Kia Ora to Germany! How is the weather over there? Can we come back next week or should we wait a bit longer? 😅
11/03/2018: On Sunday, we drove from Wanaka to Queenstown. The lovely Canadians drove us with all our luggage to the bus stop in the city center to save us some time, which was really nice! We didn't have to go far by bus since we planned a one and a half hour stop at the 'Puzzling World', a very crazy museum.
Just as we arrived at the parking lot, a terrible thought crossed my mind. Out of habit, I always put my wallet under my pillow and usually the first thing I do when packing is to grab it. That day, I was pretty sure I had left it at our Airbnb. I quickly asked GoogleMaps how far it was, luckily only half an hour on foot. So instead of going to the museum, I walked back to the Airbnb to pick up my wallet. When I arrived, I saw our host and the Canadian couple standing around my wallet, trying to figure out how they could get it to me. 😄 Everyone was visibly relieved. I quickly drank a sip of water, hugged everyone again, and walked back to the bus for another half an hour. Phew, that was close! 😇 The rest of the journey to Queenstown went smoothly. There was another stop at a very famous bridge where people can do bungee jumps. Sina and I just watched. 😅 Finally arriving in Queenstown, we took a taxi from the city center to our new Airbnb since it was located a bit outside. The Lake Wakatipu, on which Queenstown is situated, has a very funny and elongated shape, so we were still by the lake despite the distance to the city center. Our host lives on a hill right next to the lake and had the brilliant idea of setting up a tent in his garden where we were allowed to sleep for three days. That was soooo cool!
Camping with a lake and mountains. Awesome!!! We quickly settled in and then walked down to the city along the lake, which took about an hour due to numerous breaks and photo stops. But Queenstown is really beautiful and you can see the first signs of autumn! 😍 I've landed from autumn to winter, from winter to summer, and from summer back to autumn. And hopefully when I come back, it will be spring! 😄 We chose all the restaurants we want to eat at during our city exploration, did some shopping, and then walked back to our tent. But this time, not along the lake, but on the mountain. It was sooo exhausting, but the view was totally worth it! ☺️ In the evening, we cooked curry and had dinner with a great view before we made ourselves comfortable in the tent. 12/03/2018: Monday started early with the alarm ringing at 6am. We quickly showered, had breakfast, and walked into town at the beautiful sunrise, where we were supposed to be picked up by the bus at 8am to go to Milford Sound, New Zealand's famous fjord.It was very cold, we both wore two jackets and were at the bus stop on time at 7:45am. Other backpackers joined us at 8, but there was no sign of the bus anywhere. By 8:30am, we were getting annoyed and frozen, but it took another half an hour until the tour was officially canceled. Our bus driver had drunk too much alcohol the night before and wasn't feeling well. Our bus company had tried to find a replacement driver, but apparently it didn't work out. We were sooo disappointed. For many backpackers, this would have been their only chance to go to Milford Sound as they had to move on the next day, so everyone's mood was at its lowest. The two of us went to a nice café right by the lake and had coffee and tea while we thought about what to do next. We called the bus company to inquire about options. To keep it short (because it was actually a long process until we could get everything sorted out): we managed to get a refund for the tour and booked another (even better) tour with a different travel agency for Tuesday. We didn't want to rely on the previous company again, and so we made sure to book with another one. The rest of the day was mostly spent eating. 😄 For lunch, we went to a chocolaterie and enjoyed some delicious chocolate with a view of the lake.In the afternoon, we spontaneously visited a kiwi wildlife park. There we were able to admire New Zealand's national animal, the kiwi, up close. Since they are nocturnal, they live in small houses that are dark during the day so that tourists can watch them being fed. Taking photos was not allowed because apparently many tourists can't turn off their flash, so the park has banned photography of the kiwis for their protection. But it was a great experience. Kiwis are birds with the best sense of smell, as they have their "nostrils" at the bottom of their beak and can sniff for small insects in the leaf litter. They no longer have wings since they don't fly, and their feathers resemble fur more than the feathers of a typical bird. A truly unique animal!Another interesting fact about kiwis is that they lay relatively large eggs. In proportion, a kiwi egg is about the same size as if a human were giving birth to a 4-year-old child.Just before the laying process, the kiwi can no longer eat because there is simply no more space in the little bird. 😅 The kiwi population in New Zealand has unfortunately decreased significantly because not too long ago, two Australians introduced possums to New Zealand. They originally wanted to boost the fur industry, but it wasn't successful, so they released the possums into the wild. The Australians probably didn't anticipate that these actually cute animals would spread so much. Now the possums not only threaten the cute kiwis, but also the forests, so there have been efforts for years to reduce the possum population. That's why you can find clothing made of possum fur in every souvenir shop. It's a bit strange, but at the same time, you understand the New Zealanders' mindset.Another highlight of the park was the last living dinosaur:This crazy creature called Tuatara actually has three eyes! The third eye is located on top of the head and can perceive light in order to detect potential threats from above.After this very informative park visit, we had dinner by the lake. Sina tried the mussels, and I enjoyed a steak. Here we are, the fancy backpackers. 😅On the way back to the tent, we were able to take beautiful photos again: We were completely exhausted from all the walking (which wasn't even planned) and enjoyed our private view before crawling into our tent to sleep early. Tomorrow, we will finally go to Milford Sound! See you soon! 👋🏻
