After the general route was set, we flew to the South Island of New Zealand. The South Island is separated from the North Island by a strait and can only be reached by ferry or plane. Our goal was to work our way up from south to north; to gain many great impressions and talk to many people.
The second part of our New Zealand adventure began in Queenstown. The landing alone is spectacular. Although it was a fully loaded big plane, the landing between the mountain slopes was very wobbly and if you looked out of the window, it looked as if the mountains ran 100m next to both wings. As we learned afterwards from locals, many pilots refuse to land there. Queenstown was only a short stopover. It is a very beautiful but touristy town where you can actually do winter sports and go hiking in the summer. In any case, for us on this trip, touristy means: we'll go somewhere else 😉
On the second day we went to Te Anau. On the way, great pictures of the landscape and of Artur jumping were taken and we did not regret for a second to extend our tour to the South Island. The landscape is fascinating; the many waterfalls, the mountains, these huge lakes with partly crystal clear water. Everything seems immense. Here are a few impressions:
Arriving in Te Anau in the evening, we mingled with the locals for dinner. The first thing we noticed here: Some of the men in the countryside wear winter clothing on top, some simple T-shirts and shorts and, of course, RUBBER BOOTS on the bottom. We once called this the New Zealand VoKuHiLa variant: Winter on top, summer on the bottom 😊 Anyway, we were out of the ordinary with our outfits 😉 The next morning we wanted to go to Milford Sound. This is a very famous fjord in Southern New Zealand. Unfortunately, the road was closed for the night due to heavy snowfall. There are no alternatives. Either the road is open or it isn't. So it was a case of keeping our fingers crossed and placing an order with the universe....
Hooray! The next morning we were able to start the tour to Milford Sound, it hadn't snowed that much during the night. On the way there was already a lot to see. Various viewing platforms, hiking trails to special points, waterfalls, lots of snow, an unlit 8 km long tunnel and, among other things, KEAs. KEAs live in the alpine regions of the South Island and are a kind of large parrot. But have a look for yourself, here are a few pictures from our tour to the majestic Milford Sound.
In any case, we understood why people who have been here before tell us that New Zealand is beautiful. Unfortunately, it is very, very far away from Europe. AND: With a little more or about the same travel distance as North/South Island, you can also see something comparably beautiful in Europe, from fjords to alpine glaciers. Partly a bit different, but it would at least be possible 😉
From the fjords we went to the east side of the South Island to the Catlins. Here we wanted to see a wild penguin colony. To be more precise: rare hoiho or yellow-eyed penguins. Unfortunately, this was not possible on this day. There was such a strong wind that we almost lost our balance a few times on the way down to the penguins and then unfortunately had to stop the action. It had something of Mary Poppins about it. Even if we are travelling for a long time, we don't want to spend it in hospital. Our safety comes first!
That same evening, however, we were lucky enough to see a colony of blue penguins in Dunedin. The penguins swim up and down the east coast during the day and hunt for food. A few minutes after sunset, when you can virtually reset the clock, you see a few penguins appear in formation in the dark water and waddle ashore. The first few steps are a bit clumsy, because the 30 cm tall penguins are partly knocked over by the waves, but after the group has arrived on land and formed up again, it goes up the partly very steep embankment. Why all this? To check whether the nesting sites are still free. This sounds very strenuous, but it is apparently necessary, as there are various animals that occupy the penguins' nesting holes. And before the penguin couple arrives very pregnant and finds out that there is an occupant in the burrow, they prefer to check regularly and chase them away directly 😊 A sad part of the story: Today, you can only get to the beach where the penguins arrive with guided tours on paved paths. This is because in the 90s (please don't nail us down to the exact years), a motorist was stopped by the police who was returning from the beach and had moved something in a bag. When the bag was opened, there was a small penguin inside, which the driver wanted to take away. The result was that the beach was declared a nature reserve and the penguins are supported with nesting aids.This is because they are also confronted with different environmental influences.
From Dunedin we went to the world-famous New Zealand stone balls.You haven't heard of them yet? Neither had we before we got there 😉 But we found out that New Zealanders love to describe their sights as "world famous" 😉 Anyway, the stone balls were very fascinating. Here are a few pictures of stones and the two of us. We also include an explanatory picture about the origin of this phenomenon.
Oh, what is also very common in New Zealand are fur seals. Of course, we nature lovers also wanted to see them! The fur seal can be recognised by its pointed snout, long whiskers and small ears. In the beginning, they were hunted to sell the fur at top prices, until the animals were on the verge of extinction in 1894 and hunting them was banned. Here are a few pictures of the really cute animals.
As the attentive reader will have noticed, limestone formations are hidden in the pictures of New Zealand. Both in the form of caves created by water erosion and here in the following pictures from Omarama, where simply the weather has washed out the limestone and ensured that we could visit this beautiful gorge on our way to Twizel.
When we arrived in Twizel, we spent the night in an old military base. At least that's what it looked like to us. Both from the outside, we had the impression that we were staying in an old barracks. We didn't ask because we had only one goal in mind and couldn't think of anything else: MOUNT COOK AND THE TASMAN GLACIER.
Therefore, shortly after our arrival, we immediately set off for the Tasman Glacier, we didn't want to wait until the next morning. That also turned out to be the right decision. First we passed a huge bright blue lake, which is fed by water from the glacier lakes. The backdrop of the lake with the southern Alps in the background is simply breathtaking. The image is etched in our minds' eyes forever. In fact, it was scenically one of the most beautiful places we have seen in our lives so far. See for yourself, even if pictures can never capture the real picture.
We then continued on a hike to the Tasman Glacier, which we got relatively close to. Of a series of glaciers in the New Zealand Alps, it is the mightiest and longest. There are a few large icebergs floating in the associated glacial lake, which have become detached. The water was a milky turquoise blue. This is because the finest rock powder from the glacier floats in the glacial lake. The continuous ice retreat due to climate change was clearly visible here, which made us very thoughtful and sad when we looked at it. In the period from 1990 - 2017 alone, the ice has receded by 4 kilometres.
For those who want to understand more about what climate change is all about, here are a few recommendations for further reading/ viewing:
“Die Rechnung” Klimafilm – YouTube
Klimawandel, Treibhauseffekt und globale Erwärmung in 3 Minuten erklärt – YouTube
Verbleibendes CO2-Budget (mcc-berlin.net)
We also thought about the possibility of paddling small canoes across the lake to the edge of the glacier. Of course, it was only a guided tour, but: there are various things dissolved in the meltwater, e.g. bacteria, viruses or whatever, where we asked ourselves whether this is not dangerous and could possibly trigger a new pandemic?! In any case, we didn't taste this water 😉 Oh well... If you think: "Nobody drinks that anyway"... um... yes 😉 Among other things, the glacier water also runs into dams for drinking water production and what we also saw were fish farms (salmon and trout farms) in rivers fed by glacier lakes.
As subsequent research has shown, other people have already come up with the idea and have also already carried out tests...
Klimawandel: Gefahr durch Bakterien aus schmelzendem Gletschereis? | National Geographic
On the way back to the car park, we met a possum. Possums are protected in Australia and in New Zealand they are the most hated creature. As part of the Predator Free 2050 programme, there is a call for the population to eliminate all possums. The reason for this is that in 1993 a possum was filmed eating eggs and chicks from the native bird Kōkako. Like many animals in New Zealand, the possum was introduced in the past, in 1873, to build up a fur production. Because it didn't work the first time, it was reintroduced 20 years later with the current result that it is spreading too much and changing the native ecosystem. So we saw poison baits, traps and dead animals on the roadside in many places. Indeed, we found it a pity that it is hardly possible to buy real merino wool gloves made of 100 % merino wool. Even though we drove past a lot of merino sheep. Almost all the gloves we found on our trip were made of merino wool mixed with possum fur. The locals swear by this mix because it is lighter and supposed to be warmer. In addition, it would be a way of fulfilling one's civic duty when it comes to possums... We'll leave it at that for now.
Even the possum we met that evening did not seem healthy to us.
Those interested in the New Zealand government's programme can find more information here. Also which other animals/insects are concerned:
Home – Predator Free 2050 Limited : Predator Free 2050 Limited (pf2050.co.nz)
In Part I of our New Zealand report, we already reported on our visit to the sheep farm on the North Island. Now on the South Island we saw thousands of sheep on our trip. And that is not an exaggeration, because there are significantly more sheep than people living in New Zealand. To be exact, in 2022 there were about 25 million sheep compared to about 5 million inhabitants. So we were keen to delve deeper into this important industry again and visit one of the large sheep stations on the South Island. Artur researched diligently and wrote to Dion & Luise's Bauchops Hill Station and Farmstay Farm, who warmly invited us for a tour the next day.
Bauchops Hill (bauchopshillfarmstay.co.nz)
Their station is huge, covering a total area of 2,074.58 hectares, which corresponds to about 2,905 football fields in German units. The two of them and their sons put their heart and soul into it. Dion took a lot of time for us, for that again a big THANK YOU! We were allowed to cruise around the grounds with him in a buggy and make river crossings 😉. We got a deeper insight into the business, which has changed a lot with the UK joining the EU. The country used to be a major buyer of the products from the sheep industry, now wholesalers regulate where the wool is sent. The wool exchange, for example, is in Australia, not New Zealand.
Dion also showed us how he works with his shepherd dogs. There are two different "task fields" and thus dog training. The "guard dogs" have the task of guarding the herd and protecting the Famer:in in the field. The "herding dogs" have the task of driving the herd and controlling the direction of movement. Dion trains his dogs himself, which is a very intensive process. A trained herding dog costs several thousand euros. We learned a lot, which we can only put into words here in a fragmentary way.
After this very educational afternoon, we made our way to our next stop in Christchurch. The city may be a household name for some, as there were a series of catastrophic earthquakes here in 2010 / 2011 and an assassination attempt on two mosques in 2019. Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and is architecturally very different, especially due to the earthquakes, so there are many new buildings next to very old ones. The reconstruction has been well done.
We noticed immediately on arrival that a river ran in front of our accommodation with the warm notice: polluted water - please avoid contact. In many cases, the waters in New Zealand are heavily polluted by the fertilisers used in agriculture. In March 2023, there was a major fish kill in Christchurch. Here is some information about it.
More than 500 dead fish removed from Christchurch river, cause remains unknown | Stuff.co.nz
Water quality of Christchurch rivers still poor, Heathcote River remains the worst | Stuff.co.nz
Speaking of water pollution and resource consumption... Livestock farming on the island, as well as normal agriculture, also needs ... water in New Zealand! And how are huge fields irrigated? With huge irrigation systems. This plant shown here in the video is about 1200m, so about 1.2 KILOMETERS long and in one piece! This was the longest irrigation system we have seen so far.
After a few days, we continued to the west coast via the world-famous Arthur's Pass. We passed a 560m long cave, through which you can hike yourself if you dare... We briefly considered it, but decided against it due to the amount of water, the winter temperature and because we have no idea about caving. The paperwork for our salvage insurance and the poor mobile phone reception were also minimal deterrents 😉 We were very happy with our trip.
However, we climbed a few rocks along the way and saw some breathtaking landscapes that we would like to share with you.
Here is a short video of the cave exit. Maybe now you understand why we didn't do a hike through the cave.
Arriving at the west coast, we wanted to have another look at the Tasman Sea from the other side. We already know the Australian side, but the New Zealand side is new. Here we noticed that a lot of driftwood had been washed up and that it was not being removed. No one could tell us where it came from, but we definitely liked it better than all the plastic we had seen on many other beaches. At sunset, we had a vegetarian pizza while watching tens of seagulls.
Passing pancake rocks and various photo stops, our journey continued to the north coast of the South Island. One of our highlights was an exciting hike of several hours over hill and dale to the Harwoods Hole in the Abel Tasman National Park. At 176m, the Harwoods Hole is New Zealand's deepest vertical shaft. We didn't see anyone the whole way, only at the cliff to the big hole was a family just on their way back. It was very scary to know that if we had taken a wrong step or if one of the big stones had come loose, we would have fallen several hundred metres into the depths of the cave. The view and the forest gave us a lot of pleasure 😊
We stayed here in the nicest AirBnB of our New Zealand trip, with Gill and Rodney. If you're ever heading to the Golden Coast, make sure to stop here: AirBnB Link zur Unterkunft
A few hikes and a speciality later (green mussels) we also found a German AVS traffic light on our way 😊 Tatjana's former employer, AVS Verkehrssicherung GmbH, sold traffic lights to New Zealand and we found them 😊 Tatjana totally celebrated them. That's why there is now also a proof picture of Tatjana with the traffic lights from different perspectives.
Our final destination on the South Island: Picton and the adjacent Marlborough Sound. We have reached the end of our tour of the South Island. We had a short stay here and then took the ferry to Wellington, i.e. to the North Island.
Picton looks like a sleepy fishing village, but is, among other things, a transshipment point for the timber industry. Large cruise ships also dock here regularly. Sometimes even 2 at a time, as the locals told us. There is also the Kaipupu Wildlife Sanctuary, which we visited and took for a walk around the lonely peninsula. We were driven over by the scipper/captain Kelsie. She explained to us that there are very few women in this profession, partly because of the old sailor's tales, where it is said that women on board bring bad luck. That's nonsense, of course. When we arrived at the nature reserve (a lonely peninsula), there were various birds, plants and insects to marvel at and a large snake.
The next day we went to the ferry port very early in the morning. 7 a.m. check-in, departure 8 a.m. That was the theory. In practice, there were strong winds and swells between the North and South Islands, which delayed the crossing by 2 hours. In these 2 hours we had enough time to inspect the terminal. In the process, we found two rocks that we took with us. The project or game is called FollowRock.com and Artur has placed his rock in the USA and Tatjana wants to place hers in Colombia 😊
After it was said at times that the ferry might not be able to leave today, we set off with a 2-hour delay. Through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, past fish farms and lonely houses, some of which don't even have electricity, to the open sea and from there across to the North Island. It shook a bit ... a lot, but the view and the nice passengers made the 4-hour crossing very entertaining.
When we arrived in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, we definitely wanted to see the National Museum and the Parliament. Parliaments have been our speciality since Australia 😊 But one thing at a time. Unfortunately, we hadn't planned that much time in Wellington, we missed one or two more days, but we still got a very good impression of the city. Tatjana found the city especially great and very liveable because it is so cosy and at the same time has so much to offer besides its great inhabitants.
It started with a cable car ride. First up, from where we could enjoy the view over the city and see what awaited us and how extensive the city actually is. Because: we have already learned this on our trip: there are cities and countries in which we can cover distances quickly and easily and others in which we can only cover distances very slowly and laboriously. Wellington is one of the good cities, here we could do everything on foot.
After getting a first impression from above, we went back down to the Te Papa Tongarewa National Museum. Here we saw an exhibition on the history of the Māori. It is very fascinating to see how many individual tribes there used to be and how the first Māori crossed over from Polynesia. The museum also did a very good job of showing how and from where the other immigrants came to New Zealand. For example, there were large movements from Europe towards New Zealand, where Europeans were advertised lots of land, freedom and an easy life. Once on the island, people then realised that the land was not yet "ready" for e.g. farming or cattle breeding, but it was still virgin forest and had to be prepared first. We found the tour through the museum very good and can recommend it without reservation! Even though Artur doesn't know much about art, one or the other work of art inspired him too 😉
In general, we would like to mention positively how well the Māori in New Zealand are integrated into society! The first thing you hear at the airport is "Kia Ora Aotearoa", which is Māori and means "Hello New Zealand". All signs and descriptions, starting at the airport, in museums, in national parks, on roads... English and Māori everywhere. Air NewZealand has the Māori colours and patterns and the security video is INCREDIBLY COOL, more on that later! Tourists are invited to check out Māori culture at tourist centres. Here you can find the traditional food, traditional dances and all the information that most tourists are interested in. On our trip we saw many Māori, quite normal in shops on the street etc. Some with traditional face/tattoos, which are an integral part of New Zealand culture. The beautiful adornment on the face of many Māori is called Moko. The signs are an ancient tradition of the indigenous people of New Zealand and are worn with pride and dignity. New Zealand's first female foreign minister also wears them with Māori origin, named Nanaia Mahuta, the Moko. We think that's great, and every country can take a leaf out of the book of how integration and the collective rediscovery of traditions works... New Zealand is clearly a model country for us! Chapeau! And yes, we also know from the museum tour that this development was bloody and took decades, and that many people on both sides lost their lives for it...
Māori – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Tāmoko | Māori tattoos: history, practice, and meanings | Te Papa
So if you want to learn some Māori language: possible here 😊
Te Reo Māori: Māori Sprache | 100% Pure New Zealand (newzealand.com)
Te Rangaihi Reo Māori | Māori Language Movement (reomaori.co.nz)
There was also an exhibition of lifelike giant figures at the National Museum. At the exhibition Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War | Te Papa the Wētā workshop built huge figures that left us speechless. The level of detail, the individual pores on the skin of the figures, the individual hairs coming out of the pores, the wrinkles... everything looked as if they were real people! The Wētā Workshop has been known to every fan at least since Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as they made the masks, costumes and animations for these films, among others.
After the museum, we went to the parliament, where we also took a tour, of course 😉 Even the sight of the parliament is something. The executive building is reminiscent of a beehive, which is why it is called that. The British architect Basil Spence, developed the concept of the beehive during a visit to Wellington in 1964. It was built between 1969 and 1979.
Fun fact: The parliament building and the parliament library sit on 417 base insulators, which are designed to absorb movements caused by earthquakes of up to 7.4 on the Richter scale, thus protecting the buildings. These in turn were installed during the renovation of the buildings between 1992 and 1995. These base isolators are large bearings made of rubber and steel layers surrounding an inner lead core. They were invented by New Zealand scientist Dr Bill Robinson and are now used all over the world.
New Zealand is also a member of the Commonwealth. As in Australia, the system of government is a constitutional monarchy, with the British King Charles III as head of state, represented by a Governor-General. This:r is responsible for approving bills, calling parliamentary sittings, dissolving parliament and calling an election. The functions are carried out on the recommendations of the ruling ministers.
There is also the House of Representatives. Unlike in Australia, the New Zealand Parliament consists of only one chamber (House of Representative). It has five functions:
- Representation of the New Zealand people
- Forming a government
- Enactment of new laws
- Holding the government to account
- Review and approval of taxes and expenditures
One thing is still very different from many other countries, there is NOT one constitution (as a single document), like the German Basic Law. Rather, the constitutional elements are regulated in various laws.
Unfortunately, we cannot share many pictures with you. We were not allowed to take pictures in the parliament buildings because we walked right past the ministers' offices.
Wellington was our last stop in beautiful New Zealand. But the journey goes on 😊
Liebe Tatiana, es freut mich zu sehen, wie Das Land, das ich vor 20 Jahren besucht habe immer noch so “ursprünglich” geblieben ist. Damals gab es kein AirBnB sondern “Tourist Flat” wo wir auch immer nette Leute kennengelernt haben. Ihr habt eine sehr gute Entscheidung getroffen, New Zealand ausführlich zu besichtigen. Viel Freude weiter!