New Year's Eve in Wellington

On Saturday, December 29th, we set off from Gisborne and finally left the Pirate Ship after 7 weeks. We left around 10 am and met the two guys from Dresden, Alex and Jonas, in Napier. We made a detour to see the longest place name in New Zealand: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapkimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. It's the Maori name of a 305-meter high hill and translates to 'The hilltop where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as the land-eater, played his flute for his beloved.'

We finally arrived in New Zealand's capital, Wellington, around 8:30 pm. We searched for a parking spot for ages and decided to park in a parking garage for $12 over the weekend. After we were finally finished at 10 pm and settled into our 14-bed hostel room, we went out to grab something to eat and went to a bar. The next day, we spent the afternoon at a market by the harbor, where we met Celina, Sophie, and Thea. We met these three girls on the Pirate Ship as well. Afterwards, we visited Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum.

The museum had various exhibitions spread across five floors. First, we visited the War exhibition, where we learned a lot about World War I through reading, visuals, and audio. The highlight was the oversized wax figures of soldiers, fallen heroes, and their loved ones.

After that, we explored the art exhibition and an exhibition about New Zealand's history and nature.

In the evening, we moved our car to avoid having to pay $18 per day. We parked outside of the city on the side of the road and took a bus back for 10 minutes.

On the 31st, we all slept in, although it wasn't easy with a roommate who snored all night. We spent the day in the city center, bought some alcohol for the evening, and watched a very funny Japanese street performer. Around 6 pm, we got ready and played cards and other drinking games until we went to the first bar at 8 pm. There was a rodeo bull set up at the bar, and we all tried our luck on it.

The night went on, and we arrived at the harbor just in time for the fireworks at midnight. However, it was not nearly as spectacular as in Germany. After that, we walked through the city and looked for clubs, but it was crowded and expensive everywhere. So, we ended up back in our 'cozy' hostel bed around 2 am.

On New Year's Day, we drove along the coast of Wellington and hiked up Mount Victoria, which offers a beautiful view of the city. The rest of the day, we relaxed at the beach, recovering from the exhausting night before.