One Last Update

What can I say, now that I have reached my last blog post written from the other side of the world...

It's been an incredible journey of self-discovery. One filled with nature and friends and all the ups and downs of life and maybe I'll stop before this gets too cheesy. ;)

Goodbye Auckland, goodbye NZ, and I hope to visit you again one day!

It's The Final Countdown

It's good to be back.

I'm in Paihia again, second time, and it's just as nostalgic as it is beautiful. Even in full-blown autumn weather.


























We took a ferry over to Romantic Russell, which was New Zealand's capital for exactly one year. We went on a little rainy hike, got a nice view of the area, and then decided to spend the rest of the day in the hostel Jacuzzi with a few drinks. It is my last week after all. ;)

Yay Russell!

 So far my last week has been just as chilled out as I wanted it to be!

My Final Week (and last waterfall... maybe)

After taking an inland flight from Christchurch to Auckland, I took the bus later that same day out of the city (there is no way I'm spending my last week in Auckie) headed northbound. With one German girl and French guy, we took off towards Whangarei, a place I had passed through but never explored.

It's a good thing I did, because we were in for two lovely days:

We took a bus to one of New Zealand's rather special waterfalls and as it turned out these particular falls were very impressive.

From above

From below

A loop track allowed us to see the Whangarei Falls from every possible angle. One may even climb behind the falls, but we forgot to do that. Whoops.

Part of the track was called a Canopy Walk, meaning you are actually walking off the ground, on a walkway in the treetops.

After that we visited a volunteer bird sanctuary and got to meet Sparky, the one-legged Kiwi.

Now usually you have to pay quite a bit of money to even go near a Kiwi bird, but since this was not a government-owned organisation but an independant one they were not required to meet certain safety regulations and standards... meaning we could do something not many people get to do:

Touch a Kiwi!

After Sparky we met this little guy, only six months old (and very soft.)

And we also met a New Zealand Hawk with the funniest expression I've ever seen on a bird.

Amy

My week here has been both challenging and relaxing, entertaining and informative.

On my second to last day on the Tricolore Goat Farm, something amazing happened.

Friends called to say they found a little goatling of two weeks age in a riverbed, abandoned, and if we could nurse it back to health until we find a potential owner.

Turns out, little Amy (we named her after Amy Winehouse, as she's very vocal), is the sweetest little thing and we had her suckle on one of the milking does first, then fed her with a bottle later.

We introduced her to the other animals, which made for some interesting interspecies pictures.

One thing I will never forget is little Amy falling asleep in my lap.

NZ Farmlife

My last week of WWOOFing before I take a flight back to Auckland (and a week after that my flight home!) is taking place on a beautiful dairy goat farm near Christchurch. The family owns a small herd of Nubian goats, a dozen chicken, four cows and your average crowd of farm dogs and kittens. As the hostess recently spent five days in the hospital nursing a hand infection, I'm quite needed and will be taking over all kinds of farm duties, from milking the goats all the way up to cleaning the chicken coop.

Living like a Queen ~

The yoghurt we made yesterday, with blackcurrants from the garden!

The hosts believe in organic and sustainable farming, are 90% self-sufficient and make their own cheese, soap, yoghurt, etc. Even the power and heating is done by solar and log-burner.

I will be learning how to make cheese and bread, have my own queen-sized bed and can take a shower without having to guess how to turn on the hot water.

And here we have homemade cheese, which tastes incredible.

 It's definitely very interesting and I have been learning a lot about organic remedies and sustainable living, as well as animal care and human nature.

Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold

The last few days have been non-stop stunning displays of nature.

After the second (and probably not last) Bungy the Stray bus took me to Mt Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand with roughly 3.700 meters height.

The walk to the lake and Mt Cook was roughly three hours, with several cable-bridges that didn't look very comforting (with signs warning of the maximum load of 20 people.)









That special mixture of sun and icy wind and the sound of avalanches on the far mountains made the walk feel like half an hour. I couldn't stop staring.

And here, obscured by clouds, we have the highest Mountain of New Zealand.

 The next day we drove to Lake Tekapo which is such a ridiculously beautiful shade of blue it makes your eyes hurt. Every damn picture looks like a post card.

I can't find words to describe what I've seen, so pictures will have to do instead:

I feel so blessed having lived to see these amazing sceneries.

Highwire Bungy

It was one of those random decisions that set your teeth on edge and your hair on end...

So one of the WWOOFers in Lumsden wanted to do a Bungy, but wasn't sure if he wanted to do it alone, so he asked me to come with him. Me, having a big mouth, told him Bungys aren't as scary and I could easily do a second one.

The Bungy he wanted to do though happened to be the Highwire Bungy, the highest in the Australasian region.

134 meters, jumping out of a box strung up on a wire running from one side of the Nevis Gorge to the other. It is as crazy as it sounds.

And in case anyone was wondering, having done a Bungy Jump does not, in any way, make the second one less terrifying.

(Video music had to be changed due to copyright.)

Queenstown 2.0

Good-bye Lumsden, never thought I'd spend two weeks there, let alone be sad to go. After the goodbyes, one of the WWOOFers (Lucas) and I hitched a ride into Queenstown from a farmer, who also informed us on all things cattle.

The view isn't half bad, even the second time around.

For dinner we tried the most famous and popular burger in new Zealand, the Fergburger. Doesn't matter if it's breakfast or dinner or middle of the night, there is ALWAYS a queue.

And I have to admit, this was the goddamn best burger I have ever had in my life.

Bigger than your face, affordable, and so indescribably delicious..

Lumstopia

For almost a week now, I have been working, eating and sleeping in the tiniest of towns, Lumsden. Population: 400. Halfway between Invercargill (the southernmost city on the mainland) and Queenstown, Lumsden is surrounded by rolling green hills and pastures.

The couple I am WWOOFing for is renovating and landscaping an old farmhouse as well as a run-down pub down the road. Together with a few other WWOOFers we paint, build and redo the main house while Janel, the hostess, supplies us with plenty of meals.

At night and after work we hang out around the pub, which is also our accommodation. If you're not too squeamish about mice and the lack of heating (only if there is a lack of firewood) it's actually a pretty cool, retro place to stay.

The glorious Lumsden Hotel!

The past few days I have been mostly painting and once there was a little bit of muddy outside work. The work keeps us busy enough so that we don't have too much free time, which suits me just fine because other than the five minute walk around Lumsden there isn't a lot to do or see.

Until I've figured out my travel plans for the last month, I will continue working in 'Lumstopia' and get accustomed to New Zealand countrylife.



And in conclusion I present to you a picture of my newest Lumsden friends:

The Eigth Wonder of the World

After Queenstown, the Stray bus cruised at last into the famous Fjordlands National Park. The wettest region, Milford Sound can reach over 250 mm of rainfall within 24 hours. The bus ride there is as beautiful as the Sound itself, with waterfalls cascading down the cliff faces.

 This was the view into the valley:





Before we boarded the ferry that would take us through the Sound, our bus driver had to maneuver the bus through a handcarved tunnel, barely wide enough to not scratch the bus roof.

Once on the ferry, the cruise was actually as breathtaking and magical as advertised. The clouds that were obscuring the view in the beginning gradually cleared up, revealing the enormity of the Sound.

Sadly, New Zealand internet refuses to let me upload pictures without painfully long loading times, so here are the best ones:

After viewing the Eigth Wonder of the World, which is unfortunately in the middle of nowhere, we spent the night in a camp without power, heating our little huts with firewood.

Many are left underwhelmed by the Sounds, as they are one of the most hyped actractions in New Zealand, but I think it's safe to say that you can't tell from just the pictures.

Definitely worth being called a Wonder of the World!

Leap of Faith

So a 20 minute bus ride from central Queenstown, there is a river, flowing through a gorge, which has a bridge running across it, which is where decades ago a couple of crazy fellas decided to jump off, a cord attached to their feet.

Thus, the Bungee Jump was born.

Guess who jumped off that very bridge today?

Yep.

There is no doubt that the ten minutes before the Bungee Jump were the worst and longest minutes of my life. But the adrenaline rush, the ground coming towards you, the pure terror and freedom of the jump - it's all completely worth it.

Other than that, I think the video says it all! One more item ticked off the bucket list!

Franz Josef

It's finally glacier time. The next day we drove towards the Franz Josef glacier, where we would be staying in a beautiful little glacier township for an extra day of ice-based activities.

With some friends I went on a brave 21km hike (there and back) to the face of the glacier. The view of the snow-capped mountains was stunning and weird at the same time, since the sun was beating down on the valley and we were hiking in our t-shirts.

You can actually hike all the way up, and I mean all the way up, to the face of the glacier. 500 m away from it, we had a lunch break.

The valley on both sides, with sharp edges and clouds wrapping around it made for an interesting view.

 Aaaaand another goddamn waterfall.

Fortunately, the clouds started coming in as we were moving away from the glacier.














On our way out of the glacier area we made a stop at Lake Matheson, a glacial lake which is so clear and so clean, you can see the Fox Glacier reflected in it. (Seriously, if I turn the pictures around, I can't tell the difference.)

Other than that, thanks for over 1000 pageviews, I never expected that much interest!

 Stay tuned for some crazy stuff. :)

Wanakaaaa

Making our way down the South Island, we drove through the beautiful Aoraki National Park, where many Lord of the Rings and Avatar scenes were filmed. No wonder, the place looks like from another world.

Next up are the Blue Pools, glacier water collecting in shockingly blue water.

And it wouldn't be Stray if the driver didn't make some of his passengers jump in.

Lake Wanaka was our last stop before reaching Wanaka City, where I would do one of the craziest activities I have ever done.

...Flying a stunt plane.

For 200 dollars, you get a thirty minute flight. The pilot takes off, lands, then leaves almost the complete flight to you. It's terrifying, exhilarating, completely insane. Not even three minutes of flying and then your hands are on the joystick.

And of course, because it's a stunt plane, the pilot teaches you to do tricks and such. That involves a barrel roll and a loop. Each trick is completed four times.

The first time, the pilot does it.

The second, you do it with his hands near the controls.

The third, his hands are on his lap, but he is talking you through it.

The fourth, he is sitting there, silent, while you fucking fly the plane into a loop, five thousand feet above Lake Wanaka.

If that doesn't fill your daily dose of adrenaline, I don't know what will.

West Coast

Due to the sheer amount of distance covered, pictures taken and activities done, I will upload the past few days in separate blog entries, be prepared!

The Stray bus follows the incredibly scenic beach highway down the West Coast of the South Island, driving over windy roads and occasionally stopping at viewing platforms.

The water is, as always, a bright turquoise color.

Then we had a stop at the Pancake Rocks, which are formed by wind and weather and end up looking like pancakes stacked up on top of one another. Sometimes the crashing waves spray up through blowholes in the rocks.

Rock formations can, in fact, be quite interesting.

Yay seal pups!

The night we stayed in Westport, which is not nearly as grand as the name suggests.

...but this only the appetizer for what is to come...