two days in Christchurch. Unfortunately, even today, 4 years after the severe earthquake in which 185 people died and 5,900 people were injured, the city still bears witness to the destructive extent of the natural disaster. It was exactly the anniversary so the mood was visibly more sad than usual. There are many empty places where houses once stood, often making it look desolate. There are therefore enough parking spaces. But where there is shadow, there is always light. Art is created in many corners, which is also special for this city. To commemorate the victims of the earthquake, a white chair was set up for each of the people who died near a house where 135 of the 185 died, as a sign that no one is sitting there anymore. I didn't know there were so many different types of chairs. They show how different people are. Despite the sad occasion, I liked this type of commemoration. You should stay in this place as long as you like and sit quietly on the chairs and think about what kind of people there were.

I particularly liked the Dance'o'Mat. There are 4 loudspeakers in the corners and a disco ball in the middle. You can plug in your MP3 player into a machine and dance to your favorite music in the open air for a dollar. There should be something like this at home, I would use it regularly!

But it wasn't just the anniversary of the earthquake, it was also a match of the Cricket World Cup in Christchurch. I was hoping to get the rules explained or even see a game during my time in Australia/New Zealand, as I thought it must be a sport for me if you take a break from playing for lunch or afternoon tea. Sadly it did not work. And apparently the rules are so extensive that I probably wouldn't have understood them anyway. So all I had to do was have fun with the plywood sheet with the hole in it!

And then suddenly the travel time was up and I had to go to the airport.

Where have the last 6 months gone?