With a lot of wind into the new year

Hello everyone,

after the big party in Queenstown, the Stray group continued into the year 2017, before I started exploring the vastness of the southeastern South Island on my own. I will now tell you what I experienced. Have fun 😊

Sunday, January 1 (from getting up)

Certainly not in top form, but very early in the morning after a short night at the Base in Queenstown, we headed towards Mt Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand at over 3700 meters. There are a total of 19 mountains over 3000 meters here, which I already find quite a lot. Most of us were pretty exhausted from the New Year's Eve party, so the bus was pleasantly quiet. By the way, Bobby was assigned to us as the bus driver again. After I could wish my parents a happy new year at around 12:15 and we had already been able to admire the bright blue shimmering Lake Tekapo with the high mountains in the background in sunshine and only a few clouds shortly before, we arrived in Mt Cook Village at around 2:00 PM, a village that is certainly half made up of hostels and hotels. Unfortunately, we had to realize that a big white cloud was hovering over Aoraki (Maori name for Mt Cook), which showed no sign of moving elsewhere 😢 That was annoying, especially since some of my friends had been there 2-3 days earlier and had uploaded photos of a beautiful, snow-covered mountain with a blue sky and a beautiful mountain river in the foreground on Facebook. Unfortunately, it looked completely different for us. At least part of our group was not demotivated by this and we set off on the hiking trail to the foot of the mountain. After a few meters, we realized that it was not particularly cold, but very windy 💨 It was stormy conditions, and on the way there we also had headwinds, which we had to fight against literally. In between, there were three larger bridges that were quite shaky due to the storm when we crossed them. I don't think I've ever done a hike in such strong wind before, I can't remember. However, the alpine landscape - tundra with a few small trees and rocky mountain slopes - was quite beautiful to look at. Nevertheless, we were naturally relieved when we finally arrived at the end of the trail after about 1.5 hours, and thus at the best viewpoint. In front of us, I could see the wide river with some ice floes, which naturally had a very strong current. A thick, white cloud still hung over Aoraki, making it impossible to see the summit. Only a small corner of blue sky allowed a view of some 'smaller' mountains (still over 3000 meters). Of course, the storm was still raging there, as you can see in the photos of me 😅 After a few minutes, we returned to the accommodation with a strong tailwind. The way back was much easier, of course. In the evening, there wasn't much going on in our group. New Year's atmosphere 😆

Monday, January 2

Although it had only been 13 days, my second Stray trip felt three times as long to me. So many new impressions, beautiful landscapes, nice people, exciting activities - all of this had come crashing down on me in just under two weeks, and all of this was about to come to an end for now. As I described in a previous report, I felt very comfortable in my Stray groups on my way from Picton to Christchurch and experienced a lot of things that I will never forget in my life and that I can talk about for many years to come. This includes, of course, the skydiving experience, as well as the heli-hike on the Franz Josef Glacier, the almost surreal beautiful, epic landscape in Milford Sound, the marathon hikes in Abel Tasman and on Ben Lomond, but also, for example, the experience of celebrating Christmas under very different circumstances than usual. I also met people from all sorts of countries who became friends and whom I hopefully can see again someday, whether at home with me, at their home, or somewhere else. Without them as fellow travelers, all of this would not have been nearly as much fun. Thank you for the great time 😙❤ With that, I also want to give a big recommendation for all of you who will one day come to New Zealand: Travel with Stray! It will be worth it in every way (even if that sounds a bit like advertising now 😜) and you will never forget this time!

But like all good things, this trip also came to an end, in the late afternoon in Christchurch, the second largest city in the country, where a severe earthquake occurred a few years ago, causing some damage from which the city has not recovered to this day. Since I stayed there for two days, I had booked myself into a different hostel than the Straybies, who were supposed to drive to the ferry the next day via Blenheim and Picton. The Kiwi Basecamp was really nice, with well-kept rooms, kitchen, lounge, and everything else you need to live. After a little shopping, I decided to take a long walk through the city park, which was really beautiful with lush greenery, a river, lots of trees, and a botanical garden that I wanted to explore more closely the next day.

Tuesday, January 3

On this day, I realized that the last few weeks had been quite exhausting and draining 😪 Changing locations every one or two days, a multitude of activities and types of landscapes, long bus rides almost every day - all of this naturally leaves its mark on me. But that doesn't change my positive assessment that I just gave, I am glad to accept that for the experiences of the last two weeks 😊 Anyway, this time I slept significantly longer than usual and then slowly made my way to the South Canterbury Museum, where admission is free. There I learned a lot about shipping, native wildlife, dinosaurs, and much more. Unfortunately, I didn't see everything because I wanted to go to the botanical garden and the city center. The botanical garden was very colorful and diverse and I liked it a lot. After that, I took a look at the city. In the center, you can see particularly well that the earthquake caused a lot of damage. For example, the largest church in Christchurch is currently being rebuilt, so access is prohibited. From an architectural point of view, the city is nothing special now. But there are occasionally some green spaces with monuments, which is quite nice. You can't do many activities here, though. Of course, that is also due to the destruction.

Wednesday, January 4

In the early morning, I left Christchurch to catch the Intercity to Timaru, where I was supposed to start my first WWOOF job. Unfortunately, Stray skips this area, so it was new territory for me. But the excitement of what my first job would bring quickly gave way to disillusionment. Alan, my host, had come to pick me up in Timaru, but explained to me with a very quiet and hoarse voice that he and his wife had recently fallen ill and that I could not stay with them 😕 I was then dropped off at Wanderer Backpackers to have a place to sleep. The hostel itself is quite good. There are large rooms, multiple bathrooms, a kitchen, and everything else you need. The main employee is just a little over the top. For example, he often comes into the room singing loudly or admires his beard in front of all guests. But otherwise, he is likable. Just a bit exhausting when there are hardly any other guests because Timaru is not necessarily a tourist magnet 😉 However, I was not happy with the situation. Five days in a 30,000-inhabitant city where there is not much to see except a beach, a botanical garden, and penguins - well, there are more exciting things 😩 But luckily, on the same day, I was able to find a replacement host for three days through WWOOF 😊 In the afternoon, I went out and explored the quiet, unspectacular city center, where there are at least a few beautiful churches and some green areas. Then I went for lunch and from there towards the botanical garden, which was beautifully maintained and colorful, with some small ponds. Afterwards, I went straight to the Coastal Bay Walkway, which runs directly along the beach. Timaru is located by the sea. For long stretches, the trail was really nice, but in between, the view of the sea was obstructed by large, ugly containers. After I arrived at the city lighthouse and could take a look at the beautiful bay, I went to the supermarket and from there back home.

Thursday, January 5

Finally, there was a really sunny day again, even if it was windy and therefore cool. I used this opportunity to go to Caroline Bay, where there was a kind of fair with several rides and food stands. However, the attractions were actually all for children and teenagers, so I didn't try them. Instead, I went to the Rose Garden, which was also very beautifully designed with roses in all sorts of colors. After a short interlude with a band that played on a very poorly attended concert stage (although the music was not bad at all), I decided to continue walking along the Coastal Bay Walkway, past the lighthouse. That was also beautiful, with some cliffs and the sea crashing against them 🌊 After that, I had to have a small repair done to my brand new lightweight shoes, which were a total bargain at 35 NZD and also look nice with their medium blue and neon yellow colors, but of course give way faster under high stress than ones of high quality. By the way, my previous ones had killed the work in Blenheim 😂 When that was done, I went back to the fair for an ice cream and then soon back home as the evening approached. In the late evening, around 10:00 PM, Matthias and I from the hostel went to the beach once again because you can observe the smallest penguin species in the world very well there. We actually saw a little one standing on the beach right away, followed quickly by more sightings. About 40 people had also come to watch the birds, but they were not bothered by that at all. It became especially funny when several penguins came together and then fought or played with each other. It wasn't so easy to tell 😉 It was also astonishing how loud these animals can call, considering how small they are. At some point, we did separate from these super cute beach residents and headed back to the hostel 🐧

Next, I will report on my first WWOOF adventure and my onward journey to Oamaru.

See you later,

your Max