Life on the West Coast - three days between sea and bush

Hello dear readers! First of all, I apologize for the big gap between the last blog posts. We have been on the South Island for a few days now, but the internet here is very limited, both in terms of data volume and availability. To catch up a bit, I will try to summarize the last three days briefly, succinctly, and hopefully comprehensibly. Thank you very much for your understanding. So, here we go!

From our previous favorite city Wellington, we continued on the ferry to the South Island of New Zealand, more specifically to Picton. There a new Kiwi Experience bus should be available. The ferry ride itself was an internal struggle between the urge to catch up on sleep and enjoy the breathtaking view. Unlike about 70% of the other passengers, we chose the latter. And our iron will was rewarded. The bright sun warmed us on the deck, and so the three-hour journey was very bearable despite the bitterly cold wind. Moreover, the view was gigantic. The passing island chains almost looked like they were floating. At times, the sight reminded me of a giant turtle covered in forests. I felt like I was in a fairy tale. At times, we almost had the deck to ourselves, thanks to the lack of sleep or the other passengers' moderate temperature sensitivity. By the way, a New Zealand ferry ride is similar to a flight: we checked our luggage in Wellington and it came back to us on a conveyor belt in Picton. After three other passing red backpacks, I finally found mine. They all look pretty similar, those things. Oh well. Then on to the new Kiwi bus, where the new bus driver was already waiting for us. His name was Ninja, and he also played blink-182 loudly through the speakers. So the loss of Lisa was bearable.

In the evening, we arrived in Abel Tasman. And even though there is nothing more to offer in this place, the beach was really worth seeing. While all the other bus passengers took advantage of the last hours of sunshine to lie on the golden sand, Ulli and I explored the nature a bit on various hiking trails. We promptly discovered a hidden bay that we had all to ourselves. We both love the sea, and it is always difficult for us to leave. We could sit there for hours, listening to the sound of the waves and thinking about all sorts of things. Or nothing at all. Because personally, I always feel like the waves are washing my head and airing it out. That is probably the reason for my sympathetic attitude towards the sea.

Well then, another day dawned. We had a long journey ahead of us, which we unfortunately only started around noon. Why, nobody knows exactly. At Lake Rotoiti, we made a little stop, which turned out to be one of the most beautiful stops during the entire trip. Unfortunately, the weather was once again absolutely terrible, but that didn't bother us at all when we saw the sight. The lake was clear as glass and still like a carpet in front of a chain of mountains, whose peaks were shrouded in mist. It had something magical about it, like a postcard motif in live transmission. When I closed my eyes, I heard so many different birds chirping like nowhere else. Even some ducklings were warming themselves at the shore by snuggling up close to each other. With the wind blowing here, I would have liked to sit in the middle of them. At least I wouldn't have wanted to be one of the outer chicks. But maybe they rotate, who knows. I certainly don't. Nevertheless, it looked cozy. After what seemed like an endless drive, we finally arrived in Westport in the evening. However, the weather had actually gotten even worse - it was almost a miracle that it was even possible. But we didn't let that stop us from taking a little city tour. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the beach before dark. Too bad, but Westport wasn't that breathtaking anyway. It somehow had a very, very, very rural feel to it. No cars, no pedestrians. Just the rain and us. The place would certainly be relaxing if you were to spend a few days here. But nothing more.

The next morning we got back on the bus. A round trip can be quite exhausting in the long run. You never have the feeling of actually arriving somewhere, because after less than 20 hours you often move on to the next city. Or to the next nowhere. If you also want to explore the surroundings and not just check out the inside of the hostel, sleep inevitably suffers, and that becomes noticeable after two weeks on tour. But we're not here to complain, so let's get on the bus. Luckily, today's journey was not quite as long. So we made two stops right away. First, at Cape Foulwind, Ninja gave us the chance to see sea lions in the wild. The weather was still miserable, but it didn't seem to bother the animals at all, quite the opposite. They thoroughly enjoyed the rough waves and the splashing rain. Probably a great advantage of being native to New Zealand. Personally, I have never seen these animals in the wild before, so it was a unique spectacle for me. The mother sea lions took care of their young in the storm, and some others playfully roughed each other up on the cliffs. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time, so we soon made our way back to the bus. The next stop was the Pancake Rocks Blowholes. As the New Zealanders do, they simply name many things according to their appearance. And since the rocks here are stacked like pancakes, they promptly called them the Pancake Rocks. The fact that our visit happened during lunchtime made the title sound even more appetizing. Besides having an appealing name, the blowholes also looked very spectacular. The weather still wasn't on our side, but that only made the rushing waves appear even more powerful. They crashed against the rocks and pancakes, flowing through the lined-up cliffs. I have personally seen such a spectacle on TV at most - but to observe such a force of nature right in front of my eyes, I could never have imagined that. In New Zealand, the earth seems to often continue on its familiar path, and that is probably unique in our world. Too bad.

With a growling stomach and a craving for pancakes, we finally set off for our final destination today: Lake Mahinapua. The special thing about this accommodation was that it was once again simply located in the middle of nowhere, but above all, the staff here were permanent guests as well. It was their home, which they openheartedly shared with us. Although the New Zealanders are generally polite and courteous people, I had not yet experienced such intense hospitality on our trip. And as warm as they welcomed us, the people there were equally warm in their dealings with each other. Almost like a real family, but not quite. The dinner, of course cooked in-house, was announced for 7 o'clock. So we still had enough time to take a detour to the lake. But since the weather was continuously so bad, we couldn't see much between rain clouds and mist. To get some shelter from the rain, we walked along a little forest path that was supposed to lead to "Swimmer's Beach." Sounds good at first. But it wasn't. The 'beach' was not even four square meters in size. So we turned back. This hike was definitely worth it. Well, at least we didn't neglect our daily workout. ;) But to compensate for this little disappointment, we went directly in the opposite direction, which led us to the sea. Yeaah, wash your head and let it breathe properly. The waves here were particularly rough and some were already breaking on the horizon. The currents also seemed to be very strong, engaging in a constant competition with the rushing power of the waves. The sea is something in itself. Unpredictable, wild, and beautiful.

When we finally sat at the table at 7 o'clock, the delicious smell immediately greeted us. In addition to plenty of garlic bread (yummy!), there was a choice between pulled pork or a veggie salad. Ulli chose the former, I the latter. The fact that during the entire meal we asked each other nothing more than "So, how does it taste?" already showed how much we enjoyed it. Although I still wasn't sure what I actually ate. Some kind of vegetables... but I can't describe it any more precisely. In any case, it was a nice change from pasta with tomato sauce, instant soups, and pizza. And pancakes were already announced for breakfast. So if someone wants to eat very well in New Zealand - Lake Mahinapua is highly recommended. Whether you happen to pass by there in the middle of nowhere is another question.