three hours on the computer, thats enough for today. more is to follow soon! bussis and kisses and hugs to all of you!
17.3.13
Samstag, 16. März 2013
NZ Part three: Lake Te Anau, Milford Sound
12.3.
Today we left the coast and entered the fjordlands on the south west of south islands. there are alot of Fjords coming in from the west coast, rivers, lakes, glaciers and a lot of hiking can be done there but you have to pay for every walk and you have to carry your own stuff as the huts only provide a roof, a bed and a gas cooker. oh I LOVE our Austrian huts with Apfelstrudel and Gulaschsuppe and Kaiserschmarrn and a warm fire when you arrive!
We arrived in the pretty village of Te Anau on the 64 km long Lake Te Anau on a wonderful blue and warm afternoon and just spent the time by the lake and got a sleeping bag and pot for our hike.
13.-16.3. Milford Sound Track.
The consequences of fast decisions and walking through the rain(y) forest
and here they are again my two things to learn!
dont regret decisions!
and
patience!
:))
no, in the end it was a nice walk, good to be out in the nature, and the final swim in the Milford Sound was great too.
And then we decided to go on a crusie boat on the Sound and this was really beautiful. the rocks rise very steep from sea level up to 1600, 1700 m... and go down under the water surface for another 300 m.... so the glacier was up to 2000 m thick here! wow.
Today we left the coast and entered the fjordlands on the south west of south islands. there are alot of Fjords coming in from the west coast, rivers, lakes, glaciers and a lot of hiking can be done there but you have to pay for every walk and you have to carry your own stuff as the huts only provide a roof, a bed and a gas cooker. oh I LOVE our Austrian huts with Apfelstrudel and Gulaschsuppe and Kaiserschmarrn and a warm fire when you arrive!
We arrived in the pretty village of Te Anau on the 64 km long Lake Te Anau on a wonderful blue and warm afternoon and just spent the time by the lake and got a sleeping bag and pot for our hike.
In the evening we met three amazing young Gemrans (one girl two guys) "auf der Walz", they are already 2 and a half years on their way through Europe, a bit in Australia and now NZ and they have not more than a 5 or 6 kg small bag, including not even a tent! they sleep outside or if they are invited at someone's house, the walk all the way or they hitch hike. and they can tell stories!... in 2 weeks they have made almost the same way like us with the car!
it is quite easy to hitchhike here. People are raeally nice, helpful and friendly, and there are so many campers going too. and I (we) also try to take any hithchiker we find on the street as I will be doing it myself and hope to get a ride often! and it also helps to meet new people, cuase as I said before, we are a bit isolated in our car.
it is quite easy to hitchhike here. People are raeally nice, helpful and friendly, and there are so many campers going too. and I (we) also try to take any hithchiker we find on the street as I will be doing it myself and hope to get a ride often! and it also helps to meet new people, cuase as I said before, we are a bit isolated in our car.
The consequences of fast decisions and walking through the rain(y) forest
on this track, which leads 8 hours into a valley, then over a 1200m pass and 8 hours out of another valley, you are somehow trapped. you can only get to the start by bouat over the lake and you can only get back by boat on the Milford Sound. the forest is a really fascinating and beautiful southern rain forest with lots of huge trees, moss, Flechten, Fern and Fern Trees, rivers, wetlands, waterfalls, birds and ducks.
but it is a bit too much of a forest. and on the only part leading us UP to the VIEW, which view?!, we had rain and fog and didnt see anything of mountain tops or glaciers... (although also this would not have been much more than you can see in Austria) and this after more than a month without rain... naja, pech gehabt.
well we just made a wrong decision to book the most expensive trekk with the least view which was quite boring with too much of a forest, where ou dont have the option of changing date according to the weather. and compared to what you get ist is far too expensive. the huts are well kept but dont offer anything more than a shelter and the gas cooker. and it was 3 looooooooong afternoons (arriving at 2 or 3) with a loooooot of time and you cannot go on... hoch lebe der OEAV :)
and here they are again my two things to learn!
dont regret decisions!
and
patience!
:))
no, in the end it was a nice walk, good to be out in the nature, and the final swim in the Milford Sound was great too.
NZ Part two: Mt Cook to Invercargill
Mt Cook to Dunedin
like in Europe the glaciers are melting rapidly (now> 27 km. 2020> supposed to be only 23 km) and they were just grey with rocks on top and are quite far away from the viewpiont. but still the ice at the end of the lake is 30 to 50 m high! must be great to go there by boat or kayak!
after a nice coffee and cake break in the Alpine Style Mountaineers Lodge we got our petrol with the help of John Justice from the hotel there and had to leave this wonderful place and wather too earlly, as far as I am concernede. and poor Bernd had to stop again, and again, for another look back and one more picture ;)
We drove southeast to the coast again, passing beautiful lakes and leaving the sun behind :( (my heart was still there.... but: dont regret decisions!....)
we spent the night and the next morning in the surprisingly nice city of Oamaru at the east coast. another nice cafe, lots of old buildings, the old market with old handicrafts, museums, galleries, arts and other shops and a farmers food market where we got some dark bread, made by a dutch baker, but it is nothnig compared to KOTZBECK bread! but still, it was better than the usual choice of very soft toast slices you get in the supermarkets.
and on we went south along the shore , to the Moeraki Boulders,
and soon the sun came out ;), towards Dunedin, a scottish foundation and university city with lots of young folks, and to the aaahhhh and ooohhhhh Otago peninsula.
albatros, penguins and seals live there, but we only saw a seal which came out of the water to pose just for us, scratch himself with pleasure and rub his fur drey in the grass...
the landscape on the peninsual is gorgeous, I really loved the scenery (thats wyh I fogot my jacket at the viewpoint and we had to go again in the late evening sun hihi)
along the shore through the village of Portobello (yes! only the villas are made of wood instead of brick) and on the other side hills and steep roads with sheep and windschiefen pine trees and bay views...
I think B. is sometimes really fed up with me cause I want so many foto stops but he is a patient guy :)
Our evening with street musicians and a beer in Dunedin was a nice finish for this nice day! we stayed on a private property for the night for free, nice people!
Dunedin to Invercargill
The next day brought as further down south after a sunny breakfast by the beach, along the coast through the "Catlins", a remote part with just a few houses and villages. nice beaches, lots of thick forest, dry grass and beautiful views again. as we made a stop in a mini village we found a"curiosity theatre". a guy lives there in an old bus and invents the most incredible and funny moving things, made of old stuff and electric parts. would be a great physics teaching place!
you can push the button or move a wheel and something will move or light up or sound or jus "happen". great! creativity just for fun and he can even live on it and he was in some papers already!
checkout http://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/television/236636/lost-world-found-catlins or pictures of "Blair Somerville"!
We drove on to the most southern city on the south island, Invercargill (80 ha of botanical garden!!), where we just dropped off a young french hitchhiker and took a few pictures as we wanted to find a campsite before it was dark. and we found one! just for us, on the beach, evening sun!
Our next stop was Lake Pukaki .. the best view of Mt Cook in the back. aahhhh soooo big and blue and the mountains behind!
and then to Mount Cook Village close to glacieres and high peaks. and what a scenery! even if you are used to mountains, this here is so much bigger (but not higher).
arriving with an empty tank and the petrol station was broken.,..
and then to Mount Cook Village close to glacieres and high peaks. and what a scenery! even if you are used to mountains, this here is so much bigger (but not higher).
A summerly hot hike to the first glacier lake there and on the next day to another one (did a 2 hours walk including a Moraenen-climb cause we missed the 20 min. viewopint way)
like in Europe the glaciers are melting rapidly (now> 27 km. 2020> supposed to be only 23 km) and they were just grey with rocks on top and are quite far away from the viewpiont. but still the ice at the end of the lake is 30 to 50 m high! must be great to go there by boat or kayak!
after a nice coffee and cake break in the Alpine Style Mountaineers Lodge we got our petrol with the help of John Justice from the hotel there and had to leave this wonderful place and wather too earlly, as far as I am concernede. and poor Bernd had to stop again, and again, for another look back and one more picture ;)
We drove southeast to the coast again, passing beautiful lakes and leaving the sun behind :( (my heart was still there.... but: dont regret decisions!....)
we spent the night and the next morning in the surprisingly nice city of Oamaru at the east coast. another nice cafe, lots of old buildings, the old market with old handicrafts, museums, galleries, arts and other shops and a farmers food market where we got some dark bread, made by a dutch baker, but it is nothnig compared to KOTZBECK bread! but still, it was better than the usual choice of very soft toast slices you get in the supermarkets.
and on we went south along the shore , to the Moeraki Boulders,
albatros, penguins and seals live there, but we only saw a seal which came out of the water to pose just for us, scratch himself with pleasure and rub his fur drey in the grass...
the landscape on the peninsual is gorgeous, I really loved the scenery (thats wyh I fogot my jacket at the viewpoint and we had to go again in the late evening sun hihi)
along the shore through the village of Portobello (yes! only the villas are made of wood instead of brick) and on the other side hills and steep roads with sheep and windschiefen pine trees and bay views...
I think B. is sometimes really fed up with me cause I want so many foto stops but he is a patient guy :)
Our evening with street musicians and a beer in Dunedin was a nice finish for this nice day! we stayed on a private property for the night for free, nice people!
Dunedin to Invercargill
The next day brought as further down south after a sunny breakfast by the beach, along the coast through the "Catlins", a remote part with just a few houses and villages. nice beaches, lots of thick forest, dry grass and beautiful views again. as we made a stop in a mini village we found a"curiosity theatre". a guy lives there in an old bus and invents the most incredible and funny moving things, made of old stuff and electric parts. would be a great physics teaching place!
you can push the button or move a wheel and something will move or light up or sound or jus "happen". great! creativity just for fun and he can even live on it and he was in some papers already!
checkout http://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/television/236636/lost-world-found-catlins or pictures of "Blair Somerville"!
We drove on to the most southern city on the south island, Invercargill (80 ha of botanical garden!!), where we just dropped off a young french hitchhiker and took a few pictures as we wanted to find a campsite before it was dark. and we found one! just for us, on the beach, evening sun!
New Zealand! Part one: Christchurch to Lake Tekapo
Heute ist SO der 17.3. und ich bin in Queenstown auf der Suedinsel. Rekapituliere zwei intensinve Wochen!
4.3. Christchurch
Bernd and I met on the airport in Christchurch and had a long bus ride through the city including a sightseeing ride with an elderly lady bus driver who took us for free to the village of lyttleton by the sea!
arriving at our nice hostel it was cold! 16 degrees only, coming from 30! for Bernd it was warm, coming from zero ;)
but then we had a nice sunny and warm day in Christchurch including B's first sunburn!
Christchurch is still under construction after the 2011 earthquake, lots of houses are torn down and a lot of empty space there, you can imagine how terrible this was and how much effort and money it means to completely rebuild the city center. 70.000 people left the city... it is so quiet and empty, especially after Asian towns and even Melbourne and Sidney!
a GREAT day! what a great place. what a great scenery. happyyyyyyyyyy :) and BLUE and WARM :)))
4.3. Christchurch
Bernd and I met on the airport in Christchurch and had a long bus ride through the city including a sightseeing ride with an elderly lady bus driver who took us for free to the village of lyttleton by the sea!
arriving at our nice hostel it was cold! 16 degrees only, coming from 30! for Bernd it was warm, coming from zero ;)
but then we had a nice sunny and warm day in Christchurch including B's first sunburn!
Christchurch is still under construction after the 2011 earthquake, lots of houses are torn down and a lot of empty space there, you can imagine how terrible this was and how much effort and money it means to completely rebuild the city center. 70.000 people left the city... it is so quiet and empty, especially after Asian towns and even Melbourne and Sidney!
but they already built a very nice container city center with lots of nice cafes and shops and you can imagine how nice and lively the city was before, as you see on old postcards, they even had a pedestrian zone and a tramway!
there is a small river running through the city and a big botanical garden, which together with the private gardens (no Mehrparteienhauerser, everyone has his own house, only one store, made of wood and most of them VERY simple and with thin walls and thin windows, no cellar, must be terribly cold in winter!; they somehow hide behind their trees and bushes), makes a really green impression, though the city area is much larger than you mnight think (what we noticed the next day when we had to get our van on the other side of the city)
we then spent the afternoon with a long and windy beach walk, it is always be good to be out of town!
6.3. Christchurch to Lake Tekapo
Our first day with the camper van!
it feels a bit strange for me to travel like this after weeks on public transport with so many people around me. gives us a lot of freedom and comfort, but also some kind of isolation. and I am cooking again after 3 months of eating out on the street! but as you know, I love the camper life.
the road led us southwest through a great huge empty wide endless landscape with yellow grass, lots of pine trees and thousands of sheep and through a bit of a rain (karin was sad) over the Burkes pass to a> rainbow! and the sun again! and there it iwas! wonderful turquoise shining lake Tekapo in the evening sun! yohoooo! I AM IN NEW ZEALAND! In the middle of the Fototapete!!!! I was sooo happy, poor Bernd had to hear it quite a few times ;)
we stayed two nights on great campsites by the lakes and went for a long hike over mt St John with an observatory (oih what a starry sky!!!! with the bright milky way just so close you think you might touch it!), with a great cafe on top, by the way (ja ich liiiiebe essen noch immer!) through the yellow meadows and along the lake including a final short bath in the lake with its incredible colour!
Samstag, 2. März 2013
Yara Valley, Great Ocean Road, Mardi Gras, Sidney Ende
Ausflug!
Mit Peter und 2 sehr netten "desperate housewives" aus Dtl und einer dt. Familie fuhren wir Richtung Norden ins Yarra Valley von Melbourne zum CHANDON Weingut und noch zwei anderen und liessen uns Wein, Sparkling und Pizza schmecken.
Great Ocean Road
Nice and funny very personal tour with Chris www.wildwombatescapes.com and 2 from Kanada and 1 from Hongkong.
Auf jeden Fall waren Louis und Wayne nette Begleiter :)
War ein super Tag! und der hat noch fein mit einer expat party mit grillen und lagerfeuer und kids bei den Zornis geendet.
Melbourne last day and back to Sidney
Natuerlich JETZT wo ich wieder heimfliege wird es schööööööööön! blitzeblau und strahlend! HACH! hab noch eine kleine Radltour am Meer entlang und durch die Vororte Brighton und Hampton sowie durch die Wohn/Villenviertel gemacht. seeeehr nett! und ca 10000 Radlfahrer unterwegs! WEnn man da nicht sportelt, kriegt man glatt ein schelchte Gewissen...
Und dann ab nach Sidney. Um die Mardi Gras Street Parade zu sehen. Riiiesen Party STimmung und Masen von Leutenund wirklich sehr lustig und sehenswert und hab wieder, nur kurz, ein par nette Leute kennengelernt, einfach so. Allerdings gefiel mir das graue Nieselwetter nicht so gut wie der blaue Himmel den ich in Melbourne zurueckgelassen hatte, noch dazu mit der Option heute Sonntag mit den -Zornis Bott fahren zu gehen... hätti wäri tati...!
Mit Peter und 2 sehr netten "desperate housewives" aus Dtl und einer dt. Familie fuhren wir Richtung Norden ins Yarra Valley von Melbourne zum CHANDON Weingut und noch zwei anderen und liessen uns Wein, Sparkling und Pizza schmecken.
Schoene Gegend!! Und man bekommt eine Ahnung davon, wie riiiiiesig dieses Land ist. Dabei ist ja dort eh noch dicht besiedelt.
Schoen: gelbe trockene Wiesen, schwarze Rinder, blauer Himmel, weisse Wolken, gruener Eukalyptus...
Great Ocean Road
I am so happy I did it! It was a far ride and a kind of rush with a lot of short stops, but perfect for a first impression and I know I will be back with more time. Great morning light and great scenery!
Even seen some wild Kangoroos and Koalas.And including a rain forest walk with 100m high eucalyptus trees and fern trees.Nice and funny very personal tour with Chris www.wildwombatescapes.com and 2 from Kanada and 1 from Hongkong.
War ein super Tag! und der hat noch fein mit einer expat party mit grillen und lagerfeuer und kids bei den Zornis geendet.
Melbourne last day and back to Sidney
Natuerlich JETZT wo ich wieder heimfliege wird es schööööööööön! blitzeblau und strahlend! HACH! hab noch eine kleine Radltour am Meer entlang und durch die Vororte Brighton und Hampton sowie durch die Wohn/Villenviertel gemacht. seeeehr nett! und ca 10000 Radlfahrer unterwegs! WEnn man da nicht sportelt, kriegt man glatt ein schelchte Gewissen...
Und dann ab nach Sidney. Um die Mardi Gras Street Parade zu sehen. Riiiesen Party STimmung und Masen von Leutenund wirklich sehr lustig und sehenswert und hab wieder, nur kurz, ein par nette Leute kennengelernt, einfach so. Allerdings gefiel mir das graue Nieselwetter nicht so gut wie der blaue Himmel den ich in Melbourne zurueckgelassen hatte, noch dazu mit der Option heute Sonntag mit den -Zornis Bott fahren zu gehen... hätti wäri tati...!
and so it is, agian: decisions, decisions. I still try to learn not to regret them, but sometimes it doesnt work, if you feel it was not the right one. but still sometimes you dont know before, and after you find out they lead you to something else instead.
So today I went to watch Gerolf hanggliding and soaring by the beach. It is still quite windy but became really sunny, at least I dont have the floods that are happening near Brisbane now!
Tomorrow: Christchuch, New Zealand!!! :)
3.3.13
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