Melbourne
Day 41++ (26.2.2013) Melbourne
After an early morning start at 4.40am (boah, that’s just
too early, way too early …). I had to take a different flight to Melbourne via Auckland because
of bad weather (rain in Melb) they had to take more fuel and hence less
passengers on my originally booked non-stop flight … weird explanation never heard that before …
but well, at least my flights via Auckland were all good and I landed 10.30am in
Melbourne. At the airport I had to pass seemingly endless queues for
immigration and final exit of the airport. Nadja waited all patiently for me
outside – THANKS!!!
The rest of the day I spend lazy at Nadja & Karsten’s
place.
my accomplishments for the day:
*) buying a local SIM card +61.481.337 166
*) distracting Nadja from working on her thesis
The next days will be filled with meeting friends, enjoying
Melbourne (and Sydney), working on my business, shopping, …
… so, don’t expect to hear a lot from me in the next days, frequency of posts on this blog will definitely slow down. Thanks for reading
so far :)
Kaikoura to Christchurch
Day 40 (24.2.2013): Kaikoura to Christchurch
My last day on the south island – oh, time is passing so fast
if you’re having fun!
Coastline with Mountain Backdrop as seen from Kaikoura
Coastline with Mountain Backdrop as seen from Kaikoura
Easy drive along the east coast southbound back to
Christchurch. I returned the car which was heavily used during the last 5 weeks
and had a stroll through the city. Visited again the container mall which is a
really interesting installation. Wonder whether they’ll keep it now that it has
become a cool attraction or whether the shops are moving back to their original
locations. I also found some more interesting street art as well as a memorial
site to remember those who were lost 2 yrs ago. The big earthquake had it’s 2nd
anniversary just a few days ago.
Street Art @ Christchurch
Street Art @ Christchurch
Container Mall @ Christchurch
Container Mall @ Christchurch
Container Mall @ Christchurch
Container Mall @ Christchurch
Container Mall @ Christchurch
Street Art @ Christchurch
Street Art @ Christchurch
Nelson to Kaikoura
Day 39 (24.2.2013): Nelson to Kaikoura
After a late start from Nelson this morning (had to buy my
postcards ;). Also, Dougal, one of the locals we met yesterday, stopped by to
chat and gave us one of his Billy steam boats (the smallest jet boat) :)
We – yeah, Lin hopped on to get a lift over the big hills
outside Nelson :) - left Nelson and drove towards Picton. First we stopped at a site where parts of "The Hobbit" were filmed. Beautiful crystal clear water once again. It reminded me on the green river in Valle Versasca in Switzerland.
We stopped in
Havelock which is well known for it’s green mussels (supposedly the best in the
country). We had lunch together and yet another fresh-fruit-ice-cream and then
we had to say good-bye. Lin is from now on back on her bicycle. I made my way
along the Queen Charlotte drive which follows the picturesque Queen Charlotte
Sound to Picton.
Queen Charlotte Sound
Queen Charlotte Sound
Queen Charlotte Sound
Picton's Marina towards Queen Charlotte Sound
Picton
After a quick stop in Picton I drove via some rather dry
mountain ranges through the Marlborough region. It looks fantastic those lush
green vineyards against the dry, brown hills in the background.
Marlborough
Marlborough
I drove via Blendheim further to Kaikoura where I stayed for
my second last night in NZ. Kaikoura is known for its crayfish – of course I
had to have one (or actually half a crayfish) for dinner ;)
Nelson
Day 38 (23.2.2013): Nelson
A quiet day, still filled with activity ;)
Met again with Lindsay and started the day with the
well-known market in Nelson. This is a famers and art/handcrafts market, very
nice. Finally I bought one of those handcrafted wooden bowls which I fell for
at my first visit to New Zealand. It’s made of beech burr which a kind of
anomaly in the tree which results in a distinctive pattern. My wooden bowl is
from Kemp Lenihan - http://glenwoodcraft.greencircle.co.nz
Wooden Bowls by Kemp Lenihan (pix by Lin)
In the afternoon we went for some wine tasting in the
surrounding vineyards. Nelson is neighboring the well-known Marlborough wine
region. In one of the wineries we got a bottle of Gewürztraminer which made our
dinner – together with all the fantastic cheese, bread and fruit we got at the
market.
Later that evening we made it to the “church pub” which is a
pub set-up in an old church. They had some life music and we met some locals as
well. Was yet another fun day & evening. :)
Abel Tasman NP - Kayaking (day 3)
Day 35 – 37 (20. – 22.2.2013): Kayaking the Abel Tasman National Park
Day 3: Anchorage to Marahau
Again up for sunrise but not much to see from this camp ground/
beach.
Our kayak adventure today brought us first into a lagoon a
little up north which does only exist at high tide. Then we had to kayak what
they call “the mad mile”, rather rough sea but we were really lucky, weather
& wind was with us and it was not even “a semi-mad mile”. At our lunch
location we climbed first across sharp rocks, through a little cave and up a
steep hill to enjoy lovely views around.
Rock Formation @ Abel Tasman NP
View from our Lunch Climb
We ended our kayaking trip with an epic sail!
Have you ever seen a raft of kayaks sailing?!? No?!? well,
me neither but it was a lot of fun.
How does it work:
The 3 remaining double kayaks where brought together into a
raft (all parallel next to each other). I unfortunately couldn’t take pix as
with my left hand I had to hold the bottom left corner of the sail and with my
right hand I had to hold on to the boat besides me – and there are big forces
around which try to separate the kayaks – especially waves. Ok, outer front ppl
hold the botton of the sail, the outer back ppl hold the sail tied to their
paddle up high in the air.
And wooohooo – off we go. When we did that the wind picked
up and we sailed for quite a while with up to 15 knots back to the beach in
Marahau! Wow, that was really a memorable end to an AMAZING trip :D
Kayaks Sailing
(symbol picture from the internet - our sail was much, much bigger)
After clean-up, shower, and another awesome real fruit
icecream I drove back to Nelson.
