Hello North Island!

After exploring everything we wanted to see on the South Island, we finally took the ferry up to the North Island. The ferry ride took about 3.5 hours, and I was glad that my stomach was feeling good today and I didn't get seasick...okay, I ate a whole bag of chips during the trip to keep my stomach happy =)

Once we arrived on the North Island, we first went to Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island...after driving in the wrong direction for an hour. So we went from the northernmost point of the South Island to the southernmost point of the North Island, even though the southernmost point of the North Island is further south than the northernmost point of the South Island =) Cape Palliser had a beautiful lighthouse that could only be reached by climbing a steep staircase with 251 steps. After that, we hiked to a waterfall hidden between two mountains, which was beautiful. On the way back, we were able to observe some seals chilling on the beach, they were very curious. Later, we saw the sunset over the sea for the first time!

Yesterday was Jonas' birthday and we wanted to have an amazing day...unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the worst days we've had since we've been here. In the morning, we went on a short hike to the Pinnacles (also a Lord of the Rings filming location) and then wanted to go somewhere in the middle of nowhere to a farmstay that was described as cozy, peaceful, and the "most beautiful place" ever. After a long car ride, we were only greeted by a cold, gray concrete bunker with no floor and no furnishings except for two rickety beds. And the owners were nowhere to be found. After waiting for a while, we decided to continue driving... aimlessly heading towards the nearest town. There was no available hostel for us here either. To make matters worse, we then discovered that our full bottle of olive oil had leaked in the trunk and now the whole floor is sticky and greasy...

We finally arrived at a small hostel at around 7:30 pm and booked a super nice double room where we could finally celebrate Jonas' birthday with chocolate cake and champagne.

We won't let our spirits be dampened so easily =)