Week 39 - North of the South

Last week we simply forgot to include Sunday, so we're making up for it now. During our departure from the housesit, we also had to say our final goodbye to Michelle. She has since left New Zealand and is continuing her world trip. We had such a wonderful time together, which will definitely stay in our memories.
We then drove to Hanmer Springs and made a small tour up Conical Hill, from which there was a beautiful view of the valley. A larger tour had to be canceled due to bad weather the next day.
So we continued to Lake Rotoiti. At a nice DOC campsite, we waited until Wednesday for good weather.
We had once again planned a challenge for ourselves: Angelus Hut - 24 kilometers and 1100 meters of elevation. We didn't worry about the elevation gain; we weren't sure how well we would handle the distance. The first 9 kilometers of the way there went really well, taking us 2 1/2 hours, and we quickly dealt with the elevation gain. The last 3 kilometers were more demanding because we had to climb/run over large and small stones. After 4 hours, we reached the View Point at Angelus Hut. After a break, we then made the return trip in 4 hours. The hike was really beautiful. We were almost permanently walking along the ridge, so we had constantly lovely views to the right and left.
The tired legs the next day weren't too bad, so we went straight into the next little hike. The 6 kilometers of the Pupu Hydro Walkway were relaxing. Here, you first walk up the hill and then along a water channel to a hydroelectric power station.
On Friday, we headed to Whaririki Beach. It is known for being the location of two Microsoft screensaver images. The beach is really beautiful, and there is much to discover due to the rocks. Crabs, shells, and fish in small pools, as well as several caves.
One Microsoft image came from a cave. Our recreation of the shot turned out quite well.
On the beach, there was a baby seal lying all alone. The little one was incredibly tiny and couldn't have been very old. We were quite surprised because babies are usually not left alone but rather in the colony. Since some people stood very close to the animal, we approached them and asked them to keep their distance. We also asked if anyone had called DOC, as they take care of injured and stranded animals. Since this hadn't happened yet, we informed the others that we would take care of it and quickly returned to the parking area where we had coverage. DOC stated that it should be fine for now and that this happens quite often. We couldn't do much more and hope that the mother returned and the little one survived.
On Saturday, we wanted to try something completely different: Via Ferrata - here you can rent climbing gear for 10 NZD and climb the mountain independently. Since it's currently very warm, we started early.
There are 2 routes here, and we began with the easier one. We quickly realized that the cemented footholds were much too far apart for Franzi, making the steps upward nearly impossible. Therefore, she aborted at the Emergency Exit and Julian finished the route alone. We met a couple from the UK, and Julian climbed the second route with him while Franzi waited with the girl and had a good conversation. We both had a nice morning.
Afterward, we headed to Motueka, to a site right by the sea. Unfortunately, there isn't a beach, but there is a saltwater pool in the sea, so you can swim anytime. The tides are so strong here that at low tide, only mudflats remain. The parking area has everything we need (good toilet, the pool, a shower, fresh water, and a dishwashing station), so we will spend Sunday here and take a rest day in summer temperatures.