clara-marie-in-der-praerie

After 90 days, Germans with a tourist visa must leave New Zealand and spend at least one night in another country before they can return for another 90 days. I left on day 87...

In Timaru, I wanted to keep an eye out for little blue penguins, which Markus and I had already seen on the Otago Peninsula. However, during the rather long drive from Owara to...

Ken and I spontaneously traveled together for two more days. We visited the Clifden Caves, where I could see glowworms up close for the first time (they're really worms!) and...

From the side road in Milford Sound, two of the ten Great Walks begin: the Milford Track and the Routeburn Track. The Milford Track is by far the most well-known and popular...

Most people take a boat tour in Milford Sound to see the fjords. However, Kate recommended I go on a kayaking tour instead. She had done the 'Stirling Sunriser' tour, which...

Manapouri should only be a stopover on the quite long journey from Queenstown to Te Anau, and there isn't really much to see in the town. But there was a cable car that felt...

In 1862, the first gold was found near Arrowtown by a sheep shearer at the Arrow River. This news spread quickly throughout the country, and the population of Arrowtown rose to...

Over the Haast Pass, I drove back inland and wanted to take my time for the various waterfalls along the way, which Markus and I had only passed by before. I had given the...

After I said goodbye to Markus at the airport, I drove back over Arthur's Pass to Hokitika because Markus had convinced me to join a heli hike on the Fox Glacier. So, I had to...

At Franz Josef Glacier, we only made a short detour to Sentinel Rock and River & Glacier Viewpoint (two viewpoints), instead of hiking the Alex Knob Track, which apparently...

'Towards good weather' in this case meant heading to Wānaka. On the way there, Markus wanted to try his luck at fishing, so we bought fishing gear in Twizel and received a tip...

Markus had booked a two-hour glider flight in Omarama from Germany to get a view of the Alps. Unfortunately, it had rained, which led to the cancellation of the flight. However,...

Along the coast, we traveled south through the towns of Timaru, Oamaru, and Moeraki, where one can supposedly see little blue penguins and/or yellow-eyed penguins on their...

Long before Markus arrived in New Zealand, we had agreed that the Banks Peninsula would be our first stop. It juts out into the sea like the Egmont National Park and is...

I had one and a half days in Christchurch before I could pick Markus up at the airport. I spent the first day tidying up the car and running some last-minute errands so we could...

My next major destination from Westport was Punakaiki. However, I made a small stop in Charleston and enjoyed a little stroll at Constant Bay, where I had a great view from the...

With Ken, I took a trip along the west coast heading north to the literal end of the road in Karamea. From there, the only way further north is by foot on the 80km long Heaphy...

After visiting Cape Farewell, I stayed overnight again in Motueka, and the next day started off well: I woke up at 6 AM to the sound of cars starting and driving away. At first,...

Actually, my plan was to drive directly from Tākaka to Cape Farewell right after breakfast. However, when I strolled through the village in the morning, I found it so charming...

Day 1: I parked my car at the Abel Tasman Aqua Taxi parking lot in Mārahau and then wondered why we were meeting about 1km away from the harbor and how we would get there before...

After the hike, it's known that before the next hike there is a break, and I was already eyeing the next multi-day hike: the Abel Tasman Coastal Track. Before that, I wanted to...

I took the earliest ferry from Wellington to Picton so I still had plenty of time to organize my hike for the next few days. I wanted to hike the approximately 70km long Queen...

Before I drove to Wellington, I visited TJ in Lower Hutt. I had met TJ at Castlepoint, and when he found out that I would be taking the ferry from Wellington to Picton a few...

On the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail, traveling through the small wine towns of Masterton, Carterton, Greytown, and Martinborough, I continued towards the southern coast with...

In the student city of Palmerston North, I visited the Te Manawa Museum. I found the exhibit about our solar system particularly interesting, especially because it included...

The Desert Road is one of the most beautiful roads in New Zealand, where you drive alongside the volcanic landscape of the Tongariro National Park. I had incredible luck with...

On the morning of the hike, I had to get up quite early because the shuttle from the end of the hiking trail, where you can park your car, left for the start of the hiking trail...

My idea was to spend 1-2 days in Taupō depending on the weather and then do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing on Friday or Saturday. Unfortunately, the good weather has been pushed...

After enjoying the sunrise at Hot Water Beach, I drove to Hahei. From there, you can visit Cathedral Cove, which is a rock formation similar to Elephant Rock and is usually...

In Whangamatā, I of course visited the 4km long Ocean Beach, which was voted the best beach in the country in 2018. Although only by the readers of the New Zealand Herald, but...