9th November - the last day in New Zealand

Today is our last day in New Zealand. To finish off, we visited the Earthquake Museum. It was very impressive because through photos, videos, and personal accounts, we were able to experience the full extent of the disaster. Now we also know that the green areas around our hotel used to be buildings. It's no wonder that even after 8 years, there are still large gaps that need to be filled and destroyed houses that need to be repaired or wait to be repaired. The exhibition also showcases the techniques being used now to minimize further destruction in future earthquakes.

We will drive to the airport in the next few hours and find a hotel there. We will leave the hotel around 5am in the morning to catch our flight at 6:35am on Saturday. We will then land in Sydney at 8:05am. So the flight duration is three and a half hours. In Sydney, we will only be 10 hours ahead of Central Europeans. We will be picked up at the airport by Claudia, the daughter of our friends from Leipzig. She has been living in Sydney for several years with her Australian husband and their son, Marcus.

I cannot say when I will have the next opportunity to upload texts and photos. It may take a bit longer for the next update.