Fernweh

Making the most of my surprise extra day in Wellington – even the weather is playing along, brightening up for an afternoon trip to the Botanical Garden. I even discovered something I hadn’t seen before: the old cemetery above Thorndon, between the gardens and the city centre, which makes for an interesting contrast. I’m so [...]

So my time here is officially almost over. Here’s my last week in Wellington: – Saturday: Dinner with friends at Southern Cross, then out to a bar and dancing. – Sunday: Last time at church. – Monday: Saying goodbye to Adeline and an evening at Strawberry Fare with my friends from church. – Tuesday: Miriam [...]

Spending the week saying goodbye is not fun, so I decided to cheer myself up by making a playlist to commemorate my time here. It’s a mix of kiwi artists (*), songs I listened to while here and/or that I found appropriate. Enjoy! 1. Elemeno P* – Baby Come On: www.sendspace.com/file/6ppyri 2. Discovery Channel – [...]

The last few days on the South Island were absolutely lovely. The daytrip to Abel Tasman National Park was great – first a boattrip to Torrent Bay, then walking back along the Abel Tasman trail for about 4-5 hours. I ended up in a group of four for most of it, with Janneke from Holland, [...]

Managed to get the pictures from Franz Josef (only two, because of the abysmal weather) and Punakaiki (a lot, including two short films, because of the stunning coast) as well as some from the bus trips (Queenstown – Franz Josef – Punakaiki – Nelson) and the pictures I took today. As always all photos can [...]

I’ve arrived in Nelson tonight, where the YHA is lovely and where I plan to spend the next couple of days. Unfortunately the card reader on the computer isn’t working, however, so photos from the past few days will have to wait. I had a good time in Franz Josef, although sadly the weather was [...]

I spent the last three days here in Queenstown, which is pretty much New Zealand’s tourist capital. It feels almost like one of the Swiss resort towns, including the beautiful scenery – and the prices… I spent the first day wandering around the town and taking a gondola ride. Yesterday I went skiing in nearby [...]

On Friday evening, after seeing a short scenic movie about Fiordland, I went to see the Glowworm Caves on the other side of Lake Te Anau. The caves were quite impressive, masses of water rushing through them, and the glowworms pretty – as long as you don’t look at them too closely, that is. I’ve [...]

I’m here in Te Anau at the border of Fjordland for four nights, which is very nice, especially because the dorm room at the hostel is like a separate bungalow with its own kitchen, bathroom and even a TV. Yesterday I went to see the famous Milford Sound, which was very impressive, despite the wet [...]

No photos from here at the moment, because the computer did not recognize my photo card for some reason, but I completely fell in love with Dunedin. Not surprising, perhaps, because it has a definite Scottish feel to it (“Dunedin” is the Gaelic word for “Edinburgh”). I walked around quite a bit, up and down [...]