A lovely trip through Arthur’s Pass to Greymouth Beach

The car is named! His name is Harry, he is so masculine it had to be a guy’s name 😮 Today we made a big trip over the Southern Alps via Arthur’s Pass. First place to stop was Castle Hill. There are strange rock formations, some of them look like molars of big prehistoric animals. In their shade we had a little break, enjoying the cool place under a hot New Zealand sun. From the top of the hill among the rocks we could see mountains in every direction. The sky was a bright blue, interrupted only by a single … Continue reading

Waikuku – moving to a couchsurfing place

Just arrived at G.’s house in Waikuku beach. It’s a very nice place next to the beach with a wonderful garden. We sat on the terrace for a time and talked about everything and anything. On Friday we will go out to a salsa party with some friends of G. Tomorrow I will do my first daytrip probably into the mountains. (update 17.02.11 00:46) I got my car insurance via mobile. The guy at the other end of the connection asked me lots of questions, I think I got them right. I answered everything about previous insurance, past crashes, drivers … Continue reading

Getting settled…

Tonight it’s cold outside but with a blanket over my knees it’ll do. I bought that car, got my bank account and applied for my IRD number. With that all the getting settled things are done. Because I stay one day longer in the hostel, I had to change rooms. I put all my clothes and the not valuable things in the car. I bought a pillow and a blanket for sleeping in the car and a big plastic box to lay my things in. That makes travelling much easier, because I only have to take the bare minimum into … Continue reading

Lazy day in the movie room

Today was a lazy day because we were all tired from last night’s activities. In the morning we watched a movie. After that N. and I took the bikes and went to find the beach. Of course we didn’t find it and made a lot of detours – it is so confusing, the sun is supposed to be in the south at noon! At least it meant that we saw lots of Christchurch. Eventually it began to rain but we were lucky the Pak’N’Save supermarket crossed our way, so we did a bit of shopping. Meanwhile the rain stopped and … Continue reading

Kiwi Basecamp, Christchurch – my first home in New Zealand

It’s a wonderful day. The sun is shining. We are sitting in the courtyard and enjoying the day. The breakfast is free and they are making fresh bread. It tastes wonderful. I had four slices. My last meal was yesterday at 3:00pm, so I was really hungry. After that I took one of the free to rent bikes and went into the city. I had a short look at two Backpacker car markets. I saw some good offers, but I haven’t decided yet. At the City Mall I bought two bottles of wine. Back in the city centre I bought … Continue reading

Somewhere in the air on my way to Christchurch

As it was my checkout day I had to get up early. I packed my luggage and fortunately everything fitted in. I left my luggage in M.’s room. At Harry’s Cafe de Wheels I had a real breakfast – a bread roll with ham, egg and mustard sauce. The roll was much too soft but it tasted wonderful. Afterwards we met the guys in the city. I bought a nice T-Shirt. Everywhere in the shopping streets there is free wireless internet access. I took the opportunity to write some mail. M. and the guys are from South Tyrol, so they … Continue reading

Fruit hunt in Haymarket

Today I slept in and got up at 12:00. I had a shower and went to find M. We intended to meet at 10:00, thus I was late. Luckily we met in the hallway and everything was all right. First place to go was Haymarket. Someone from the hostel told us that we would find affordable fresh fruits and vegetables there, so we expected some kind of market place. Instead we found an expensive supermarket, some Asian shops and a bakery which smelled like fish, because the fish store was next door. Disappointed we bought a coffee and went to … Continue reading

From the Original Backpackers to The three wise monkeys in Sydney

Good morning! I’m sitting in my room on my bunk bed and trying to wake up. Yesterday, at last, the driver from my hostel showed up and we went by a little bus with 12 seats into the city center. In the bus there was one girl who is staying in the same hostel as me. We began to talk and decided to spend the rest of the day together. Arriving at the hostel we checked in. The manager on duty was really friendly. I took a security locker for my Laptop and Camera. Then the girl showed us our … Continue reading

Somewhere in the air around Alice Springs

I’m in the plane to Sydney. Really can’t sit any longer!  My back is aching and my feet are twice as big as normal. I probably should have worn those anti thrombosis socks. There is a staircase which I used to do some workouts, it helped to improve my circulatory. The people in my row are friendly. They are both germans. He has a business appointment somewhere in Australia, she recently graduated school and is now on her way to be an au pair in Auckland. It smells like food again. I think they are preparing the breakfast. Long distance … Continue reading