Whakaputaina: 21.02.2024
The alarm clock rings very early and we are greeted by a beautiful morning sky. A good sign for the upcoming flea market? It starts at 8 a.m. and we want to be there around 7:30. When we get there we get a little shock... the whole parking lot is almost full. We'll get a spot before a second large parking lot opens. We prepare Willi and start talking directly to all the travelers around us. There is only one Englishman in the immediate vicinity and otherwise only Germans. Everyone is as shocked as we are about the big rush. We are right at the beginning of the square and are an eye-catcher with our “Instagrami bus”, as a neighbor calls it. A German couple showed great interest and took a test drive with me for the third time. We have a very good feeling and are happy because the two of them are so likeable. We're lowering the price again and the two of them want to take another look around and give advice before they want to come back to accept or cancel. But we wait in vain... with every half hour that passes, our hope that they will come back as promised becomes less and less. The later it gets, the fewer visitors come and you can start to notice the desperation in all of us. Only one of our neighbors sold his bus. The rest of us sat there and thought about what to do next. The offer here was too large and is also online. But too few beginner tourists are here right now. We run new Facebook ads and pick out a few retailers that we want to check out later or tomorrow. At around 1 p.m. we pack up and drive to the first dealers. Unfortunately, none of them are interested at a fair price. Maren is already in a really bad mood and I try to stay as positive as possible. First we go for a mani and pedicure and book a night on a farm. I'm looking forward to recharging my energy by stroking pigs and donkeys. While we spend the evening playing cards and drinking wine, we chat again about today and the possible options and decide to make the best of it. The next morning there are two more dealers on the list. One offers a very ridiculous price and the second and last dealer works differently than all the others. After a deliberation/meeting coffee, we decide on this dealer and we book an Airbnb straight away to clear out our bus and do the final cleaning. Since we can park right next to the entrance to the apartment, the whole cleaning process goes faster than we think. We stay at home in the evening and even have food delivered and sleep the first night in a real bed that is way too big.
After a relaxed breakfast and morning, we sit down with Willi for the last time and drive with him to the dealer. It doesn't feel all that real as we leave him standing there and walk away.
We go to a shopping center where we play a round of mini golf, which I narrowly lose. We spend the afternoon lounging on the sofa and notice that the New Zealand television is exactly the same as the German one. We were particularly irritated by the New Zealand version of “Judge Barbara Salesch”. In the evening we drive to the city center. After a refreshment at the Italian restaurant, we let out our energy in the games hall before taking the Uber home at 10:30, completely exhausted.
Today we have to pack our backpacks before we meet up with Finn and his friend later. The two arrived in New Zealand yesterday. We have a flight back tomorrow, which also feels very unreal.
After a leftover breakfast, we finish packing and take an Uber to the airport. There we stock up on snacks and make ourselves comfortable on the lawn for a few hours and soak up the last rays of sunshine. We check in early and wait impatiently for boarding. Wonderful 3 months are behind us and we are now concluding our trip with a 26 hour flight.