New Zealand - nicosundro's travel - Part 1

Nico and I have done and seen so much in the first few days in New Zealand that I am completely behind with writing blog posts and sorting photos. In addition, we are enjoying being together after being separated for a long time, so there are no "lonely" gaps that I would otherwise spend writing blog posts, etc.

We took it easy and went for walks through the manageable and nice Auckland, which is known for its good food, art, culture, and a rugby team. There was excellent vegan food, which satisfied my craving for a Western breakfast after more than two and a half months in Asia (see photo).

Because Nico's longing and love for whales and dolphins is almost uncontrollable, he booked a boat tour for the 2nd day for whale and dolphin watching from Auckland.

After a 15-minute drive to the Hauraki Gulf, we saw the first dorsal fins flashing out of the water. We were lucky and were able to observe a group of bottlenose dolphins very close to our boat. They swam with us, as did some common dolphins. The crew placed great emphasis on respectful and environmentally friendly interaction with nature and the environment. Many of them were marine biologists or scientists and told us about their work. While the dolphins were jumping agilely next to us, all the tour guests were very reverent and silent. Probably all equally fascinated.

A good start to the trip. 😊

Day 3+4: Pick up the camper van, Hobbiton and Rotorua

The two of us, still inexperienced and nervous before the big campervan adventure. I had a freshly injured and possibly broken big 4th toe in the morning, and Nico still had a slight jet lag. We picked up our fully equipped campervan. We received 20% of the instructions from a very unmotivated and unfriendly lady. The rest we figured out ourselves and with the help of "How to do" videos. She was definitely not representative of the otherwise very friendly and sociable New Zealanders.

For me as a big Lord of the Rings fan and Nico as an even bigger fan, it was obvious that we couldn't miss the Shire and the Hobbiton Movie Set. Apart from that, every 2nd landscape in New Zealand looks like Middle-earth. Once Rohan, once Mordor, once the Shire or Gondor.

Hobbiton was really worth the money. The film set is lovingly maintained by gardeners and real fruits and vegetables grow there. Even fresh laundry is always hanging on the clothesline, just like Peter Jackson wanted for the film set. The little details were really delightful! After the visit, we had to borrow the first part of The Lord of the Rings from the campground and have a cozy movie night. 😀

Rotorua: After the first surprisingly good night in the camper van, we continued to Rotorua. A city full of spouting geysers, bubbling springs, mineral lakes, and steaming cracks in the earth.

The ever-present smell of sulfur and sometimes smoked meat came from the volcanic activities and for some reason it somehow increased my appetite. Here we were able to immerse ourselves a bit in the world of the Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) for the first time. We visited the Maori village Whakarewarewa, where traditional life is still lived, but tourists are also warmly invited to visit and get insights into their culture during short guided tours and dance performances. I found it fascinating that vegetables and even meat are prepared directly in the hot springs here.

In the evening, we spontaneously decided to do a glowworm night walk in Rotorua.

The tour was led by the motivated Stephen, who organizes these tours with his wife. He led us through a dark forest, equipped with red light flashlights so as not to disturb the wallabies and possums. He told us interesting facts about flora and fauna until we finally arrived at a spot that looked like a starry sky at first glance. But it was thousands of special glowworms that light up by burning their own dung. Very magical!

Day 5: Rotorua, Redwoods Treewalk and short hike

There's not much to tell: a walk and a shorter hike in a beautiful forest. 😉

Day 6: Tongariro Alpine Crossing

We got up before sunrise, took the bus to the Tongariro National Park in the middle of the North Island, received a short briefing before the challenging hike, and started our march to Mordor towards Mount Doom at 8:00.

That was my longest and most challenging hike so far (20km, 6 hours 30 minutes, about 1000 meters of elevation gain). But the tough ascent and difficult path were worth it with thousands of breathtaking views. An insanely beautiful and very special volcanic landscape!! You actually want to stop and take photos at every corner because it is so impressive. 20 km of pure New Zealand beauty.

Day 7+8 Muscle soreness and Wellington

After yesterday's hike, every step was painful. Therefore, we had a day of driving and covered a longer distance towards Wellington, passing picturesque, lush green landscapes, sheep, and cows.

The capital of New Zealand is located in a bay and is characterized by strong gusts of wind; there is no shortage of hipster beards, craft beer breweries, and trendy venues. Pants end above the ankles as a principle. We tried not to stand out and adapt to the scene: a visit to the hairdresser, delicious vegan food, and craft beer drinking 😉.

A visit to the Te Papa Museum taught us a lot about the nature of New Zealand and the human influence, Maori culture, and New Zealand's role in World War I and World War II. I was particularly shocked by the fact that before colonization, there were only reptiles and birds in NZ. Only humans brought mammals here artificially, partly for agricultural purposes and also to hunt them. And then they had to import stoats to get rid of the self-inflicted rabbit plague 🤔..

Another worrying fact: 1200 years ago, New Zealand consisted of 85% forest. Today, it is only 25%...

Day 9 Interislander ferry ⛴

We took a huge ferry for a 3.5-hour ride from the North to the South Island to then drive directly to the east coast to Kaikoura.

—————SOUTH ISLAND—————

Day 10 Swimming with wild dolphins and coastal walk with kittens (Kaikoura)

Actually, this day deserves its own blog post, but for simplicity's sake, I will write about it here. What follows must be described in more detail.

Contrary to the predicted bad weather forecast, the sky was blue and the wind was mild.

At 8:30, we put on our gear with wetsuits, fins, snorkel masks, and snorkels and received a lecture on safety and how to swim and interact with wild dolphins. At around 9:30, we boarded the boat and headed out to the beautiful bay of Kaikoura.

And then everything happened so fast. Suddenly, we were told to get ready to go into the water because the first group of dolphins had been sighted, and we had no time to think about what we were actually doing. And just like that, we were in the South Pacific, holding our breath because of the cold and excitement, and then out of nowhere, black and white dolphins suddenly appeared, swimming elegantly and agilely around us, observing us attentively and curiously.

When we surfaced, a very funny spectacle awaited us because all the snorkels were producing different songs and noises - that was our instruction to gain the attention and interest of the dolphins. I tried yodeling and Mozart and felt that it worked. 😉

We were surrounded by dolphins that swam so close that we could even look them in the eye; one even brushed against Nico. Even if you couldn't see them in the water, you could hear them when they made their characteristic squeaks and singsongs.

Although it is a rather touristy tour, it is still the dolphins that choose to interact with humans freely. They are not fed, equipped with transmitters, or affected by human interference in their habitat. They could just swim away at the sight of the boats. But because of their curiosity and intelligence, they don't, and they grant us humans an unforgettable experience!

Nico has been talking about swimming with dolphins with shining eyes for weeks, planning it and dreaming about it. It definitely exceeded his and my expectations!

As if the day hadn't been perfect enough, we took a walk along the coast in the sunny evening atmosphere.

And suddenly, I heard rustling and a curious kitten suddenly appeared from the bushes. They were a little too scared to let us pet them without their mom being around...

The fresh air with the smell of the sea, forest, and meadows and the vast landscape gave us a great feeling of freedom, and we could really breathe well.

Conclusion after 10 days in NZ 🇳🇿: It is once again a completely new and different world that you immerse yourself in here. The focus in New Zealand is definitely on nature and wildlife, which reminds you of how beautiful our planet is in many places (yet).