Travel anticipation

The cherry blossom season was in full swing and I walked with Lea along the avenue through the garden several times. We once met up with a few of her colleagues from the burger restaurant for a picnic. On September 22nd, Matze had his last day at work and began to devote all his energy to beautifying and improving our Black Betty. A few days later we started a little tour south, mainly to see Lake Tekapo. We had only left Christchurch for about an hour when I got a message from Ramneet. Whether I would be available spontaneously from tomorrow, my successor would be unable to work her shifts this week and next. I said the earliest I could step in was 3 days. In fact, the workaholic part of me considered postponing the trip and heading straight back to Christchurch. I held firm and we continued on. We stayed overnight in Peel Forest National Park, where a pair of grandparents and their grandchildren (it was the school holidays) had already started a fire in the fireplace at the communal shelter. We hadn't been able to enjoy a rustic campfire since our time in Takaka. The temperatures dropped to almost 0 degrees, but we had bought a used electric blanket on the way to the national park. We tested them at night and found with great enthusiasm that level 1 out of 3 was completely sufficient for sleeping. The next morning we set off to climb Little Mount Peel. Although we had already seen from below that the mountain around the summit looked slightly dusty, we had no idea how much ice was lurking under the fresh snow last night or that night. The decision to go uphill instead of down the steeper part of the circular route was definitely a good one, but we actually had to dig the soles of our shoes into the snow to find grip. More than once I felt sick to my stomach as I foolishly turned toward Matze. With slightly shaking knees, we reached the hut and enjoyed our breakfast on the veranda under the warm rays of the sun. We had timed everything perfectly; when we had completed the first hundred meters of elevation on the much more relaxed way back, thick clouds settled around the mountain top. We continued towards Lake Tekapo, where thick snowflakes were falling. We visited the packed local brewery. As with us on the mountain top, the sun brought temperatures around 20 degrees during the day, and some people who had been there since the end of their shift were just sitting there in a T-shirt and shorts. From our overnight spot right on the lake we were able to admire a magnificent sunrise in the morning. We walked to a viewpoint from which we could clearly see how flat and sparsely vegetation the plain between the individual mountain groups was. Relentless wind whipped across steadily, cold in winter, hot in summer. Anyone who wanted to live here really couldn't have been faint-hearted. After a walk through the extremely touristy town center, we drove east again to the sea. We really liked Timaru with its many old villas, art galleries and large gardens. We parked ourselves in a parking lot at the bottom of the harbor and had just snuggled up in bed when I remembered that there were probably penguins to be seen here too. The sun had already disappeared for half an hour, but according to Google maps the observation point was only a few hundred meters away from us, so we tried our luck. And how good that we did! We saw not just one, but several “Blue Penguins” waddling a considerable distance from the water to their nests, well hidden in the undergrowth, where their breeding partners (male and female take turns) were already screaming loudly. One of the returnees, a male as a volunteer penguin guard told us, took a particularly long time to get back. He stopped every one or two meters to thoroughly comb through his feathers with his beak. The fact that he was stuffed full of fish until he was about to vomit (the partner is then fed what he regurgitated, like a young animal) certainly didn't make the mission any easier. After a few sporty hops up the slope, he finally disappeared into the bushes. Back in Christchurch the weather became a bit cloudy, but we still managed to take a few walks together in new and familiar areas, now that we both had time for each other during the day. At the very beginning of October the temperatures climbed to almost 25 degrees, only to drop 10 degrees in the afternoon due to strong winds and drizzle. On October 5th Matze was picked up by taxi at 7 in the morning and he would spend the next 8 nights in a medical study facility. The inconvenience of having a cannula in his arm for a while, not being allowed to go outside alone and always having to take a large measuring cup with him to the toilet was compensated with almost $800 per day. I had come across the research institute a while ago and had even met one of the doctors through the gaming group we had been meeting with for months. However, I was ill at my first appointment for a preliminary consultation and blood test and then had to wait 30 days. When I finally presented myself for the same study as Matze, everything went well with blood tests and a general examination. Unfortunately, my romantic idea that we would sit holding hands in front of the TV in the common room and maybe even have our beds next to each other was dashed. Due to my vertebral injury in December 2019, I was excluded from the study. The most unpleasant part of the study, and the one for which the most money was spent, was a spinal/lumbar puncture. These are being carried out more and more frequently these days and special experts with many years of experience were called in for the study, but with me they didn't want to take any risks. I felt a bit depressed, but was then taken into another study, which was about a new pain medication and only lasted 3 nights. During my free time I went to work, which suited me just fine. Before my shift, I stopped by Matze almost every other day, including of course on his birthday, which he unfortunately had to spend in the facility. You weren't allowed to bring food with you, so unfortunately there was no birthday cake, but Lea had also taken the time to visit Matze. We played cards with the other “inmates”, some of whom I already knew from my first visit. Overall, the atmosphere was quite good, and according to Matze, the sisters and the food were also quite nice. It felt strange for me to sleep alone, but after the second night I was no longer surprised when I woke up that the seat next to me was empty. When I finally had Matze back on the 13th, we enjoyed the fresh air and freedom together, even though the weather was significantly colder than the last few days. Luckily, things improved the next day, so we dared to hike to the other side of the bay. On the mountain ridge, enormous amounts of wind whistled around our ears, and after a while our cell phones suddenly started ringing. High wind warning, said the message from the New Zealand government, with speeds of up to 120 km/h. We looked at each other and then around each other. There were hardly any trees there, so there was nothing nearby that could pose a danger to us. However, the wind alone caused my adrenaline to spike several times as I was hit by a gust so violent that I felt like I was about to lift off the ground. After almost an hour of struggle and balance difficulties, we had to descend to Lyttelton, where the wind was barely noticeable. We then took the bus back to Christchurch and after a short break in the van we stopped by Matze's colleagues at the “Two Thumb” brewery, which was celebrating Oktoberfest. For the occasion, the brewers had created some really tasty hop drinks. We got into conversation with a few Australians who were not a little drunk, I also got to know some of Matze's colleagues and we were given some free beers. The following day we visited the vegan fair, where we tried delicious food and Matze tasted some chocolate creations (I wasn't allowed to consume any so close to the start of my study, nor was I allowed to have any coffee/tea/orange juice). But he picked out a few that we bought and I'm sure our tastes in chocolate are very similar. In the early afternoon we picked up Lynn from the bus station; her seasonal work at the ski hut snack bar had ended. Just in time for us girls to see each other again. We walked through the botanical gardens and then drove to our home. Adam was honored and with his rather rare presence, I was very happy to see him and Sunny again. Matze would move out with all his luggage the day before I was released because Adam's Australian relatives were coming to visit. We played games with Lynn and even convinced Adam to let him learn Wizzard. Lynn was allowed to sleep in our room and Adam even offered to come with her to look at the car the next day. Although she wanted a campervan as quickly as possible, she knew very little about cars. Matze was busy preparing for our tour. I had a fairly uneventful first day at the research institute, I was very lucky to have been given a window seat at the very end of the dormitory. I read a lot and was otherwise free to walk around indoors, do yoga and talk to others. For this very first test run of this potential new drug, it was just me and one other test subject. However, two replacements had also been appointed who also spent a night in the facility (and of course received some money for it) and were released the next morning as soon as we had received the dose. Earlier in the morning, a cannula was placed in my arm, which is a stupid position for a plastic tube in a vein, but my vein probably looked the most promising at that point. Among other things, this was there for emergencies so that medication could be administered quickly. In addition, blood was taken from it so that we didn't have to be pricked all the time, because after taking the medication, blood was taken every hour for the rest of the day and every two hours from the afternoon onwards. Overall, there wasn't a large amount, it was just not particularly pleasant that the cannula had to be flushed with saline solution every time for hygiene reasons. Even after the fifth time, I couldn't get used to the feeling of cold “gel” slowly traveling through my arm. I was given the medication as a liquid to swallow; a kind of mouthwash strip was placed on my and the other participant's tongues so that we couldn't smell any taste. Only one of us received the drug and we will never know who it was. I didn't notice any changes, but lying around for so long made me a little tired. I struggled with my eyelids constantly wanting to close, but for the first four hours after the dose we weren't allowed to close my eyes or walk around for safety reasons. Several EKGs were also taken, before which we couldn't read, talk or look at our cell phones for a while. A nurse had to accompany us to the toilet; the door was allowed to be closed but not locked. In between, our game night friend, who everyone here knew as Doctor Joe, came over. But he more or less had to sneak past my sister, who made sure that I didn't talk or move on the bed outside of my permitted times. More than once she drove him away with a brisk “Clara is going into the rest phase now,” to which I theatrically rolled my eyes behind her back and Joe had to suppress the grin. Around half past two I was finally allowed to eat something and sit in the lounge for a while. However, the cannula (fortunately in the left arm!) blocked my arm movement so much that I had to stretch my arms far out in front of me when playing cards. My round of yoga stretches was very limited and after that my arm unfortunately didn't seem to want to calm down at all, my vein pulsated painfully and thickened more and more. After tossing and turning from side to side for a while and the pain increasing, I crept down the corridor to the nurse's office, where I asked the night shift to relieve me of the ordeal. According to protocol, the cannula was supposed to stay in until 7 in the morning for safety reasons, but the nice nurse was forgiving and after such a long time since the very small dose, the risk of a dangerous side effect was extremely low. Once the thing was out, I was finally able to sleep. The next day was quite relaxed, unfortunately I wasn't allowed to go for a walk with one of the sisters. Every study has different rules and requirements, some of my fellow inmates were even allowed to make their own tea and coffee, I was only allowed to drink water. Matze and Lynn visited me for a round of cards and so that Lynn could say goodbye, who was now setting off on a road trip. Some of the people from my first day had already been released, but in the evening I met Eadon, who had come here from the USA with his partner and had already visited a lot of countries. He had also met Matze briefly and invited us to visit him on the beautiful property he was currently renting. The next morning I was due to be discharged. First I had a nice long shower after the long-term ECG device was taken away from me, with which I had not been allowed to take a shower for three days. Shortly after 10, Matze picked me up and I was really looking forward to a delicious breakfast with our favorite coffee. When we walked into the sunny backyard, Lea and her sister and her boyfriend, who had landed here a few days ago, were already sitting there. I didn't expect to see Lea again before our planned tour in December and was as excited as a little child. How nice of Matze to organize this surprise! We met them again later for a walk through the botanical gardens and by chance discovered a horde of eels living under one of the jetties. Some of them were as long and thick as my leg! In the evening Matze and I slept in the van at a small park with a public toilet, not very fancy but at least you didn't hear much street noise. The next day we both had a follow-up appointment at the institute. Unfortunately, yesterday I jammed my finger in our sliding car door and kept the plaster on overnight because I didn't want any blood stains on the bed. One of the doctors took a look at it and I got a nice dry bandage. Later we drove to Eadon and Susanne, who rented a house with a large plot of land in a district in the north. Eadon was still out, but we had a good chat with Susanne. The two of them had already done several Passadenas together - the 10-day sweating period with a lot of meditation - Eadon had already done 11 of them alone. They talked animatedly about Pakistan and the differences they had noticed from India while we enjoyed a little barbecue. In the evening we said goodbye and went to our second BBQ of the day with our gaming friends. I was still only allowed to drink non-alcoholic beer because I had my last follow-up appointment the following day, but we still had a very nice evening. After a few games and a lot of food - Robyn had prepared the salads not only gluten-free for herself but also vegan for us - we got into karaoke fever. Matze and I performed two German songs, “Heidi” and “Völlig loselöst”, among others. The next day we got the last things from Adam's apartment and enjoyed the comfort of a warm shower again. Adam's parents were there and they welcomed us very friendly and interested. We had already enjoyed our farewell beer and headed off when I got a call from one of the nurses. My blood was clotted and that's why some tests weren't working. Taking the blood in the morning was quite an ordeal, it took 2 nurses and 3 attempts as well as a syringe for suction. I said that I was now out of Christchurch and I could try to get to the institute in Wellington and repeat the blood test. Our first stop on the way north was Kaikoura, unfortunately the weather left something to be desired at first, we passed the time with an interesting visit to the local museum and brewery. The next morning we went for a coastal walk where we were able to see some seals up close. I had booked a whale tour for us in the early afternoon, by propeller plane. Just a few hundred meters off the coast of Kaikoura, an extremely deep underwater trench began, which was a popular feeding ground for all kinds of whales, including sperm whales. Fortunately, we had already seen the “Southern Right Wales”, which is also quite common in Australia, twice. We had magnificent views over the entire peninsula from the plane and saw a group of dolphins with very small young from a bird's eye view. Unfortunately, whales did not emerge from the depths of the ocean. Since sperm whales can dive for over 1.5 hours, it can unfortunately happen that you miss them if there are not several of them on the move. Next we visited Blenheim, which is internationally known for its wineries. We found a quaint restaurant in a former malt house that belonged to an older German couple. The next lunch we enjoyed a delicious laksa at St Clair Winery, including wine tasting. In the afternoon we hopped on our bikes to visit another winery and two breweries. There is no alcohol limit for cyclists in New Zealand. We tasted some incredibly good Pinot Gris and a dry Gewürztraminer that came from a clone. The weather didn't really cooperate, but we still fought our way forward and got back to the car before the heavens opened. From Blenheim we continued to Havelock, at the northern tip of the South Island. We hiked to a mountain top from where we had a great view of the various inlets and the small harbor. Just a few minutes after we reached the top it started to hail. Luckily we found a niche under a rocky outcrop where we could ride out the worst. The temperature dropped rapidly and we were now clearly underdressed. Real April weather here at the end of October! We spent the night in a small bay; unfortunately only residents were allowed to drive on the actual road along Charlotte Sound due to numerous landslides. We therefore booked a water taxi so that we could at least see part of it on foot. We followed the coastline for 10 miles, sometimes running through humid tropical air, sometimes feeling a fresh breeze blowing from the sea. We spent the night in a bay not far from Picton; I spontaneously booked the ferry for us at 2 p.m. the next day. After a short hike to a viewpoint and a late brunch at the harbor, we had actually exhausted the deadline for our check-in for the crossing - even after we had missed the first ferry to Tasmania. We lined up behind the other waiting cars and were expecting it. That loading would begin soon. But nothing happened for ages and when, fifteen minutes before our scheduled departure, all the cars were still in the parking lot, we had the feeling that something had gone wrong. Shortly afterwards, an employee showed up and informed us that the toilet system was blocked because someone had flushed a diaper. I don't believe how poor you can be... They said we would get another update soon and after about half an hour they said it looked like we could drive there in 15 minutes. I had so far passed the waiting time with yoga, reading and strolling around the parking lot, but I was slowly running out of breath. The general mood slipped further and further into the basement, and when rumors arose that the ferry would now be completely canceled, some people who had not completely parked raced away in anger. When it became clear that the rumor was no longer true, we went to the booking counter to hopefully get a place on the next ferry. The online system didn't work, staff were writing lists. We were told we would find out soon if we had a place. I was only too happy to drive away from the depressing parking lot, we went out into the countryside again and up a hill, where we met two Germans and saw our new floating vehicle enter the harbor. Hopefully none of the passengers had blocked the toilet. I had told Lea about our situation, last I saw an update from the west coast. There are crazy coincidences, I had no idea when she had booked her ferry, but it was the 7.30 p.m.! At around 5:30 p.m. I finally got a call from the ferry office. “How are you doing?” the woman on the phone asked enthusiastically. “Um... good,” I answered hesitantly, determined not to complain about the failure of our ferry, as she couldn’t help it either. “See you soon,” she said, and that took a huge load off our hearts; we would go with Lea and the others. We already saw them in the queue at the check-in counter, this time we didn't even stand around in the parking lot, we went straight on to the ferry. That felt good!! We then got ourselves a cider and chatted with the others about our travel experiences. When the ferry left Queen Charlotte Sound, the sun was just setting and we enjoyed its last rays on the outside deck. The harsh wind from the open sea was already whistling around our ears, but we only noticed swell when dusk came and we were sitting in a corner of the restaurant area. We had just started a round of “Monopoly Deal”, which we unfortunately had to stop because the shaking particularly upset me, Lea and Lea's sister. When the smell of vomit came to us from somewhere, we smeared essential oil on our nostrils and breathed into cloths, scarves and jackets. At some point we got used to the rocking and the smell of tea, coffee and pies masked other notes. We said goodbye to the three of them, who had to drive another 50 kilometers north to their accommodation. We looked for a quiet corner in a residential area with a public toilet nearby after being unsuccessful at the official RV park. The next morning we tried our luck there again around 9 a.m. and even had several options. You were allowed to park there for up to three days, so we took the bikes down and gave Black Betty a break. We enthusiastically browsed around some great second-hand shops and enjoyed the warm temperatures. There was an impressive number of public sculptures and graffiti. We then locked the bikes at Cuba Street, Wellington's pedestrian zone, and climbed what felt like 1000 steps to the Botanical Gardens. In addition to great views of the city, there was even a funicular with a small museum up there. Next to the rose garden, there were not only toilets in the toilet block of a public sports field, but even free hot showers. We had come across this in Matze's camping app and had therefore packed a towel and a change of clothes. Refreshed, we walked back towards the city center and were now really hungry. We visited New Zealand's first vegan Italian restaurant and were absolutely blown away by the two pizzas we chose. Because it was already happy hour, we treated ourselves to two mimosas and really felt like we were on vacation. The night after next we changed our sleeping place, we wanted to drive a little further south again, after two days of people and city noise we longed for a little more sea and nature again. The thermometer climbed to almost 25 degrees, we slipped into our bathing suits and ran determinedly towards the water, but after about 5 seconds my toes died. The water was around 14 degrees, and the Baltic Sea certainly never had more than that, but I had already gone swimming in it many times. What was wrong with my feeling cold?! As always, there were a few crazy New Zealanders who stood around in the water for what felt like half an hour and chatted in a relaxed manner, as if it was 40 degrees outside and the water was the only place where they could still bear the heat. I decided to try it again way up north in December or January and not give up completely yet. We enjoyed the peace and quiet and went for a beach walk in the evening to Red Rock, an important place for the Maori. There were a few small weekend cabins that could only be accessed with a four-wheel drive vehicle. The next morning we did another typical Matze-Clara climbing event. We knew the paths on our offline maps, but I can't imagine that anyone would normally walk that way. In some places gorse, a yellow-flowering and extremely prickly bush weed, had spread so wide that it was difficult to see the path. Of course we were both still wearing shorts... Turning back was still out of the question. Later we found a great bakery and enjoyed a delicious beer at “Double Vision Brewing”, and we relaxed the rest of the day. The next morning I stopped by the “Clinical Research Institute” again so that the blood test could be repeated again. The Auckland branch only had one doctor and one receptionist, other than the nurses he had no problems taking my blood. Finding a parking space in the city center was incredibly difficult, so Matze initially waited in the car. In the afternoon we left the city and drove to Petone. We had chosen a somewhat inconvenient time, there was chaotic rush-hour traffic and at times we hardly moved from the spot. We stayed in town the night and drove further north-east the next morning. We visited Rivendell in Kaitoke Regional Park, the site that served as the template for the Elven settlement. It started to rain in the afternoon and we decided to stay in Masterton where there was a nice official free camp by the lake, even with warm showers. I met cat lady “Mischief” (can be translated as mischievous or schlawiner), who had been traveling through New Zealand with her human dad for several months. He had a large, self-constructed bus with a wood stove and we had a lively conversation. Mischief didn't want to leave my lap and I had a hard time saying goodbye to her the next morning. We drove along small winding country roads for a while, stopped at Waihi Waterfall and had a picnic. Later we drove to the beach in Porangahau, where there was also a free camp. Our neighbors had an unusual pet, an African Gray Parrot. Unfortunately, he had recently broken his wing and was therefore limited to balancing on a rope stretched between branches. He imitated our voices and seemed very friendly and curious. As we drove along the country road in the morning we saw a lamb with its head caught in the fence. We stopped and Matze approached carefully, but the animal seemed to have already lost a lot of energy and quickly calmed down when it noticed that Matze was trying to free it. He managed to free its head, took it in his arms and tried to lift it over the fence. Suddenly Matze screamed and dropped the lamb, which seemed quite disturbed and lay still for a moment before it got up and ran to its mother. Matze and the sheep had received an electric shock from a thin and not entirely obvious wire. He said it was one of the most intense he had ever felt. We felt guilty about inflicting such a shock on the lamb, we had acted with the best of intentions. Luckily it seemed physically okay. Our next stop was Hastings, where we visited the weekly market. There was a small stand with cashew cheese and coconut cream based cheesecake slices, where we picked out some delicacies. Avocado and asparagus season was now in full swing, prices were falling weekly. We climbed to the summit of Te Mata, the formation of various mountain peaks is, according to Maori legend, the body of a famous ancestor. The path downhill led along some hair-raisingly steep slopes; there had also been some minor landslides recently. I reached for Matze's hand more than once to give me the confidence to move on. After so much adrenaline, we relaxed in “God’s Own Brewery”, which definitely makes it into our top 10 list in New Zealand. The taps were in some sort of camping trailer, there was a larger tent for inclement weather and plenty of beer benches. Hops climbed up pillars so that in summer you could find shelter from the sun under a canopy of leaves. The beer tasted great and the brewery dog joined us straight away. We drove to Napier to a free camp on the beach, there were numerous bonfires and some people had fireworks displays. We hadn't sat around the fire for a long time and I enjoyed the sound of the sea during the breaks. Campfires on the beach are not dangerous here, there is no vegetation, just stones of all different sizes and shapes. Enough dead wood is washed up from the sea every day. We only found out weeks later that it was the “Guy Fawkes” holiday, actually a British national holiday and irrelevant in Australia. Probably none of you can remember the history lesson in school in which the “powder conspiracy” was mentioned, so here is a short explanation: On November 5th. In 1605 there was an attack on Parliament with the hope of killing the king, his family and important members of parliament. The whole thing was supposed to take place on the day of the opening of Parliament, Guy Fawkes was the explosives expert. He belonged to a group of radical Catholics who wanted to take revenge for the sanctions and murders directed against the Catholic population. Guy Fawkes and some nobles who helped smuggle the explosives into the building. All those involved were publicly executed. In New Zealand many people commemorate the day with bonfires and/or fireworks, in Great Britain there are really pompous street parades and Guy Fawkes dolls are burned on pyres. Since the weather was poor the next day, we went swimming and showering at the local pool and spent the afternoon strolling through the historic Art Deco city center. The next day the weather was even worse and we spent most of the time in the van. The road towards Gisborne still had numerous defects and cracks from last summer's severe flooding and cyclone, progress was slow and rutted in places. In Gisborne we treated ourselves to a delicious breakfast of burritos and coffee, and we also visited one of the oldest breweries in the area, which had a delicious barrel-aged stout on tap. After exploring the city, we drove on and had only been on the road for 10 minutes when we passed a Magpie half sitting on the road, as if paralyzed. They are not actually native here; they were shipped here from Australia in the 1860s to decimate agriculturally harmful insects. The animal still looked quite young and I couldn't just drive on, I turned around. Matze ran towards the animal, you couldn't see any reaction from the bird. When he ran back to the car, he seemed embarrassed and said that the bird had blood coming out of its beak and looked like it was about to drop dead. It felt terrible to know that there was no bird sanctuary here and since the bird belonged to a “plague species,” no doctor would definitely feel called upon to examine the animal. You could tell that Matze was just as sick as I was, but he pulled himself together. “Should I save him?” he asked and tears came to my eyes (even now as I write this). I nodded, Matze took the car keys, I stood shaking on the side of the road. The cars driving by were probably surprised, I wondered how long it would have been before a car or truck accidentally flattened the bird. I'm glad Matze did it, even though it must have felt terrible, given how pale his face is and how his hands are shaking. I don't think I could have brought myself to do it. Luckily the road from Gisborne to Opotiki was in fairly good condition and it was already dusk when we arrived at the camp. We didn't exchange a word the entire trip, we first have to digest what happened and forgive ourselves for this act, which despite the circumstances feels like murder. Apart from us, there was only one motorcyclist in the camp who was cooking her dinner on a bench. I was almost dozing off when suddenly there was a loud bang, followed 5 seconds later by a second one. I looked at Matze in a panic and on the one hand wanted to see if something had happened, but at the same time I had the urge to bury myself under the blanket. We agreed that it sounded like a gunshot. There were deer in the area and about 5-7 kilometers away as the crow flies there was a small hut that was occasionally used by hikers but mainly by hunters as a night camp. There was certainly no danger for us, but when I had to go out into the bush again later, my heart was still beating in my throat. The next morning I went for a walk with binoculars; there were some rare bird species here, such as the Kokako, which is already considered extinct on the South Island. To my great joy, I actually saw one and kept running happily. As I was making my way through the tall grass of a meadow, an unusually large brown bird with a long beak suddenly jumped out of the undergrowth right next to me and disappeared in no time under the nearest hedge. I mentally matched the colors and size with all the bird species I was already familiar with, including possibly non-native ones. No result.. Then the scales fell from my eyes: I had found a kiwi while sleeping. Kiwis are nocturnal, which makes the chance of running into one very low unless you accidentally run very close to their hiding place. At first I stood around in the area, perplexed, listening in case he made any more noises, but finally I decided to let the kiwi sleep in peace. I excitedly told Matze about my experience, and he was probably a bit annoyed that he hadn't come along. But there were other possible opportunities... We made ourselves comfortable at Westend Reserve in Ohope, where we had a nice chat with our camping neighbors who were traveling with their caravan trailer. In the evening we went for a walk through the nature reserve, where there were supposed to be some kiwis, unfortunately we had no luck. A few times we heard the call characteristic of the females, but it could also have been an owl or a local wood pigeon. The next morning we did a circular hike through Kohi Point Reserve, there were some spectacular viewpoints and we found an idyllic beach littered with pink and white shell fragments. I spent the rest of the afternoon decorating the outside of our van using the airbrush gun and special paints. After the parrot I sprayed in Blenheim, I now dared to create a fantail. Mixing the colors wasn't easy, but since the van was such a boring black, I decided to be a little more colorful and bold with the color scheme. The next major town on our route was Tauranga, where we climbed Mount Maunganui. I did that on my solo trip with an acquaintance and even remembered the surroundings a little. I paid a visit to the local art gallery, where there was a special exhibition about “lifelike” mermaids (if anyone is interested in the topic, you can check out Hannah Fraser on YouTube - really impressive!). In the evening we enjoyed the last rays of sunshine in Te Puna Quarry Park, where there was a botanical garden with numerous sculptures and chimes in a former quarry. Ceremonial haka calls from a wedding event on the grounds reached our vantage point and it was only now that I had the feeling that I was experiencing a part of the traditional side of New Zealand. In general, almost 86% of Maori live on the North Island and here they even make up the majority of the population. Calculated from the total population, they only make up 16.5%, almost on a par with Asian nationalities. For comparison: In Australia there are just 3.8% Aboriginals. The next day we visited the avocado center of New Zealand, Waihi. There is an impressive amount of graffiti inspired by hosts in this small town. We continued towards Coromandel, where we booked a cabin for 2 nights. When we arrived in the afternoon, we first grabbed the kayak, which was actually only designed for one person. Cathedral Cove was no longer accessible on foot due to various landslides. You could book a kayak or motorboat tour or go there with your own kayak; there were no landlords. We did quite well, luckily we arrived at the Cove just after one of the last excursion groups and had this impressive place entirely to ourselves. On the way back we took a detour through various sea caves and only landed on the beach again shortly before sunset. Our accommodation was simple but well-equipped, with separate outside toilets and covered camping-style kitchen. We mostly relaxed the next day and treated ourselves to a session in our private spa pool in the evening. Pickle, our hosts' very friendly golden retriever, would occasionally peek curiously over the edge of the tub. We had been given a third night as a gift and decided to take the pedestrian ferry to Whitianga and while away the day there. We enjoyed the warm rays of sunshine after the disgusting drizzle the day before and visited a delicious Thai restaurant in the evening. We drove the “309 Road,” a dirt inland road with numerous hairpin turns. Steward lives with his pigs on a property along the road, although it's not as if the pigs are tame or even fenced in. They come because Steward doesn't shoot them like many other people in the area. And since no one is allowed to shoot on someone else's private property, the pigs stay with Steward. He doesn't feed them and barely interacts with you. The entire property is littered with the wreckage of all kinds of vehicles and, in addition to numerous live pigs, there are also some piles of bones in various degrees of decomposition. We watch a stream with her sweet babies, who argue loudly while drinking. In Coromandel we just took a short tour of the city; I had been staying with a Maori just outside of it for about a week. Unfortunately I no longer had his contact details, I would have liked to visit him. The commercial area in town looked pretty much as I remembered it, but like everywhere else, some small shops had not survived the downturn in tourism during Covid. We continued with a detour to the national park of the same name with one of the highest peaks on the peninsula, the Pinnacles. We decided against climbing to the top, firstly because it would be torture for people who are afraid of heights, and secondly, the weather forecast didn't look too rosy for the rest of the day. Instead, we walked an absolutely deserted path over some mountain ridges to the river crossing back on the national park road. Because the bridge over the river had been torn away by heavy flooding, a sign warned that this route might involve a very adventurous river crossing. This probably put most people off, but we liked the silence and were rewarded with spectacular views of a multi-tiered waterfall. Crossing the river posed no problems and we took the opportunity to wash off the sweat (admittedly not just from that day). A short time later the terrible weather arrived and we used the rest of the afternoon to make some further progress towards Auckland. It rained almost the entire next day, so we made the most of it and did some shopping, strolled and relaxed in our fortunately spacious Betty. On Sunday we met some complete strangers in a games bar, we missed our group in Christchurch very much. We had a lot of fun and when we set off we noticed that the thick rain clouds had finally cleared away and it felt like summer had broken out, our mood reached unexpected heights. We walked through Ponsonby, Auckland's trendiest neighborhood with a variety of cafes and hidden backyards. Finding a place to park for the night didn't turn out to be easy, but we eventually found a reassuring, quiet and even reasonably level parking spot near a public toilet. Outside the city center, these are all locked around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. at the latest. If you still have to do so after that, you can only hope that there is a restaurant around the corner or have to head into the bushes in daylight. Another place we discovered was a bit further out, but you could take the water taxi directly under Auckland's impressive harbor bridge to get to the city center. Since we soon had an appointment for a couple shoot with a new photographer, we both visited the local hairdressing school and got a free haircut as models for the apprentices. Matze even had her beard shaped. We visited an outstandingly good brewery in a beautiful old building, Matze was as happy as a snow king that the brewer happened to be there. The name “Galbraith's Alehouse” sounded more like an ordinary Irish pub than a brewery, but the building probably had that name from the start, before the company moved there. I contacted Tracy and Jason on the “helpx” website, who lived just west of Auckland and needed help on their property. We came on November 23rd. We met you and immediately felt like we were in good hands. One of their adult sons was also visiting. When he went on a trip with friends for a few days, we were kind enough to move into his room, which had a balcony and a huge private bathroom. Tracy cooked every evening, I really enjoyed the break, but I also liked looking over her shoulder because she had made vegan cooking her career. Jason was seen a little less often; he was dedicated to the science of healthy longevity and gave regular lectures on the subject, and he had also published several books. In the converted basement he kept his vintage comic collection - mainly Marvel, and in addition to the pool table and table tennis table, there was also a room that he had set up as a home cinema. We watched some of his films, he had very discerning tastes and we both had to admit that we hadn't seen as many great films in a long time as we had during our time with Tracy and Jason. The work assigned to us mainly revolved around weeding and trimming/removing the many palm trees, some with meter-long viciously jagged fronds. Fortunately, Matze discovered an old fireproof bowl, otherwise we would have filled all the bins and garden waste bags after two days. One afternoon I helped Tracy prepare various dishes for her stall at the Saturday market, we had a lot of fun and good conversations. Like Jason, she praised us both highly for our work, which we did more than agreed upon, simply because it was so mentally good for us. On the 25th we drove to Auckland late in the afternoon, where we enjoyed a few beers and then later that evening we finally went to a party again after a long time. And it was so great that it made up for the long lull since we left Queenstown. Although we had quite sensibly skipped the afterparty, we didn't get much sleep and at 11 we had to slowly pull ourselves together. We still hadn't found a white shirt (the photographer's request) for Matze for our shoot. However, karma was kind to us and in the last op shop before we joined the big chain there was a spotless and cheap (the second-hand shops in Auckland aren't even half as good as I remembered) hanging in Matze's size. The photographer, formerly a model, had an enormous range of make-up and so our dark circles were no longer visible when we set off on the beach in Piha. We had a lot of fun and although the temperatures could easily have climbed over 20 degrees, we braved the sometimes strong gusts and gave it our best. When we arrived back at Tracy and Jason's house around half past ten in the evening, we were very happy that Tracy had given us some lentil bolognese and rice; I couldn't have found the motivation or energy to cook. The next few evenings we watched some good movies with Jason and family friend Terry, who lived in a little house on the property. I can only recommend “Payback” with Mel Gibson and “Arrival” to anyone who hasn’t heard these names yet. With “Sicario 1&2” I sometimes had to take a deep breath, the images you see (many of them real) are quite distressing. On our last day, Matze used a borrowed chainsaw to cut down two large trees and make firewood. Tracy and Jason were thrilled by so much skill and effort. When they found out that we didn't have any concrete plans for Christmas and would be dropping off our friend Lea at the airport in Auckland on the 23rd, they invited us to spend Christmas with them. Of course we were very happy about it and when we said goodbye the next morning it wasn't too difficult for us, we would come back soon. We first stopped at the Waikatere Ranges National Park Centre, which had an interesting exhibition on local history and ecology. I had never heard of the “cowries” that grew up to 7cm tall. The next morning we drove to the market in Avondale, a district of Auckland. It felt a bit like being at the market in Asia, there were so many exotic vegetables. Among other things, fresh bamboo and herbs that we had previously only seen in Vietnam. Fully loaded with fresh groceries, we went into the car for a few hours because it was raining. Later in the afternoon we met for board games and a “potluck” (meaning everyone brings something to eat together) in a house. I got in touch with the group via Facebook and the time went by far too quickly because we got along so well. Someone had brought pizza, someone had brought Indian curries, there were caramel donuts and I had made a buckwheat salad with asparagus, beans, cauliflower and a spicy tahini-tamari-lemon dressing. Later that evening we visited “Epic Brewing” and because Matze was looking at the interesting selection of barrel-aged beers, we also happened to get to know one of the brewers. We had already decided on two to take away, but he then opened three more for us to taste together with him. Since we were of course anything but fit to drive afterwards, he offered us to stay in the parking lot in front of the brewery, it wouldn't bother anyone. The next morning, slightly hungover, we headed south. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at “Hello Rosie” in Hamilton and strolled through op shops. As we walked around the lake, we admired thousands of different colored water lilies and cuddly baby purple hens. From Hamilton we continued to Rotorua, where we soon realized that despite the beautiful surroundings we would never be able to live there. The whole town was smelling like rotten eggs and I felt like my clothes absorbed the smell and after a while I got a dull headache. We ran the Tarawera Track, which started near a village that was buried by the eruption of the volcano of the same name in 1886. After 10 kilometers we met two wallabies, which of course made me somewhat happy, but at the same time I knew that they had been called a “plague” and that I would rather not tell any New Zealanders about it. Not far away there was a natural bathtub in a bend in the river, the river came from a volcanic spring and was at a pleasant temperature. Schools of small fish examined us curiously and every now and then a larger specimen nibbled on our legs. A short time after us - luckily the bathing suits were within reach - a father and son joined us, with whom we immediately started a nice conversation. When we realized we were running out of time to catch our water taxi back to the car, we were offered a private boat ride to the nearest beach. So we still had almost an hour to relax and find a spot on the Hot Water Beach (same name as the one on the Coromandel Peninsula, just really hot) where we didn't burn our feet or freeze. It wasn't that easy, the almost boiling water flowed into the lake from various sources and of course didn't automatically mix with the cold lake water, but stayed at the top. Several times while swimming I had to frantically wave my arms around in the water because otherwise I would burn my fingers. In the late afternoon it began to rain heavily and we decided to drive on to Orakei Korekau, where we had booked entry to the “thermal wonderland” for the next morning and were allowed to spend the night in the complex's quiet parking lot. We were then taken by boat to the geysers and hot springs, the geothermal activity is certainly small compared to many places in Iceland, but it was still fascinating to see and hear this steaming variety of colors. We were lucky enough to be able to admire one of the geysers spewing water and, unlike Rotorua, it smelled less here, which was due to the high silica content of the springs. After a sumptuous brunch we continued to Taupo, but first we paid a visit to the Huka Waterfalls. They are regulated by a hydroelectric plant and flow from Lake Taupo. The rushing water from the falls, which are only 11 meters high, can fill an average of three Olympic pools in one minute. The many air bubbles created make the water look beautifully light blue. The lake itself lies in the crater of a huge volcano that erupted 26,500 years ago. In Taupo we took care of the application for a certificate of good conduct, which must be submitted by post. To confirm our identity, we visited the local police station, where one of the police officers kindly gave us the necessary stamp without having to wait long. The next day we were able to admire the snow-capped volcano Ruapehu and its slightly smaller, snow-free neighbor Tongariro under a clear blue sky. We had an even better view from the summit of Mount Urchin, which we climbed. On the way south we passed valleys surrounded by clay cliffs and I even bathed at a not-too-cold waterfall. The clay, which looked white and gray when dry, turned a powder blue when wet and we had a lot of fun painting and working on clumps of clay. We were happy to have enough time to visit the Limestone Creek Caves, which were a little off our original route. This natural wonder is definitely on my top 50 list of fabulously beautiful places. You follow a watercourse upstream, have to cross a long rock tunnel - you should have good balance or rubber boots - and finally you come to a narrow canyon, the walls of which are overgrown with plants hanging on only a few aerial roots. Since we walked through it at midday, some rays of sunshine even reached us and the contrasts and colors seemed surreal. On December 10th We arrived back in the Wellington area and, after running a few errands, stayed overnight in Petone, which we already knew. During a hike up the Kaukauberg the next day we were very lucky to see a kaka, which is related to the kea that lives in alpine regions. However, its reddish-brown plumage makes it easy to identify. Unfortunately, like many birds in New Zealand, there are no longer nearly as many specimens as there were hundreds of years ago. However, the population is stable thanks to various protection programs and some islands where there are no people or introduced predators. Matze and I went to bed in the evening looking forward to seeing our French friend Lea, who would arrive by ferry from the South Island the next morning.