Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Hello! We left you in the dark for two months, so it's time to bring everyone up to date.

After Caroline (our host in Opotiki, not Marie's mommy), we set off again to explore a large part of the East Coast. Beautiful beaches, breathtaking views, and lovely people accompanied us on this journey, and as always, we learned a lot and gained experiences for a lifetime.

Many backpackers in New Zealand actually skip the upper part of the East Coast, but I'm glad we saw it. It enhanced the image I had of the North Island, especially since we really love being at the beach, relaxing and maybe enjoying a good book. (Fitzek people, Fitzek!!!)

You could already call it a small tradition that we armed ourselves with a book and sat on the beach, absorbing the sun and the sound of the sea.

After a few days of pure relaxation in Gisborne, where we had the opportunity to try lamb tails from the grill with a Maori family, we decided to leave the major tourist cities of Rotorua and Taupo behind.

In Rotorua, we had the pleasure of enjoying a soothing mud bath from the natural hot springs, but in Taupo, the weather was not favorable, and we had to postpone our plans for another time.

Our greed for money drove us to the heart of the Hawke's Bay - Hastings - on the same day.

A not too big city with an American flair and a lovable, if somewhat peculiar, hostel owner named John (the headline is a commonly used quote from him).

Within a few hours of arriving here, we already had a job and accommodation with the best atmosphere we've experienced so far.

From that day on, the weeks passed quickly because there was usually only one topic - work. Whether it was in the asparagus factory, on the vineyard, or in the blueberry fields. If you're looking for work, you'll find it here, and you can definitely gain a lot of experience along the way.

The time between work and sleep is usually filled with cooking, conversations, and various card games. In the meantime, you can also learn a little bit of Bavarian and, above all, laugh a lot.

A trip to Germany is also awaiting us in the future, as we have people to visit in Bavaria, the Ruhr area, Berlin, Kiel, Thuringia, and Brandenburg. It's funny how you can tell that New Zealand is so overrun by Germans.

And yet, you learn a lot about other countries, their culture, and especially their eating habits. For example, a Japanese chef manages to turn the kitchen into a pigsty every day and then make everyone jealous with his food, or how Canadians are truly the nicest and most lovable people we have met so far.

That's it for now. Take care and until next time.

Your wannabe Kiwis

- Tom