Week 27 - Goodbye North Island

We spent the week together with Michelle and Anne and we had a really nice time together! On Monday, we did a coastal hike - the Paekakariki Escarpment Track. It was an 8-kilometer walk along the coast, and we had beautiful views of the coastline in both directions. We all successfully navigated the swaying suspension bridges without any problems.

Our ferry to the South Island was scheduled for Saturday night to Sunday, so we spent the week heading towards Wellington or spent a few days in Wellington. First, we did a skyline hike on the outskirts of Wellington with views of the city. We spent the night south of Wellington by the sea, and the campsite was really nice. Quite windy, but beautiful.

On Thursday, we wanted to go diving in the Wellington Marina Reserve. We also went into the water, but we aborted the dive after 20 minutes because we had no visibility at all. Additionally, the water was very cold at 14 degrees. It will likely take some time before we can dive again, but hopefully, it will be a bit warmer then ;-)

We spent the weekend in the city sightseeing and shopping. Wellington, like many other cities in New Zealand, doesn’t have much to offer. One day would be completely sufficient, but since we had three days, the days were really relaxing. The campsite in the city was perfectly fine, and the downtown area was accessible by bus in 25 minutes.

Our tourist program:

-We took the Cable Car up to the mountain and walked through the Botanical Garden back to the city.

-Beehive: the Parliament building that looks like a beehive

-Mount Victoria View Point

-Wellington Sign

-walk through the streets

-Visit football match Wellington vs. Auckland

Since Michelle and Anne are staying a little longer on the North Island, it was time to say goodbye. We will definitely see each other again on the South Island. The time we spent together will definitely remain a highlight in our memories :)

The football match was a big highlight for Julian. The two teams play in the Australian league and it’s the only derby between New Zealand teams. The Wellington women’s team played at noon. We think it’s really great that one ticket is valid for both games, thus supporting the women’s team. It was a very exciting match. With the score at 1:1, we went into the second half. Auckland scored to make it 2:1, and even though they received two red cards afterward, Wellington Phoenix couldn’t secure a win.

After the game, we took the bus back to our van and finished packing our bag for the ferry. We didn’t book a cabin for the 4-hour crossing. If you're wondering why we take the ferry at 2 AM... it was the cheapest option ;-) So we crossed in the middle of the night for 330 NZD. We were a bit apprehensive because there are horror stories about high waves and damaged cars. However, we were lucky and managed to sleep in our seats for about 3 hours.
Once we arrived in Picton, we first drove to a parking lot to catch up on some sleep. Afterwards, we went to a really nice cafe called 'The Store'. Beautifully decorated with a stunning view of the turquoise water. On the other side, there are tall mountains, some covered in snow.

We had 6 wonderful months on the North Island. Now we are looking forward to summer on the South Island. To mountains, hikes, road trips, and hopefully a lot of sunshine.