Heading South
I woke up to a great sky and decided I’ll hit the road early, no detours… choosing the fastest track, an easy-to-navigate highway. The cliché that there are more sheep in New Zealand than people is surely true. I stopped counting… Farmland, forests and hills make up most of the scenery. Sheep, cows and bulls! […] Read More
Heaven and Hell
I slept like a baby after the evening in the Polynesian Spa, ready to start the day in Rotorua… But somehow, I was undecided what to see, the thermal pods in the park, the Lake, the Māori site with the Geysir… I walked a bit along the lake and through those sulfur and steam vents… but […] Read More
Thermal
It was a long day in the car. I underestimated the time it would all take, even if I only drove about 225 kilometers. Most of it was on tiny, windy beach-mountain-beach roads that took forever. I also did not factor in how much time I would actually like to spend in various spots, so […] Read More
Super/Natural
Night came early. It was pitch black at 9 o’clock. I went to the beach and had an amazing experience: The full moon high in the sky above the Pacific Ocean. So bright I cast a clear shadow. The animal sounds. The deserted beach at night. The sea looking like silver and black at the same time. […] Read More
Coromandel Peninsula
I got my car at 10 in the morning, then packed up my stuff, got a coffee for the way and my repaired bag, and ran into Clint and a friend. Final hugs, and off I go. My first stop tonight is Hot Water Beach, however I took quite a detour via the Coromandel Peninsula. Separated by […] Read More
Travel rhythms
Time to say good-bye to Auckland, already. I’m heading out on my NZ road trip today. As always, I don’t want to leave, now. I always have to leave when I just start to feel a bit at home. It sucks. Well, #firstWorldProblems, I know. But I can see a pattern evolve in every city: […] Read More
Movie day
Friday afternoon, everybody was ready for the storm. Events cancelled, clouds hanging low…. and in the end, hardly a drop of rain. I went to a birthday party with Clint and his friends. As we don’t have a TV in the house, I had missed out on Kiwi television. However, the host and birthday boy […] Read More
Auckland Transport
Auckland is a car city. They pretty much built it on, around and for the car. While the CBD now has a couple of pedestrian zones, the main means of transport for Aucklanders are their four wheels. First time you realize that, is when you have to wait for green on any crossing. I seems […] Read More
Hatches down for Lusi
The weather has been great yesterday, and I enjoyed a good time in Albert Park with a bunch of shirtless students from the nearly university, and my NZ travel guide. I also managed to get some Japanese Yen, as I realized it might be wise to have at least some local currency before heading north. […] Read More