we-in-Südosüd-Neuseeland

... last entry and 4 months 'high life' are coming to an end - with one scenic highlight after another and a backdrop you usually only know from Lord of the Rings.

The South Island of New Zealand means two weeks of extreme nature, hiking, swimming, paddling, and boating, and at the end another 10 days traveling together with our friends Matthias, Theresa, and their little Moritz.

It all started with the Queen Charlotte Track, a hiking trail with breathtaking views of beautiful bays. Then we continued curving on the Queen Charlotte Drive towards Abel Tasman to dive deep into the national park by speedboat, switch to kayaks, and paddle back along the coast for the rest of the day in beautiful sunshine.

After various wineries and tastings, we found our way through the Marlborough Sounds area with excellent sauvignon blanc to Kaikora. There we went out to sea again, this time to see the humpback and sperm whales. Accompanied by many dolphins and seals and by 20 vomiting passengers - a very funny and at least for us ;-) great experience.

In Christchurch, we continued our journey to the southern part with Matthias, Theresa, and Moritz after over 3 months of togetherness :)

Together, we made our way through the volcanic peninsula around Akaroa and then down the coast towards Mount Cook - the highest mountain in New Zealand. We were rewarded on our hikes and nighttime sleeping spots with incredible views, lakes with ice floes, and unreal colors. We also had close contact with the animal world and could observe penguins around and under our camper vans at the Steampunk HQ in Oamaru and over Dunedin and watch huge albatrosses sailing above our heads. The ultimate tourist spot of all could of course not be missed on our further journey to the west side: Milford Sounds. Even though the weather unfortunately didn't cooperate completely, this place in Fiordland New Zealand was an unforgettable experience.

However, the West Coast is also a hot zone for sandflies: tiny flies that you really can't tell bite so viciously. Nevertheless, we were able to enjoy the rest of our trip to the fullest with impressive glaciers, hikes through rainforests, past sugared mountain peaks, and the ubiquitous sheep.

We covered the last meters back to Christchurch on our own again until we boarded the plane to Munich.

Cut - that's it! Our four-month journey through Australia and New Zealand has come to an end. Four months of unforgettable experiences, beautiful places, and interesting encounters. Although we have been back in Germany for a few weeks now, we still haven't completely processed the countless impressions. We can only recommend everyone to make such a trip once in a lifetime - the wealth of impressions for life is priceless!!