The Middles Of Nowhere

Aotearoa - land of the long white cloud

Discovering the loneliest and (sometimes) prettiest corners of Aotearoa.

I just tried to write about all the days and all the things that have happened since my last post in detail. Well, I ended up needing over an hour for just three days and a lot of my nerves so let’s face it: I’m not going to make it and I really hope everyone is okay with that. Here’s my suggestion on how to tell you the most important stuff anyway: suck –and-sweet-time aka top-and-flop. Just like on WDL camps when everyone is too tired to talk about their whole day. From December 30^th to January 10^th, here it goes…

…30/12/17
suck: The lodge’s fire alarm went off at eight in the morning for no reason and I was still in my pyjamas when we had to assemble on the lawn.
sweet: We went on a tour with our host in the Catlins to see some wildlife and we ended up seeing two penguins and many seals (including babies).

…31/12/17

suck: When we arrived on the small cruise ship in Doubtful Sound, we found that we had a room without a door and shared bathroom and toilets. And unlike the toilets (thank God), the showers didn’t have doors, either. Whoever designed that?!
sweet: Basically everything else! Doubtful Sound is amazing and gorgeous and I sincerely hope that the New Zealanders continue to protect their fjordlands this fiercely from human intervention. There are so many endemic species to be found in the cold-tempered rainforest and far too many have already gone extinct.

…01/01/18 🎆 Happy New Year 🎇
suck: If I had to pick, I’d say not having a lot of sleep but then again we actually went to bed before midnight so it wasn’t too bad.
sweet: The colony of bottlenose dolphins that decided to grant us a visit and swim with our ship for a while was definitely the highlight – I LOVE dolphins, always have, always will – although the discovery that our next accommodation was incredibly elegant, spacious and in actual summer also wasn’t bad :)

 

Red-Crowned Kakariki

…02/01/18
suck: None apart from the fact that, because there are so many young people in Queenstown, I felt a little scared that I could possibly meet some of my former classmates here. I didn’t, though – phiuu!
sweet: The nice café next to the lake we had lunch at and especially the Kiwi Birdlife Park. We saw Kiwis for the first (and probably only) time in our lives and we learned a lot about native wildlife in New Zealand, explained by a voice with a strong Irish accent. What could be better?

…03/01/18
suck: Saying goodbye to our lovely hosts in Gibbston Valley.
sweet: The scenic road up the Southern Alpes towards Franz Josef Glacier and all the blooming Rata trees we saw when we arrived. They’re also called the South Island Christmas Tree and are beautiful patches of vibrant red in the green forests.

…04/01/18
suck: I honestly can’t think of one except maybe that out hut in the middle of nowhere near Punakaiki has got what is called a composting toilet – or simply Plumpsklo xD
sweet: We strolled around the cute town of Hokitika and finally found our charming hut lying very remotely on the cliffs with a spectacular view of the sea. That one deserves the title “extraordinary accommodation”!

…05/01/18
suck: Sore bottoms from horseriding
sweet: spending a lazy morning reading and an exciting afternoon riding through the river valley behind Punakaiki while speaking French to our great guide Marianne (from the French Jura) was awesome altogether. Plus the wild animals always react very differently to someone on a horse than someone walking through their territory.

…06/01/18
suck: Well…let’s just say the next hut was uh not something we would have included in our journey had we had the chance. After 30 minutes of dirt road, inmidst sheep (they were kind of nice but loud) we reached that tiny house which was dirty, had no drinkable tab water and an outside bathroom as well as a toilet lying ten metres away from it. Not something I ever needed.
sweet: Having another breakfast with a breath-taking view of the sea.

…07/01/18
suck: Explained above.
sweet: Fleeing the hut to Kaiteriteri and taking a boat from there right into the Abel Tasman National Park where we walked through the bush, admiring incredible turquoise water and golden beaches and collecting some shells. The fact that the bush here is pretty much harmless to humans (other than in Australia) only added to the fact that we had a very good day despite everything else ;)

The rose window and part of the Nelson Christmas Tree Festival - so CUTE

…08/01/18
suck: The remoteness of a certain hut cost us several hours we could have spent in Nelson instead of in the car.
sweet: On our way to the Marlborough Sounds (which can only be reached by water taxi from Picton) we stopped in Nelson for lunch. Turns out Nelson is a city that, despite having only 6000 inhabitants, is very much alive, charming and pretty. We admired New Zealand’s oldest remaining street with its adorable cottages (some of which are holiday homes grrr) and the Christ Church Cathedral, arguably the most stunning catholic church I ever visited. Not because of its style or age but because of the peaceful and entirely godly ambience within its walls. We could have stayed for hours.

…09/01/18
suck: MOSQUITOS!!!
sweet: We had a room with a beautiful view of Lochmara Bay which we even swam in the night before. We spent the day reading on our porch and walking around the grounds of our lodge, having a look at the kakariki (parakeets), eels and weka. We could even see some stingrays at the beach just beneath the water’s surface. Later that day, we had the opportunity to handfeed the kakariki that they breed here and I have to say: Normally I’m not really a bird person but having 42 parrots fly around (and land on) your head and eat from your hands is a one-of-a-kind experience that I wouldn’t want to have missed. It was so cute and fascinating!

One of the cottages on South Street - who can see the resemblance?

…10/01/18
suck: The eternal sunshine has left us – hopefully not for long!
sweet: We have arrived in Kaikoura so we’re no longer in the middle of nowhere and I hereby declare this post finished. As long as the internet grants me the honour of uploading it…