Christmas in New Zealand

23.12.17

Today I drove to Raglan. I looked around a bit, reserved the hostel, and laid in the sun. It's a small surfer town, perfect for starting kiteboarding.

24.12.17

Today I decided to go to the beach. Spending Christmas at the beach, escaping the typical white Christmas. It doesn't really feel like Christmas when you're lying on the beach without all the snow and all alone, but that would change later. First, I accidentally went to the wrong beach, a pure surfer beach. Since there was no rental nearby, I took a half-hour walk to the main beach. Once there, I set up camp and laid in the sun. Eventually, it got boring and I went swimming. No matter how warm the sun shines on you, the water was freezing cold, even if you get used to it after a short time. It's nice to be at the beach again and dive through the waves. At some point, I got the idea to rent a bodyboard. With the much bigger waves than I know from France, I estimated rode 300 meters on a wave until I reached the beach. Also, I had my own wave, as no one came even close to going that far out (except for the real surfers, 500 meters up the beach).

After surfing, I packed my things to be on time for the bus, as it was the only one running that day. However, Google Maps is not always up to date, so I ended up at a dead bus stop. I struck up a conversation with a Frenchman who kindly took me to Raglan. From there, I had the option to hitchhike or find something in Raglan, as Hamilton is 45 km away. So I stood by the side of the road at the edge of town and stuck out my thumb. Eventually, someone finally stopped, a family with a boy. We talked in the car and eventually, the father invited me to dinner. I gratefully accepted the offer. The family had guests and we had burgers with homemade patties. I also met the second son, who happened to share the same interests in the automotive industry as me. After dinner, we talked for a long time until we went outside in the twilight and lit a small fireworks display. When we said goodbye, I was given two small gifts. Then I was even driven home. I was also invited to come to a barbecue tomorrow.

That was probably the best thing that could happen to me. From the desperation of how to get home to dinner with an incredibly nice family and their guests. My English is also getting better, although I still have a few difficulties. Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas of a different kind. It was also the first time in New Zealand that I felt