Capital Wellington after a desert night, a boat trip is fun and the Smith Farm

After a bumpy night that didn't let us sleep well (rain & wind), we completed the last 20 minutes to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, to secure a parking space in the city and near the ferry.

Wellington is smaller (perceived) than Auckland but we quickly like it a bit better. After a small museum tour, shopping, and sushi eating, we were drawn to Jason several times for a little break 😁

The government building was unfortunately already closed for tours, so was the wooden church (it looked really cool) but we could stroll through Cuba Street and in general, there were much more authentic and cooler bars here than in Auckland. There were also many opportunities to relax by the harbor (including a Munich restaurant and beer garden) 😝. We also found pretty clothes for cat lovers... unfortunately, only the wrong sizes, but we considered buying them!

After a fairly short night (2 hours of sleep), we went to the dumping station because our shower water didn't drain and to refuel before driving to the ferry check-in.

And what can we say 😂 if we had known that we would then stand in line for another 2 hours... we would have also slept like everyone around us. But somehow we were also excited about what was coming and whether we wouldn't get seasick. After what felt like 100 trucks being loaded and unloaded, it was finally our turn. The patience of the New Zealanders is admirable... a driver fell asleep in the queue, and the cars behind him patiently waited. And that went on for minutes, in Germany a honking concert would have started 😂 In general, people here have a really relaxed attitude.

We almost slept through the ferry and only noticed breakfast and the entrance into the Marlborough Sound.

We were quite exhausted, so we first headed for a parking space to sleep. After almost 3 hours of deep sleep and a nice chat with the construction workers around us, we went to Picton to have a look around the arrival city. Picton is quite small and very cute with its little shops, restaurants, and cafes.

The next destination to spend a relaxed day was the Smith Farm towards Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park. And it was a hit ☺️ when we arrived, we were greeted with fresh muffins and food for the animals. The farm is really big and the camper spots are super spacious, and they make sure that everyone has enough space here.

We spent the afternoon feeding the sheep, or rather one sheep that was quite hefty and greedy (we think it eats everything from the others 😂). The little pigs were really funny because they were just lying around and snoring all the time... and when they changed places, they had to go back to sleep right away. What a life! I was definitely excited about the sheep and after a short period of skepticism, we also became good friends (I think you can see that in the photos).

We also took a little walk to a waterfall in the middle of a bush forest. And we didn't know that it would get so cool later on.

After eating and having a beer, we took the path into the bush forest again to watch fireflies, as suggested by the owner.

Equipped with a flashlight and a phone, we went back into the forest and waited for it to get dark. At first, we looked around for what felt like forever, trying to spot flying fireflies (like in our home garden), until we realized that these are the "fireflies" from New Zealand that actually aren't fireflies at all 😂 difficult to explain, please google "New Zealand glowworms" then you will see what we mean. Surrounded by so many "glowworms," we stood there in the forest and were speechless, happy like children, and couldn't stop marveling. Something so cool and off the beaten path. Wow - truly an absolute highlight that we probably won't forget anytime soon.

Today (Saturday) we did a part of the Queen Charlotte Track, which is actually about 70km long. But due to time constraints and other priorities, we decided to hike a bit in and then walk back. But even this part already showed us that the track is really beautiful and offers breathtaking views of the landscape. In between, we saw two stingrays swimming in the water by chance, but it was so surprising that the camera wasn't out fast enough. And in the end, the moments with our own eyes are the most beautiful ones.

On the way to Nelson or a little further to the planned campsite, we made a stop to do laundry and also booked a campsite for the Christmas days in Abel Tasman National Park. This time not for free because we simply don't want to search on those days and will spend the days hiking and kayaking.

Our stop for tonight is a spot between Nelson and the national park for $10 which offers a great view, nice people around us, and a bathtub by the water 😍 We ended the day with dinner and Rummy (Thomas lost).

The full moon and the starry sky... simply ❤️