March 3-4, 2018

Hello again from Sina and me! ☀️☺️ On Saturday, our journey to the South Island finally began, where we will be traveling for the next 15 days with the bus company 'Kiwi Experience'.

03/03/2018: Saturday was mostly a travel day. It's really important not to underestimate how much time is spent on transportation! We boarded the bus in Wellington at 7 a.m. to get to the ferry. The ferry takes about 3.5 hours to arrive in Picton on the South Island. Time flies when I'm with Sina, it's really nice! ☺️

We continued from Picton by bus to Kaiteriteri, a town in the north of the South Island right by Abel Tasman National Park. The journey was long, but the scenery we drove through made up for it. It's so so beautiful here! Sina and I have to remind ourselves from time to time that we're actually in New Zealand. Here are some impressions of our bus journey:

In the evening, we arrived in Kaiteriteri and just laid down on the beach to relax. The bus was really old and didn't have air conditioning. The hostel, on the other hand, was really nice. We had very comfortable beds and were right by the beach when we walked out the door. While our roommates were getting ready to party, we were being a bit more boring and went to bed early (Good decision, as we realized the next morning! 😅).

04/03/2018: On Sunday, we were already picked up at 8 a.m. because we booked a canoe-hiking-sailing trip. It was an amazing day!! In the morning, we explored Abel Tasman National Park by canoe, paddling on the sea with mountains in the background - incredibly beautiful! ♥️ We even saw seals! With babies!!! 😍 We had so so much fun:

At noon, during a short hike to the top of a small mountain, we enjoyed a great view and finally ate our makeshift sandwiches on the beach.

We then returned to Kaiteriteri on a catamaran. In the evening, we treated ourselves to a delicious burger right by the sea. We are officially part of the luxury backpackers now! 😅

All in all, it was a beautiful day, and we were also lucky with the weather (all apps were showing rain for the whole day). Tomorrow, we will continue to Westport, where we will only stay for one night. But more about that in two days! 🤗

Best regards from Sina and Karo! ☺️♥️