I'm sorry for not updating my blog for such a long time! The past few weeks have just been very busy and full of lots of adventures which I'm gonna tell you about now.
Taddi and I boarded the plane from Bangkok to Auckland. Our friend Anja, who will accompany us while traveling through New Zealand, was already sitting in the plane. It was so good to see her again and to exchange lots of fun stories!!
We were all pretty tired after the long flight and were so glad when we finally arrived in Auckland on February 1st.
My first impression of New Zealand was amazing! The people are incredibly friendly, everything is organized (that was pretty awesome after spending the past 3.5 months in Asia XD) and Auckland looked so cool!
From the airport we went straight to Auckland's harbour and boarded a ferry to Waiheke Island where our friend Julia (also from Germany) waited for us. She is working there as an au pair for six months and we could luckily stay a few nights at her host family's house.
We stayed on Waiheke Island for three days and explored the island, met with friends from school (Martin and Paul happened to be there at the same time :D) and spent time relaxing on the beautiful beaches.
Martin, Julia, me, anja, Taddi, and Paul (we all know each other from school :D) 
On the fourth day here in New Zealand, we left Waiheke and went back to Auckland.
Taddi, Anja and I spent the rest of the day walking around in the city centre of Auckland and buying some souvenirs. Then we went to our hostel which was situated in a suburb. The Fat Cat Travellers Community was a cute little farm-like Hippie-hostel.
Auckland
Auckland
Washing our clothes with a bike-washing machine at the hostel :D
We spent two nights there and went back into the city on Monday the 6th.
That was the day we could finally pick up our campervan!! It is a pretty awesome, pretty green camper from Jucy Rentals which is spacious, has two beds, a little kitchen in the back and lots of other cool gadgets. Taddi is our most experienced driver and managed to get us safely out of the city (despite driving on the left side of the road!). We stopped at a big store called "Pack 'n Save" and bought food for the first couple of days. Then, we drove about 1.5-2 hours north to a town called Whangarei where we spent our first night in the camper. We parked it in a parking lot next to an information site. (We have a self-contained Camper which means we can park on a lot of parking spots and stay overnight for free!)
We needed some time to figure everything out and adjust to the camper-life, but it works out pretty well now. :)
We named our lovely camper Gunnar (Gunni).
In Whangarei we visited the beautiful small town centre, an amazing waterfall and went on a walk through the woods to see the ancient Kauri trees.
From there, we continued our way to the north stopping at the so-called "mermaid pools" for a quick swim (or not because the water was too cold :D). On the way there we passed a beautiful beach.
On the same day we drove further north to a free campsite right next to the beach. We woke up and the ocean was right next to us, so cool!!
After spending the night at this amazing spot, we drove all the way up to New Zealand's northernmost point, Cape Reinga. The landscape there was incredible and we had awesome views of the cape.
A little south of cape Reinga are the Te Paki sand dunes. We went there expecting some small dunes at the beach, but they were actually gigantic! On one side was the ocean and on the other side was a green forest. We couldn't believe our eyes! The nature is really incredible and so diverse! You can drive for 10 minutes and find yourself in a what seems like a completely different country. It's amazing!
After climbing up the giant dunes, we made our way back south staying the night in a little town called Kaitaia. From there we went to the 90 miles beach, a beach that is really 88km long.
After relaxing at the beach for a few hours, we drove down the West coast and stopped in an old kauri forest. The Kauri trees are native trees here in New Zealand and are protected very well. Every time you enter the forest, you have to clean you shoes and be sure no foreign seeds, etc. stick to them.
We went to Tane Mahuta, the oldest and biggest Kauri tree. (It's over 2000 years old!)
We drove on towards our next campsite in Port Albert. However it was already getting dark and we were all pretty tired, so we decided to stop at a farm and ask the owners if we could park in their driveway overnight. That was no problem at all, the people are really so friendly and helpful here!! :)
On the next day we made our way back to Auckland where we had to make a quick stop at the Jucy Rentals workshop. One of our stoves wasn't working anymore, but they replaced it immediately and we could continue our journey without any problems.
Our next destination was the coromandel peninsula. We spent a few days there enjoying the beautiful landscape, visiting the famous cathedral cove and bathing at a hot water beach. (People just took a shovel and dug holes in the sand. Hot water was coming up from the bottom and created natural hot pools in the sand. So cool!! )
Cathedral cove
A nice little waterfall near coromandel town :)
Our next stop was a little city called Tauranga. It was right next to the beach and we found an amazing campsite right next to the water. There we also met up with Natalie and Max, two fellow German travellers whom we had met before.
Breakfast next to the beach :) We also hiked up Mt. Mauganui, a little mountain on the beach in the city. From the top we had an awesome view of Tauranga.
From Tauranga, we drove further south to Rotorua. On the first day there I joined a tour to the Hobbiton Movie Sets. I'm a fan of the Hobbit and Lord of the rings movies and was very excited to go visit the actual set. It was exactly how I had pictured it in my mind. The movie set was in the middle of a huge farm with green hills and tons of sheep. We walked on a little path between the hobbit holes and listened to our guide's explanations. I enjoyed myself so much!!! At the end of the tour we went into the Green dragon pub and got a free drink.
That was an incredible day! :)
On our second day in Rotorua, Taddi, Anja and I went to a Maori village called Whakarewarewa. There we joined a guided tour in which we learned about the Maori traditions and about their way of life. Their village is situated around natural hot pools, Geysirs and hot steam holes in the ground. The Maori use the hot steam to cook their food, and they bathe in the hot pools. They did so in the past and still do it today. Very interesting!
After the tour was finished, we walked around the village and went to a traditional Maori dance show. The people wore traditional clothes and performed some songs and dances. That was really cool!! :)
After the show, we went to a forest nearby called Redwoods. Even though it was raining, we went on a short hike. The forest was incredible!! So green and so healthy!
On the next day we drove to Taupo. On the way we stopped at natural hot springs (which turned out to be kind of gross... the rain of the last days had caused the water to be really dirty. It was still cool though!) We made a second stop at Wai-O-Tapu wonderland which Anja and Taddi visited.
Nearly in Taupo, we went to a spa with natural hot pools. We didn't shower for the last three days and after the natural hot springs we just wanted some clean water to relax in. XD and a nice shower afterwards!!
We found a really cool campground next to the river where we met up with Natalie and Max again.
The next day, we went to the famous Huka Falls Rapids together and hiked from there to the Aratiatia rapids.
Our second day in Taupo was pretty exciting for Anja, Natalie and Max. They had decided to do a skydive! While they jumped out of a plane, Taddi and I stayed on the ground and took pictures.
Originally we wanted to leave that night to drive to Tongariro national Park at the southern end of Lake Taupo, but the skydive took more time than we had thought. So we stayed one more day in Taupo and visited the town itself. Additionally, we spent some time at the beach of the lake.
On Wednesday the 23rd, we finally did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. This hike is supposed to be one of the most beautiful hikes in New Zealand. That is well-known so it's very busy. We did it anyways and it was well worth it! The climb up was exhausting, but we had amazing views on the surrounding landscape as well as the giant volcanic craters. After we reached the highest point of our hike, we were rewarded with a beautiful view on the famous Emerald lakes. The lakes have a very intensive colour and look so surreal in this sparse landscape.
After 8 hours of hiking we were very exhausted but also very happy to have completed this amazing hike! :)
With our friends Natalie and Max :)
On the next day, we slept in and recovered from the hike. Then we drove towards Mt. Taranaki, another famous mountain in the west of the North island. The way there turned out to be more spectacular than the mountain itself (probably because it was cloudy and we couldn't even see the mountain...). Anyways, we took an alternative rout called the "forgotten world highway". This "highway" was a curvy gravel road that led us through deserted gorges and beautiful landscapes.
At one point we had to drive through a tiny tunnel (or rather a dark, narrow hole in the mountain).
The road was so worth it though! We did not only get to see the amazing nature, but we also passed Whangamomona. Whangamomona is a tiny, independent republic in the middle of New Zealand. It only consists of a few buildings and farmlands. There is one little pub; and this pub is also the "immigration office" of Whangamomona. For $2 we got a stamp in our passports, so cool!!! :)
We continued our journey to New Plymouth on usual, paved roads and arrived late that night. In the morning we hoped to have a great view of Mount Taranaki from there, however the clouds hid the mountain and at first, we couldn't even figure out where the mountain even was...
We didn't worry about it too much and found a cute, little lake to relax at instead. :)
Together with Natalie and Max we drove towards the south, spending the night in a little town called Hawera.
The next day was a road trip day. We drove all the way down to Wellington, New Zealand's beautiful capital city.
We found a gorgeous car park to stay the night, right next to the ocean.
On our first day in Wellington, we went to a laundry to wash all of our clothes bed sheets, towels, etc. in the meantime we visited a library to plan the beginning of our time on the South Island and to finally finish writing our blogs. :D
Carrying all of our laundry through Wellington XD
Later, we will visit the Te Papa national museum to learn some more about New Zealand's history and culture.
Tomorrow, we plan on visiting the botanic gardens and the city centre.
And then finally on March 1st, we board the ferry to Picton on the South Island. :)
Well, so far we had an absolutely amazing time in New Zealand! The north island astonished us with all its beautiful landscapes and the indredible diversity. I can't wait for the South Island!! :D
Stay tuned and forgive me for not writing sooner,
Lots of love,
Annette
