Neuseeland/Südinsel & Australien/Victoria

Friday 14.12.18 At 0°C, I walk with my 21kg bag, backpack, and body bag. The airport is packed. Due to an incident, the security is paralyzed and the queue is about 100m long....

Saturday 15.12.18 At the end of the finger in Beijing, there are two ladies holding a sign with my name! I am picked up and accompanied through the fingerprint scan control,...

Sunday, 16.12.18 The flight from Beijing to Auckland departs at 1:10 am. My body clock has no sense of time anymore. The flight is calm and I doze/sleep for almost 7 hours....

Monday 17.12.18 Today is finally the last flight and then the journey really starts. The alarm goes off at 5 o'clock, at 5:30 I sit on a bench in front of the hotel in the...

Tuesday 18.12.18 At 4am, I wake up and think again about what I should do. I send an email to the camper agency in Germany, as I can use the campground's WiFi in the camper....

Wednesday 19.12.18 It's still raining when I wake up at 7.45am. Surprisingly late. Probably because it's so gray outside. I think about what to do based on the weather report...

Thursday 20.12.18 I am not up until 8:45 am, rush into the shower, chat briefly with Annik and then she drives off while I am still having breakfast. I also continue south, soon...

Friday 21.12.18 I reach my camper limits as I hurry to the washhouse at 7 degrees and even take a shower in this unheated area. For 1$ I am indulged with 7 minutes of hot water,...

Saturday 22.12.18 It's raining when I wake up, so I treat myself to some more sleep since the Icelander told me yesterday that he doesn't care when I leave. The weather forecast...

Sunday, 23.12.18 The neighbor's children have been arguing loudly and shrilly since 7am and I'm glad to get away from here. Very sad, because Curio Bay is otherwise a truly...

Monday 24th December 2018 The sun is shining as I head west at 10.00am. I'm following a smaller road that runs closer to the coast than the larger SH99. This leads me on a very...

Tuesday 25.12.2018 At 6 a.m. my alarm goes off, shortly after 7 a.m. I start walking and call my family at home, who are now sitting down for Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve....

Wednesday 26.12.18 And the alarm goes off early again - it's 6.30 am and I'm proudly sitting in the car at 7.30 am. After 25km I realize that I did wash my dishes, but I don't...

Thursday 27.12.18 Incredible - the sun is shining when I get up at 8.30am. As usual, it takes me 90 minutes for showering, breakfast, washing up, tidying up, packing everything,...

Friday 28.12.18 It was so cold at night that I needed the fleece blanket again after a long time. When I wake up at 7.30am, it is 9.5°C in the camper. By the time I leave at...

Saturday 29.12.18 The alarm goes off at 7.30am - it's raining. Phew! In the last 3 days I have been so lucky, whenever necessary, the sun was shining - at Hooker Valley Track as...

Sunday 30.12.18 Somehow the alarm clock rings at 7.30 am, although I consciously didn't set it. Never mind. It's stormy outside, I woke up several times during the night because...

At 9:30 am I leave this crowded campground. The showers were okay. Since the sun is shining, I drive to the beach again for a few sunny pictures of the bay. My destination today...

My fish stall in Akaroa

Given the completely messed up shower rooms, I'll pass. Since the milk in my poorly cooling refrigerator has become sour for the umpteenth time, there won't even be any coffee...

3.1.19 Normally, I could sleep in, but I woke up early again. So, I had my last cereal and coffee, cleaned up the final mess, disposed of the garbage, and at 12:00 I drove over...

The Great Ocean Road

Apollo Bay

Just before 7 am, I manage to get up and by 7:30 am, I'm at the bakery, then I pick up my things from the hotel and by 8:30 am, I'm already on my way west. Today, I continue to...

The alarm clock mercilessly rings at 6:30 am and I peel myself out of bed. I have to use the fantastic shower in this apartment again to wake up. After a quick breakfast at a...

8.1.19 Sleep in until 9:00 am, because today I don't have to drive as much. Just about 70m to the left of my hotel is the "Harvest", a nice, eco-friendly breakfast restaurant....

On the A8 heading east

At 7.30am it's 8°C! I was already freezing last night and covered myself with all the blankets. 8°C! It's just like in New Zealand... Although it will be 25°C during the day,...

A final break in the sun

12.1.19 I have plenty of transition time in Frankfurt for my connecting flight and that is more than enough for baggage collection, passport, customs, and dropping off the...