Akaora

Wednesday came quicker than expected. Madlen is coming and my dad will be leaving again. The last things were prepared on Wednesday morning before we went to the airport in the early afternoon. Madlen was already waiting for us and now it was time to say “Bye daddy”. A strange feeling to be more or less on your own now.

Back at Duncan's, Madlen was also warmly welcomed by him. We spent the rest of the day further preparing the car, feeding the chickens and then harvesting cauliflower and beans from Duncan's own vegetable garden. We spent the evening looking for and booking our parking space for tomorrow. We decided to drive to Duvaouchelle near Akaroa for a few days while we wait for the workshop appointment on Monday.

There was still a lot to do in the morning of the next day. We washed the remaining dishes for the bus, took the last things off the clothesline and finally packed the bus. While washing my brother's old pots, we noticed that many of them were already rusting badly.

At around 11am we said goodbye to Duncan and set off. Before we could drive to Akaroa we had to buy pots and food. When that was done, we decided to quickly get gas. Then after refueling the engine no longer started and the fear of having filled up with the wrong fuel spread within us. In a panic, we googled and looked in the operating instructions. When we noticed that the lights didn't even come on when we turned the key, we looked at the battery. It turned out that one of the battery contacts was not screwed on properly and had therefore come loose. As soon as that was fixed, the engine oil warning light came on and we had to pull over to the side again. After briefly measuring the oil level, which was in the green range, we decided that it must have just been a false reading. The warning light hasn't come on since then.

On the way to Akaroa we made a short stop at a lake, where we also swapped places so that Madlen could also have her first experience of driving on the left. When we finally arrived at the campsite, we settled in and planned what we wanted to do in the next few days. When we were finished we cooked our first dish together.

The next morning the alarm went off at 7:30am. The first night was okay and I learned that next time I'll have to sleep in a sweater and long pants. It was a beautiful morning and, as it often does, it felt surreal to wake up to such a view. After breakfast we set off for Akaroa. After an 8 minute drive we were already there and were able to take a look at the little town. We decided to book a kayak for the next day. Since we wanted to go hiking, we went to the car to change clothes. When we wanted to leave again, we realized that we couldn't finish anymore. After a lot of trying, it turned out that only the driver's door couldn't be locked. After a long time we decided to risk it and went back to Harfen to eat fries😋

On the way back to the car, Madlen went to the boat rental shop again to cancel our booking if necessary, while I went back to the car to collect it afterwards. Back at the car I noticed that the handle of the driver's door was sticking out extremely from the back. When I had brought it back to its original position, I tried locking the car again. It worked again🥳 Now we were able to carry out our hike as planned. When I arrived at the waterfall, I decided to just stand in it! However, the water was so cold that I had difficulty breathing, so it was only a very short fun experience.

We then went back refreshed and satisfied. When we arrived at the harbor we decided to get some ice cream before heading back to the campsite.

We were so tired there that we both accidentally fell asleep and woke up right around dinner time. For dinner there was simple and quick pasta with tomato sauce.

Now the day is coming to an end and I'm excited to see what kind of breakdowns we'll have with the car tomorrow😃