Christmas and New Year's in summer

During Christmas and New Year's, we took a vacation from our vacation ;)

We had already planned the holidays in advance and found other travelers through Facebook who also didn't have plans for Christmas and New Year's. So, together with 11 other people (all Germans, as it couldn't be otherwise), we rented pitches on a campsite a bit below Christchurch from the 23rd to the 26th of December, right by the beach (unfortunately, not a sandy beach and not necessarily suitable for swimming, but a beach is a beach). We were excited to meet everyone and were pleasantly surprised to see that everything went smoothly and everyone got along well with each other.

On December 24th, Christmas Eve, we had amazing weather, sunny and 26-27 degrees Celsius!! Just the way we wanted it! We started barbecuing at 6 pm and had our own little beach barbecue. It was definitely a different kind of Christmas, even though it didn't really feel like Christmas. The only thing Christmassy was our Santa hats 😂

The following two days after the 24th, the weather wasn't as good, but we still had a good time.

On the 26th, we moved into a house in Christchurch that we had rented together through Airbnb. Unfortunately, Klaas from Hamburg, whom you see in the last picture, had already left by that time. But three other girls joined us, so we lived in the house with fifteen people for a week, and surprisingly, it worked out well. We even got back the entire deposit ;) The house itself was pretty nice and even had a small swimming pool, although we couldn't really use it because of the weather. I was the only girl who at least went inside the pool once.

Between Christmas and New Year's, there was a big event. On December 27th, Jana and I went swimming with dolphins!! Unfortunately, we didn't have great weather. In Akaroa, where we did the tour, it was only about 14 degrees Celsius, which was a little cold, but the wetsuits we got were really good, and at least it wasn't raining.

The tour was great. There were 12 people participating, and we first sailed a bit to find 'positive' dolphins, meaning dolphins that show interest and curiosity towards the boat. One group showed interest, and we were all allowed to get into the water with them one by one. I think there were about 6 dolphins in the water at one point, and one actually swam right past me. The tour was definitely worth it, and it was a unique experience to be so close to the dolphins!

On New Year's Eve, we had another barbecue at our place with a few other people we had invited, had some pre-drinks, and then went to a club in Christchurch to celebrate. At midnight, we were all still together and entered the new year together! At 3 am, we went back to the house because all the clubs in Christchurch close at that time, even on New Year's Eve.

The next day, we had a relaxed day, and on January 2nd, our shared time was over, and everyone continued their travels. It was definitely a great vacation from our vacation 😅😂😉