21. - 24.10. Fear and Relief

Because Witzi has only been able to work sporadically since we arrived in Kerikeri and the hostel manager has done nothing to change that, we decided to change hostels for the coming week. Hoping that Witzi would find new jobs.

Before that, however, we had to drive towards Auckland because we had bought tickets for the All Blacks vs. Australia rugby game. So we set off at dusk and found a public toilet on Langs Beach where we could sleep. We didn't want to do without running water.

The next day, after breakfast, the mood was completely ruined and the game seemed to be in jeopardy because our car wouldn't start. Luckily, we met very helpful Kiwis. One of them even went home to get tools and an older couple from Auckland offered us a bed for the night if we were ever in the area :). With a lot of effort, the mechanic was able to start our car again.

Afterwards, we went straight to Auckland, where a mechanic ran a wire from the engine to the inside of the car so that we could at least start our car ourselves.

After that, the mood improved significantly and we took the train to Eden Park Stadium, where an exciting game awaited us. The atmosphere was really great, and of course, the All Blacks won thanks to our cheering and set a new record with 18 consecutive unbeaten games.

We spent the night in Auckland, and the next day we went to relax in Piha on the coast, with its black sandy beach. The sun was shining, so we plunged into the sea for some surfing ;)

We spent Monday hiking to Manganui Bluff (a lookout point) and visiting the largest Kauri tree "Tane Mahuta," which means "God of the Forest." In the evening, we arrived at our new hostel and Witzi was immediately offered a job as a boat builder by a private person.