Traveling upwards

14.January 2015 - Christchurch


The last few days have been exciting since I have been moving town every 2-3 days. My first stop was Dunedin, where I stayed at a hostel called "Hogwartz", which was pretty cool. It didn't have bunk beds for a change and a rain shower and even a hairdryer! Absolut luxury for a backpacker. The city Dunedin was very nice, many students live there, so you had loads of shops considering it is in NZ. I still can't believe New Zealand only has 4 million citizens, Germany has 80 million and is not much bigger. In Dunedin I visited the chocolate factory but unfortunatly the workers were still on holidays so you coulnd't get a tour of the factory itself but only wandering around, getting loads of samples and information. Next stop was Oamaru, I travelled there together with a girl which I met in Dunedin. The city is in the style of victorian steampunk and they have two penguin colonies. I visited Steampunk HQ, which was a collection of futuristic stuff, looked a bit like Doctor Who. I then went to the Yellow-Eyed-Penguin-Colony which was pretty cool. On the way home I went to the litte blue penguins, which you normally pay entrance for, but I just sat at a different beach with a few others. They came on land a few hours later than the other penguins. Then I went to Christchurch, where I visited the Antarctic Centre and the famous Botanical Gardens. The Antarctic Centre was really cool, you could experience a snowstorm, see more penguins, do a Haglund-Ride (vehicle they use in Antarctica) and just get loads of information. Next I did a two-day-trip to Akaroa, the only french settlement in New Zealand. It is a cute little village, but not more. I really looked forward to go swimming with the dolphins (had to be there at 6:15am!!), but unfortunatly the dolphins weren't interested in us, I only got a 40% refund and a cold from beeing in the cold water. So a little disappointing. Tomorrow I am taking the TransAlpine (one of the most beautiful trainrides in the world) to Arthurs Pass where I would like to do some walking (but now I am ill so I will see) and then to Greymouth. From there on I will pretty much zickzack all around New Zealand, because I regretted not going to Wanaka and I will go to Kaikoura again for another try at dolphinswimming. I still have loads of trips on my InterCitypass left anyway and strangely I start to enjoy riding the bus, I think it is because it is the only time where you can just relax and listen to music, you are never alone in hostels (it is nice to do stuff with the others but it can get onto your nerves constantly sleeping in a room with 4-8 people. I will upload a few photos whenever I have time and feel like it. See you soon, Barbara :-) (72 nights)y