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https://www.mymapblog.com//rss/keks_1983 The lasts posts from user keks_1983 en-us http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/23_05_10/Queenstown_to_Dunedin/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/23_05_10/Queenstown_to_Dunedin/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/20_05_10/Queenstown%2C_Lake_TeAnau%2C_Milford_Sound/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/20_05_10/Queenstown%2C_Lake_TeAnau%2C_Milford_Sound/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/19_05_10/Exploring_Queenstown/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/19_05_10/Exploring_Queenstown/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/18_05_10/Wanaka_to_Queenstown/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/18_05_10/Wanaka_to_Queenstown/ Joe came with us as well and we got a 4-Dorm at the ?Purple Cow?. We walked around the town and along the lake and dJill and me decided to go to the famous cinema called Paradiso in the evening.Its an old really cozy one with couches and a car inside to sit.
And again we had good Karma. We got on of the last tickets and also handled to get the seats in the car. We watched ?Mao?s last dancer? and were eating the best home-made ice-cream (honey & cinnamon) and a cookie.
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/17_05_10/Franz_Josef_to_Wanaka/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/17_05_10/Franz_Josef_to_Wanaka/ We got equipment from the tour-agency, so we all got special trousers and shoes with spikes. For the first few minutes it was a weird feeling walking on the ice without sliding. But then it felt absolutely amazing. We walked through little ice-tunnels, climbed up and down on the ice, jumped over crevasses and crawled through holes.
The Glacier Walk was one of the best things I?ve ever done in my life.
After a nice hot shower we had a great dinner of sausages and mash and sat outside a bar in front of a little fire and ate some chocolate mud cake. One of the tour-guides bought Jill a cocktail for her birthday. Kiwis are such lovely people.
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/16_05_10/Glacier_Walk_and_Jills_Birthday/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/16_05_10/Glacier_Walk_and_Jills_Birthday/ The traces of gold rush that brought thousands to the area in the mid 1800s are still evident in the historic town of Ross, where I took a spot of gold panning. The gold always lays in the bottom and it was harder not to wash it out with the stones than it looked like. In the end I only had a few tiny little pieces of gold left.
After that we headed further south we entered Westland National Park, an area containing numerous scenic lakes, dense forests, many of the Southern Alps highest peaks and two amazingly accessible glaciers.
Arriving in Franz Josef I met Jill in our room, which was a 4-Dorm and really nice with our own bathroom. We had a funny reunion, where we told each other everything about the time we didn?t spend together and decided to book a one-day Glacier Walk for the next day.
With the Magic-Bus we drove the short way to have a look at the Franz Josef from a viewing point.. I?ve seen it on pictures before but its even more stunning in real. A Glacier surrounded by a rain-forest. How unreal?
We had free soup for dinner with our room-mates Jess (USA) and Joe (England). Susanne and Kathrin joined us as well and we played pool before we went out to a bar to celebrate into Jill?s Birthday.
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/15_05_10/Greymouth_to_Franz_Josef/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/15_05_10/Greymouth_to_Franz_Josef/ Jill took the Intercity bus straight to Franz Josef and I had a stop over night in Greymouth. The weather suited to the name and it wasn?t a nice town at all. But my hostel was really cozy and I had an early sleep.
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/14_05_10/Nelson_to_Greymouth/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/14_05_10/Nelson_to_Greymouth/ With a water taxi we "drove" from Marahau to a beautiful Beach called "Torrent Anchorage Bay". We had a little picnic there and took some funny pictures - Jill and me climbed up a little tree with a banana in our hands - before we started our 4h trek back south from where we started. I liked the first part the most cause you had a nice view over the national park and the ocean. The most part leaded through a rain forest, which was nice at the beginning but it always looked the same, so after 3 hours we all got really bored. The only highlights were the viewing points where we could see the ocean or even a beach. We cut our last part of the way and walked along the beach where it was low tide. That was really nice only the little water wholes where we had to walk through were freezing.
Back at the hostel we only had to wait for another our before we enjoyed our second Chocolate custard.
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/13_05_10/Able_Tasman_National_Park/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/13_05_10/Able_Tasman_National_Park/ When we finally arrived at late afternoon in Nelson Jill already waited for me at the hostel. We met with two other german girls at the I-side that I was talking to on the Magic Bus. We compared prizes for the Able Tasman Park, cause we were thinking about renting a car, but it wasn?t really cheaper than going by bus so we booked the bus-ride for next day.
Jill and me were so excited for the free Chocolate custard, we always counted the hours. So when a girl asked us about the time we said: ?Only 3 more hours till Chocolate time?.
And the waiting was worth it. It tasted a bit like a cake with an awesome melted chocolate on top with Vanilla ice-cream. The best dessert I ever had?
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And here?s another funny story which happened to me. When we arrived in the hostel yesterday I wanted to put our food in the fridge. So I was standing in front of a door with a code on it and for some reason I thought that was the way to the kitchen. The owner came bye and said ?oh hold one I open the door for you?. So he put the code in and guess what was?! A little room for the bed sheets and towels. I started laughing so much, that Jill could here me in our room.

After the free breakfast we lied outside on the sun, reading, chilling, talking and sleeping. In the afternoon we walked along the little harbour and went to the library to use the free internet. We had a nice dinner with rice, pumpkin and mushrooms before we watched Grey`s Anatomy. Another chilled relaxing day. Just what we both needed.

]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/11_05_10/Picton/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/11_05_10/Picton/ In Picton we got picked up from the owner of our hostel ?Tombstone Backpackers?. This place is more a hotel than a hostel. They have real bathrooms that you can lock and don?t have to share with other people. Our room was lovely as well. No cheap, quaky beds that they normally have, but real stabile ones. It was just the best place to relax for 2 days.
We cooked our dinner and Jill went to the Spa. I wanted to go to, but I have a bit of a cold, so not such a good idea. We spend the evening watching ?The Notebook.? What a relaxing day.
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/10_05_10/Bye_bye_North_Island%2C_Hello_South_Island/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/10_05_10/Bye_bye_North_Island%2C_Hello_South_Island/ It was so much fun and exciting showing her all the things I?ve seen the day before. I felt like a tour guide. We were both hungry all day long so we bought a lot of food. I had a coffee and Jill had a muffin before we went to the Museum. After that we walked around the city and ended up at a really nice little street to eat a Chinese soup with bread. It was only 6$ and really yummy. Then we had a coffee break lovely nice little café. I loved this place. It was so cosy and I felt absolutely comfortable. For dinner we a crepe with chocolate. What a gourmet day :-)
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/09_05_10/Te_Papa%2C_City_exploring%2C_Cafe/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/09_05_10/Te_Papa%2C_City_exploring%2C_Cafe/ Happy about my ?new hair? I walked to the Te Papa Museum. If you ever go to Wellington you have to go there. Its so huge, you can easily spend two full days there. And the best thing is that it is for free like the Auckland Museum. You can pay a donation but you don?t have to.
The first floor is about earthquakes (you could stand in a house, where they recreated a earthquake which was a really scary feeling). Its also a great place for families, because the have a lot of exploring areas for kids.
They showed a 3-D movie about a Squid (the biggest one ever found) and there was a ?real dead? one which they named ?Paulchen?.
I also went outside where they created a little rainforest. The next floor was about the Maori culture and about the Greenstone. There was a really interesting and touching movie about where they found different kinds of Greenstones and about the culture meaning for the Maori. They explained that you shouldn?t keep your first one but give it away. One Maori said that the Greenstone finds other people and he is right!
My favourite ?movie? was the one where they had a little boat with which the first Maoris discovered New Zealand. There was a glas window in front of the boat where they showed a movie about some actors and it looked as if they were on that boat. Hard to explain but it was absolutely stunning.
There was also a section which made me sad, cause they showed pictures and movies from Immigrants who had to flew from their countries because of the war. On the floor was a scala with timetables of every war. It didn?t acutally know that it was that bad.
Last but not least I watched a movie about the golden Century in New Zealand. That was really interesting.
After that I walked all the way (I found it without a map J) to the street with the cable cars. When I visited San Francisco I didn?t take one so I was really excited. It was a short drive up on a hill but and I enjoyed it. There was a german girl that I met the night before who was taking the same cable car. Up on top I went into the Cable Car Museum and walked around the Botanic Garden. There was a place on the map which was named after the ?Horseshoe Bend? which is a place Ive been to in the Western USA So I wanted to see what it looks like. But it was just a little garden and had absolutely nothing to do with the real one.
Back in the hostel I started talking to Jill from Germany and we got along from the first minute. She is also travelling around the South Island, so she booked the same ferry as me for Monday..

]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/08_05_10/Te_Papa%2C_Cable_Car%2C_Botanic_Garden/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/08_05_10/Te_Papa%2C_Cable_Car%2C_Botanic_Garden/ This morning my journey went on to the last stop on the North Island -> Wellington. We had a nice sunny day, so our Bus driver made a little stop on a hill where we had a famous view over the city. It reminded me a little bit of San Francisco.
Whe we arrived in the city centre I called the ?Worldwide Backpackers? Hostel, because I hadn?t book it yet. Only the answering machine answered, but the guy left a message saying that they still have accommodation available. So I took a taxi for 10$ to find a note on the reception: ?Fully booked?. Nice. But when I checked my BBH Hostel guide I saw that there was another hostel just around the corner so I called and fortunately they still had space.
From the outside It looked like the ?Pippi Langstrumpf? house but it wasn?t that cosy inside.
But hey, I finally had a place to sleep, right?
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/07_05_10/Taupo_to_Wellington/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/07_05_10/Taupo_to_Wellington/ ]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/06_05_10/Taupo/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/06_05_10/Taupo/ ?The Tongariro Crossing covers 19,4km!!! Of undulating terrain and is a challenging 6-8 hour trek.
It starts as a gentle gradient up the Mangatepopo Valley to Soda Springs. From there the track is a steep climb to South Crater, situated between the active Volcanoes of Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe. From here, the track climbs further up to Red Center and to the highest point (1886m) of the Crossing. The track then descends down to the Emerald lakes (a group of water filled explosion craters), over Central Crater to Blue Lake (an old vent), skimming around North Crater and down to the Ketehahi Hut and the Ketehahi Hot Springs. The rest of the treck is downhill through lush native forest , passing over an old lava flow from the Te Maari Crater and following a stream rich in minerals from the Ketetahi Springs, to the Ketetahi carpark.?
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/05_05_10/Tongariro_Alpin_Crossing/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/05_05_10/Tongariro_Alpin_Crossing/ After that I did a guided tour through the famous Glow-worm Caves, which are over 300 million years old. Unfortunately we were not allowed take any pictures but I can tell you it was just stunning. We took a boot through the Caves and the sky was glowing with over 10.000 Glow-worms. It looked even more beautiful than the night-sky with stars.
Some other travellers did a black water rafting and they loved it as well. I had a nice lunch (Pumpkin and Feta Salad) and then took a walk through a nice forest.
Next stop were at the mighty Huka Falls, throwing over 200.000 litres of water each second.
And then we arrived in Taupo, which is situated on the edge of a lake bigger than Singapore.
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/04_05_10/Rotorua_to_Taupo/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/04_05_10/Rotorua_to_Taupo/ The bus driver tells you a lot about the areas you drive through and even stops at a lot of places. So it?s a more guided tour than in Australia. You don?t even have to book anything in advance.
If you fill in a sheet which hostel you want to stay and for how many nights the bus driver organises the rest. Therefore he even knows on which date your going to take the next bus, so you don?t have to reserve a seat on the bus. It makes travelling so much easier. But I still would have loved renting a car or even a camper van to explore everything on my own. I?m definitely going to do that back in Europe.

Our first stop was on top of a hill with a good view over Auckland. The next one was in Matamata. The home of Hobbit, a small agricultural town in the heart of the Waikato reagion. Some guys left the bus there to do a ?Lord of the Rings? guiding tour. We also stopped at the Redwoods for a walk through the 104 year old forest. In Rotorua I saw and smelled a sulfur spring. Next on the agenda was a tour of a local Greenstone/Pounamu (Jade) factory, the sacred stone of NZ.
I arrived in the hostel ?Crash Palace? in the evening, washed some clothes cooked, watched some TV and went to bed.
]]> http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/03_05_10/Auckland%2C_Matamata%2C_Rotorura/ http://www.mymapblog.com/keks_1983/03_05_10/Auckland%2C_Matamata%2C_Rotorura/ After our shopping tour we bought a coffee and sat outside in the sun to watch some kids playing at a few water fountains. I don?t really know who had more fun, them getting wet and laughing or us watching them. I almost got wet as well, walking through that area, cause I wanted to take some pics on the wall on the other side. But fortunately Steffen reminded me not to walk over the wholes where the water comes out? LOL

The three of us went to the movies on the last evening to see Ironman 2. I normally don?t like movies like that, I thought it would be more like a Superhero movie like Spiderman, Batman ect. But I loved that movie. It was sooo funny.
I had told the two of them that I always see the Eiffel tower everywhere and I think it?s a sign that I need to go to Paris. I even saw it in Cairns three times (In a window on a screen, on a T-Shirt and also in a jewellery shop) and also in Auckland this afternoon. And believe it or not it was it was even mentioned in the movie. On of the guys showed a weapon and said ?It looks like just like the Eiffel tower.? Steffen and me looked at each other and cracked up.
When we got back I was really tired and realised I hadn?t packed my stuff for the next day. When I went into my room a lot of people where already asleep and one guy even snored. So I took my bag into Steffens room (lucky him he had the room for himself that night), packed there and talked to Monika and him for a while before I went to bed.

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