Southern Scenic Route II.

Today I drove the second part of the Southern Scenic Route. I actually wanted to drive straight up from Bluff to Queenstown. But after I saw that the Scenic Route goes close to the fjordland, I took the detour.

What a route: First along the sea and then past the mountains of the Fiordland and large mountain lakes. Every time I thought I'd seen it all, I drove over a crest or around a bend and my jaw dropped right back down. Unfortunately, the search for suitable stopping points to take photos was rare. So the memories of that will have to be enough.

Now I'm in Queenstown. Rain is forecast again, so put on the rain jacket, put the rain pants in the backpack and head into town. There are a lot of tourists there. Adventure beckons on every corner: bungee jumping, paragliding, speedboating. Everything that makes people happy is possible here. One thing makes me very, very happy today: I discover a bakery (the first in New Zealand) and I go in. There it is: German Multi Grain Bread!!! It seemed to have been waiting for me because there is only one left and that is now mine. As I look at the bread in amazement, a saleswoman comes and looks at me questioningly. I explain to her that I just found the best bread in the world and I really want it. The saleswoman asked in German: "Are you from Germany? Where are you from?" "From Dresden." "Ohhhh, I'm from Görlitz, I've never met anyone here who comes so close to my homeland."

Apparently there are some Germans working here in Queenstown. In a souvenir shop, the employees also converse in German. I say: "I'm just wondering why so much German is spoken here!" After pausing for a moment, the answer comes: "Haven't you noticed? You took a wrong turn! You think you're in New Zealand, but you're in Germany!" 🤷🏼‍♀️

Due to its location on the mountains and the large lake, Queenstown is quite densely packed and honestly reminds me of an Austrian mountain village. There is definitely enough German spoken here...

On the way back it comes, the rain and what a rain... It's really pouring! But there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes, so put on rain pants and a rain jacket and off you go. At least I stay dry...