Travelogues Canterbury

Introduction Sometimes you enter a place without realizing it will leave a mark. Sometimes a day starts like any other – and ends up being something that stirs, inspires, and...

Aoraki / Mount Cook

To start the day, we immerse ourselves in a sporting world that enjoys almost sacred status in New Zealand: cricket. While we only catch a short segment of the Test match, it's...

Together with Eric and Chris from the USA and Lisa from Canada, the way led into a festively decorated church – like at Christmas. The live music filled the room. And then a...

With a detour to Lake Tekapo

At Lake Pukaki

With unbelievable views

From Christchurch to Waimate

In rainy Christchurch

Through autumn parks and the city

First day in the cold

After spending a few nights camping outside Christchurch, I sold my car to a family man for $1000. I should mention that my car had an oil leak, a broken water filter, and a...

Somehow, I've been coming across a lot of chess boards lately. First, I played in Queenstown, then discovered one in the library in Christchurch, and finally, I started a little...

I'm really lucky to have gone through this trip so far in good health, except for a cold from the air conditioning. I can only imagine what I might have missed out on if I had...

Sometimes I have this feeling of unreality. Like when I stand in places that are so beautiful I can hardly believe it. Or when unexpected encounters or experiences happen that...

Finally done picking cherries, next, I went for a wash and shopping, and then back for a short distance to Mt. Cook. There, I met up with Lilly and Leonie again, with whom I...

Akaroa Today we took a bit more time to explore the town. It feels very cozy, and the many shops and restaurants make the place lively. At least when there are tourists. The...

Today woke up with the sun. The morning bird songs sound quite different here. The alpacas are lazily chewing and only a couple of mosquitoes are bothering me on the porch. It's...

Kia Ora! Today we set foot on New Zealand soil for the first time. The flight from Singapore to Christchurch was turbulent, and sleep came only in patches, so we are a bit...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

At the parking lot, we encounter 2 Kiwis who are on their motorcycles. We chat for a bit, and kindly they offer to help us and call for assistance in case the engine doesn’t...

The next day, we actually want to head north along the west coast towards Nelson. However, during the test run, the engine problem occurs again. I change the spark plugs on...

We had a somewhat restless night: We were awakened just before four by a minute-long siren sound outside! No idea what that meant. Some houses around us were lit, but no one was...

(Caution, spoiler :-) … it is rewarded! We wake up early, as we still have about an hour's drive from Twizel to the highest mountain in New Zealand and we want to get there...

I’m not quite sure why, but somehow Twizel seems like a strange name for a town ... it certainly stands out from the previous place names. On the internet, we learn that Twizel...

Today, we start earlier than usual. Today, we want to visit the dolphins that make Kaikoura so famous. We arrive punctually at 8:30 AM at the meeting point. We have booked...