We really saw a lot of accommodation, many were great, all were clean and ALL had something nice. We drove a lot of kilometres and the roads were in very good condition. The roads to the places of interest were also well maintained.

The landscape is incredibly beautiful, varied and vast. From rolling floodplains to forests that are used for forestry, kilometres of vineyards, kiwi plantations, mandarin trees, huge fern trees, breathtaking limestone cliffs, bubbling hot geysers, bubbling mud fields, waterfalls in ALL shapes and sizes, majestic volcanoes, imposing steep cliffs, beaches as far as the eye can see and beyond, botanical gardens and war memorials even in the smallest village. In the fields there are whole walls of trees to break the wind, sheep, cattle, red deer and the occasional horse can be seen everywhere on our journeys through New Zealand. We were also able to catch a glimpse of Maori culture.

The whole island is always green, even when it was fresh, windy and wet in late autumn.

You have to experience the sounds (fjords), they are indeed indescribably unique. 

Die Unwetter im Februar 2023 haben in der Gegend von Napier Dörfer, Felder, Strassen, Eisenbahnschienen und ganze Hügel weggeschwemmt  Traktoren, Autos und Dächer wurden irgendwo weiter unten wieder entdeckt in den skurrilsten Anordnungen in der Landschaft  

We got to see jumping dusky dolphins, huge sperm whales, super cute sea lions, birds in all their splendour in the wild. Even kiwis in the breeding centres. 

In culinary terms, we didn't find any New Zealand specialities apart from pies, fish and chips, oysters, lobster and burgers. But Asian cuisine is represented in all varieties and is really delicious. Charly introduced us to the finer points of good cuisine in Auckland on the food tour, absolutely recommendable. The coffee, wine and beer culture is great and fun. Many independent breweries offer tours of their production halls and always have tasty snacks and freshly tapped beer, cider or ginger beer on offer.

You quickly get used to driving on the left-hand side of the road, and eventually you get into the car on the right-hand side too. You can buy everything in the supermarkets, including Lindt chocolate, alcohol is available in the liquor shop and you can even get good bread in a bakery from time to time. It's easy to travel, the people are very nice, happy to help and are always up for a chat. The warm encounter with Kathy and Ian in Christchurch will remain in our hearts. 

All the bookings worked, there wasn't a single nasty surprise, and everything else is very relaxed and works perfectly. You eventually get to grips with the New Zealand dialect. After all, a „biid“ (pronounced) is a bed and there are so many idioms that you have to understand first.

And here are the pictures to go with the text...first a size comparison, there are about 5.1 million people living in New Zealand, so they have enough space 19 /km2 in NZ and 210 /km2 in Switzerland.

Queenstown in autumn

Steamboat trip with the MS Earnslaw

Million Dollar View on the way to Glenorchy

Milford Sound

Representative of all waterfalls

The oysters of Bluff

Slope Point only 4803 km to the South Pole

Nugget Point

Street art, for example, which is omnipresent in cities.

Dunedin the railway station

Queenstown the meeting with Kathy and Ian

The animal paradise of Kaikōura sea lions, dusky dolphins and sperm whales

Pancake Rocks

Kea mountain parrot

Artur's Pass

Hōkitika

The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers

Jacksons Bay

Wãnaka

We fly to Auckland

Auckland

Food Tour in Auckland

Cultural programme

Along the coast

Whitianga

Te Puia craftsmanship

Pōhutu

Sylvia liked the fern trees so much.

Art Deco in Napier

A representative rainbow

Kiwi

Wellington

Botanical Gardens

Whanganui

Mount Ruapehu

Lake Taupō

The Shire

Hobbiton

Waitomo Caves

Whangārei, ok another rainbow because it was so beautiful.

We had a great time in New Zealand, with one laughing and one crying eye, we fly back to the warmth of Fiji.

Whangārei

Vorbei an Auckland kommen wir im Eindunkeln in unserer Unterkunft (mit toller Aussicht) müde an und fallen bald ins bequeme Bett. Die Aussicht hier soll toll sein.

Am Morgen erwachen wir bei dickem Nebel, der sich aber zum Glück bald auflöst.

Die Aussicht vom Frühstückstisch ist sehr schön.

Und dann noch ein Regenbogen… unbezahlbar, bei genauerer Betrachtung sind es sogar zwei.

Im Restaurant TopSail haben wir in Neuseeland am Besten gegessen und zufällig auch noch unsere Vermieterin Leeann getroffen.

Das Haus von Frodo mit dem riesigen künstlichen Baum mit 220‘000 Blättern, die für den Film einzeln angemalt wurden.

Im The Green Dragon konnten wir uns bei einem Amber Ale aufwärmen.

Mal wieder ein Wasserfall die Raukawa Falls und die Eisenbahnbrücke „MAKATOTE VIADUCT“

Lake Taupō

In Matamata, we stayed with Sheryl and Greg with a film-like view very close to the Hobbiton film set.

Castlecliff Beach and view of Whanganui from the pier.

Mount Taranaki

Oder auch Mt. Egmont ein erloschener Vulkan 2.518 Meter hoch und 1854 zum letzten Mal aktiv. Das eindrückliche ist, dass er in einer weiten Ebene steht und von überall gut sichtbar ist. Und ja wir haben einen traumhaften Tag erwischt.

Die Strasse führt zum Stratford Plateau Lookout auf 1172m, es war ganz schön frisch hier oben. Die Aussicht auf die Ebene und den Vulkan ist ja mal wirklich sehr schön.

With the zoom, you can even see the peak of Mount Ruapehu, 130 kilometres away.

Zum Hobbiton Movie Set sind es morgen dann nochmals 340 km wir sind ganz in der Nähe auf einem Bauernhof untergebracht.