Let's keep going!

After we took care of all the organizational things in Auckland, like opening a bank account and applying for a tax number, and we visited the copy shop a hundred times because there always seemed to be a missing copy of some document, we were finally ready to go.

We said goodbye to Auckland by having one, two, three... beers in Jonas' regular pub and enjoying the incredibly delicious 'Nachos with beef and cheese'.

We realized that the cheapest and fastest way to get to the South Island was by plane, so we flew to Queenstown on January 12th. The approach between two mountain ranges, with our plane having only about 50 meters of space on either side, was like a roller coaster ride, and I was blissful when the plane finally touched down.

Being our usual well-prepared selves, we were excited to see something different this time. However, we were disappointed to find out that the airport was outside the city, and we had to choose between taking a bus or walking. Since we are backpackers, we decided to walk. Our first tour, about 8 km with about 15 kg of baggage, was quite nice except for a little rain shower... the muscle soreness two days later, not so much. Unfortunately, the weather here is pretty bad with 17 degrees and constant rain. So, those who were looking forward to beautiful summer-sun-beach pictures from us will have to wait a bit longer. We tried to plan the next few days a bit and researched possible sights and activities. Unfortunately, without a car everything is more difficult than expected. I used all my powers of persuasion, and finally Jonas realized that getting to the beautiful places without a car turned out to be much more difficult than thought. We found a suitable car on the internet. Unfortunately, it was located in Dunedin, 300 km away. So, for the first time, we acted like proper backpackers and stood by the road with a sign and our thumbs up. With a total of four different cars, we actually managed to cover the entire distance on that day (I never would have thought that possible). At this point, I would like to mention our third driver, Lynn, who provided us with delicious apricots and played the New Zealand version of Pokemon Go with us along the way. She also treated us to a tasty pie (puff pastry filled with minced meat and cheese... really delicious) and gave us a kilo of cherries when we said goodbye. Such hospitality and openness towards complete strangers is truly incredible and shows that there are people with heart and joy of life everywhere in the world. Upon arriving in Dunedin, we first stayed in a B&B and then a few days in a small cozy hostel. The car turned out to be a stroke of luck (so far). Finally, Jonas' eyes shone again, and he was convinced and happy about our project. Unfortunately, we now have to wait a few days for the money to be transferred to our New Zealand account, so we will spend our next few days in Dunedin. As a little surprise in between, we were woken up very gently this morning. Shortly after 8, we were awakened from our sleep by a shrill beeping sound, and I wondered who the hell needs such a loud alarm to wake up. When I took the earplugs out of my ears, it was clear that it was not an alarm clock but the fire alarm. It took about 15 minutes for all the backpackers to reluctantly and sleepily make their way outside until the whole hostel stood in their pajamas on the street. A wonderful sight for all passers-by!

Other than that, we are both still in good spirits and eagerly await Wednesday, when we will finally get our car! See you soon :)

P.S.: A little addition to our first post. The mentioned 'Deprikeller' can be found in every hostel and is the only room with free Wi-Fi. That is why there are so many people staring absentmindedly at their phone and spending hours there.