Off to New Zealand

Hello again. Unfortunately, it has been a while since my last blog post. I apologize for this behavior. There have been many things that have prevented me from publishing this entry earlier. And to not waste any more time, let's get started with my experiences in New Zealand.

I mentioned the beginning of the trip through New Zealand in my last entry. From Johannesburg, we flew to Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand in mid-October. Here, I met Merle's brother Hendrik and his girlfriend Sami. The three of us spent the first night in New Zealand near the airport. The next morning, the three of us went to the car rental first to pick up our campervan. This was going to be our new home for the next 6.5 weeks. After picking up the van, we went to the airport and picked up our fourth passenger - Merle. After almost 7 weeks, we finally saw each other again. Exhausted from the flight, she fell asleep in the camper after a short drive to the supermarket while the rest of us organized the groceries and necessities for the next few days. Then we went straight to the first campsite for our first night in the wilderness. Since the other three had already planned the trip to New Zealand before I decided to join, the van was only equipped with three beds. As the 'newcomer to the group,' I had no choice but to sleep in a tent. The first few nights were very cold in the tent, as we initially headed south from Christchurch. The special thing about it was that we camped almost every night in beautiful places where no one else was. We were able to do this mainly because we had a portable toilet, which meant we were considered 'self-contained.' This allowed us to camp almost anywhere, even outside of public campsites.
Except for a few exceptions, we were able to sleep next to beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, or beaches every night. That was one of the things I liked most about New Zealand. Waking up every morning in a beautiful, untouched place in nature and not being disturbed by other tourists, enjoying the peace and quiet.
In addition to all the beautiful campsites we stayed at, we also got to know the stunning landscapes of New Zealand through day trips. The first trip took us to the Rakaia Gorge. Here, right at the beginning of the journey, we were greeted by a spectacular combination of glaciers in the background, a turquoise blue river, and lush green trees. After our hike, we needed a shower. However, due to wild camping, showers were scarce for us, so we decided to go swimming in the river next to our parking lot. I ran into the water, completely oblivious to the fact that the glaciers in the background were not only responsible for the breathtaking view but also for making the water temperature not very pleasant for swimming. Well, at least we could wash ourselves.
During the trip, our desire for a shower led us to the most unusual cleaning facilities. In addition to many lakes, rivers, or streams, which were all equally cold as the water in the Rakaia Gorge, we mainly used swimming pools, public showers, or showers at gas stations every 4-5 days to maintain a minimum level of personal hygiene.
But back to the essentials: another highlight was the trip to Mount Cook National Park. Here, a 4-hour hike along the glaciers led us to a truly otherworldly view. At the end of the trail, there was a glacier lake that was rapidly expanding. Started as a small puddle several decades ago, the lake is now several hundred meters long. It was partially covered with enormous ice floes. The sight was fascinating and awe-inspiring. However, this day trip was a spectacular experience as we were surrounded by massive snow-covered mountains throughout the entire tour. In general, the South Island offered us countless such mountains.
In addition to the many mountains and lakes, we also visited a lot of waterfalls. Especially in the south, in the Caitlins region, we saw some very impressive examples. After driving to the southernmost part of the South Island along the east coast, we headed north along the west coast. Unfortunately, we had to skip some sights due to bad weather. However, every day still offered us many great experiences. One of them led us to a cave in the middle of nowhere. We walked several hundred meters up into the cave until we were eventually stopped by a lake inside the cave. Here, it became apparent once again how small the world can be. As fate would have it, there were two other travelers exploring the cave with us. After a brief small talk, it turned out that the two of them were also German travelers - from Duisburg-Huckingen.
However, our paths only crossed for the time in the cave, as we went in different directions afterward. Our path took us further north on the South Island. Here, we stopped at Wharariki Beach, a beautiful beach that was hardly frequented by tourists. That was not quite understandable to us, but it didn't bother us at all.
After 4 weeks, it was time to leave the South Island and take the ferry to the North Island. Arriving in Wellington, the third largest city in New Zealand with approximately 100,000 inhabitants, we visited a larger city for the first time. Here, there were galleries, museums, and more to explore. I actually liked the city very much. However, due to our tight schedule, we only stayed in Wellington for one day before heading further north towards Tongariro National Park. For us, hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing was one of the highlights. Known from the 'Lord of the Rings' films, we climbed the volcano and enjoyed breathtaking views. Unique landscapes alternated with each other. Dull volcanic rock covered with black ash followed by vibrant red crater landscape and sulfur-rich blue pools of water. This tour was simply spectacular and definitely my favorite of the entire trip. After this tour, there were still some great days ahead. One of them took Merle and me to the Waitomo Caves. These fascinating caves provided us with some magical moments. Inside the caves, there are approximately 30,000 glow worms, which made this cave tour feel like a fairytale adventure. At times, the entire cave was illuminated by the worms on the ceiling. It was a unique experience, which was unfortunately very difficult to capture in photos due to the darkness in the caves. Nevertheless, the excursion was worth it. The next day, we visited Hobbiton, another filming location from 'Lord of the Rings.' Under the bright sunshine, we visited the home of the hobbits with their unique houses and the beautiful landscape of the Shire.
We spent our last days in the far north of the country, at various beaches where we alternated between sunbathing and cooling off in the water. After another 2 weeks, we finally reached Auckland, where we had to return our van after 44 days. After a final night in a hostel and a proper bed, the next morning we headed to the airport pretty early to continue to Australia with Merle.

My overall conclusion about New Zealand is positive. The landscapes are beautiful and spectacular. What is particularly amazing is that you can often admire them all to yourself, far away from the many tourists.
Another highlight, especially for me, was living in the tent. Although I have slept in a tent several times in my life, sometimes for several days in a row, camping for more than 6 weeks in any weather (sometimes rain, sometimes at only 1° Celsius) was something special, and I really enjoyed it. The special thing was that it didn't bother me much, and I could have easily endured it for another 6 weeks without any problems. Experiencing the 'simple life' for a longer period of time was possibly the most interesting thing on the trip.
Overall, the 6.5 weeks in New Zealand were an unforgettable time, and I would like to thank my three travel companions for that. Each of them contributed to making this trip so great. Thanks to Hendrik and his excellent preparation and organization, this trip was also incredibly cheap for New Zealand standards. Hendrik and Sam will spend a few days in Hawaii before returning to San Francisco, where they will visit Sami's family. Merle and I will continue to explore the world together for the next 5 months. Our next stop will be Australia. Although we will only spend 10 days there, it will still be exciting to return to the country where I embarked on my first big trip 7.5 years ago and caught the travel bug. But I will report on our experiences there in another blog post. Until then, I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Many greetings,
Fabian :)