In advance, I'm fine and still alive! The long absence is due to traveling and finding my way in Christchurch. Well, anyway, here's the second entry in the blog :).
After the detour to the Bay of Islands, we return to Auckland. We spend a day there and the next day we head to Hot Water Beach
The schedule is quite tight, so we start again early in the morning the next day. Of course, I can stay in one place longer, but I really like my travel group and within the allotted time, you get to see almost everything in one place.
In Waitomo, we go black water rafting and see glow worms. In our next stop, Rotorua, we visit the Tamaki Maori Village and Hobbiton. Large parts of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies were filmed here.
Then we go to Taupo. Lake Taupo is the largest in all of New Zealand. Really impressive when you stand in front of it and look at it. If you want to take a circular route there, better plan some time 😁.
We spend 3 days here and then head to River Valley where there is not much to do except drink 🍺. All activities are canceled due to bad weather.
The next stop is the South Island by ferry. After 4 hours, we reach Picton and arrive in Abel Tasman late at night. Here, I leave my group for the first time and get off the bus. Within 3 days and 2 nights, I complete the Abel Tasman Coast Track.
The track was about 35km and after 2 days, I was unfortunately a little sick. I stay in huts and enjoy the fireplace. A really great experience!
On the way to Franz Joseph, we pass Lake Nelson
Next stop is Queenstown. There is a lot of celebration as I meet my friends again, who I left in Abel Tasman. The visit to Milford Sound is canceled due to snow and after several party nights, we continue to Lake Tekapo. Here we look at the stars and enjoy them in the Tekapo hot pools. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any photos of them with my phone because it was too dark for the lens. Then we continue to my last stop, Christchurch.