A Significant Interim Report

Feb 9, 2016 | Photos, The Great Journey, Updates

Sunset over the fjordland:

 

 

One more of times, we arrived at our destination. Every day another great car trip, incomprehensible landscapes and always a different stay.
At the end of each day there is not much time left for the internet, you are tired and you need your sleep for the next even more exciting day.

So, here is a little overview for you guys, just before I go to bed.
Sadly you don’t get a fully crafted report of what I feel and go through, but instead a little palette of visual treats. 😉

Six Barrel Soda, a Wellington gem!

Crossing the Marlborough Sounds towards the South Island. For the first time in daylight. 😀

Upright for who?? 😉

 

 

I kept showing my parents all the places I have been, with all the memories of the good old days attached. 🙂

The west coast. Predicate optional.

Back then, in Winter, there were but little cicadas rataplanning in Punakaiki. 😉

 

 

 

 

You have to accept my apology for posting less than we’d all wish for in these special times. But one thing is the most important. That is, that we are all happy. 😉

And I am just that, for 1000 good reasons!! 😀

 

 

Mum and dad are here now!

Feb 5, 2016 | The Great Journey, Thoughts, Updates

I am sitting on the deck outside the house and have breakfast. Baked beans, backpacker style, and enjoy the Summer heat and the wonderful view on the hills around Wellington.

Dad is sitting next to me, has his first ever serving of baked beans on toast and goes on about teak wood, of which the table is made of and points out one detail after the other about New Zealand’s buildings. Mum is still asleep after the late arrival and the long flight yesterday. Sleep is valuable.

Now I listen very closely, when my parents have something to say or just tell me something about the current environment. In 14 months far from home I have come to value the significance of parents in your life.
Especially when you have lived through times that defined you as a person and often faced your innermost values. I could in many situations give my parents all credit for determining facets of myself.
I want to know more about these wonderful people and want to get to know them better than ever before.

It is just incredible to see the same well-known persons around you, who you haven’t seen in such a while. On top of that in New Zealand, far from the mutual home.

In a too natural manner we walk down the Wellington waterfront, have some coffee in the cafes I not long before had coffee with my friends, visit places where I had wished for my parents to be here, but never thought they would be HERE one day.

I show them many new things, you can say for sure. But I clearly notice that they can show me just as many new things in return, still.
I think, the next weeks are going to be the most special in our lives!

Back to the Future

Feb 2, 2016 | Photos, The Great Journey, Trips

Dunedin is in the past.

 

 

Who can remember the picture of my luggage before the journey? 😀 Can you tell the differences? 😛

 

 

A part of my Dunedin accompanied me on my trip north, as my dear flatmate Andrej came with me on this great road trip.
We fought ourselves through rain and the dark until we reached the first destination of Hanmer Springs. That’s where it drew lovely Tina. A quirky place where you cannot find much else than the thermal pools and some restaurants. Just the better having friends around then. 🙂

We wouldn’t be able to enjoy our stay too long, as the next night our ferry to Wellington would depart.
So we had another goodbye and went on the stage of our trip…

A river on the way to Hanmer. Almost trivial. 😀

I also found a tube! 😀 But we already knew how to get gas… 😉

There wasn’t much time for photo stops, but sometimes you don’t have a choice.

‘The handsome Andrej.’ A road trip lets the last stage play wake again… 😀

*B A N G*

For we couldn’t find an external cause that might have produced the loud noise, we stopped at the side of the road. After I noticed the back tyre hissing and losing air, it took not more than 10 minutes to be back on the road with the spare wheel.

The tyre had been chafed through. Cautiously we drove from Kaikoura up to Picton without any more incidents and reached the ferry on time.

 

 

What can I say? An adventure! 😀

The last red evening sky on the South Island.

The things that (don’t) get transported between the islands…

After a night in the car (we did arrive at 2am with the ferry) we checked in to the flat in Island Bay. Here in Wellington it is the Summer, you could clearly notice.
As I was told later, after we got both rotten rear tyres replaced, I went full blossom as Wellington tour guide.
Well, in the two days we had Andrej should see the most and the best of my favourite city.

It is an interesting feeling, to be back at a place where you went through so much and that is not the same, still… It is hard to look at the present under all the countless memories. But you can discover new things, though:

 

 

Six Barrel Soda. The absolute best and most unique soda I ever had! (Who recognises the background? 😉 )

 

 

Of course we had to climb Mount Victoria. Wellington from above is almost as spectacular as from within. 🙂

 

 

I have talked about my favourite cinema quite often, the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, but you haven’t seen it yet. So this is the grand auditorium with the insane sound system (notice the ceiling speakers for Dolby Atmos).

 

 

Also, of course, we paid Te Papa a visit. As animation movie fans we were very happy to see the Dreamworks exhibition, where they showed the origins of their most known animated movies.

 

 

Altough we had visited the majestical botanic gardens already at night, but at daylight it is worth it, also. 🙂
Especially worth it is the rose garden, as always…

 

 

What greater thing to say about a person?? (All the benches in the gardens feature a dedication.)

 

 

At the duck pond I noticed a duck that didn’t really seem to have adapted to the whole ‘tails up’ thing. To my advantage. 🙂

 

 

 

 

Also Andrej I had to say farewell to and now I am all alone here at the end of the world. Strange feeling…

But only one time more to sleep. Then my parents are going to land here in Wellington!
I still can’t believe it… You’ll hear from us in time. 😉

Night Is Falling

Jan 23, 2016 | Photos, The Great Journey, Trips

Here another photo post for a change. 🙂
My recent days, rather quiet ones (for there’s no work) at my last flat in New Zealand I design laid back. I sleep in and think about my plans about the coming, much more thrilling time.
But one night we took on a little trip with my dear flatmates. We went out to Aramoana and the rest the pictures will tell. 😉

We were lucky to have a sunny day in the midst of many rather bleak ones…

My flatmates went beyond the signs, but I stayed for a certain reason. 😉

For here I had much more interesting shots to take.

Pink flakes of candy cotton around the wonder ball. 😛

Yesterday night I went a few steps from our flat and captured the Dunedin panorama for you…

 

 

Some houses on the peninsula. And upright! 😀

As a trained electronics technician (and photographer), my eye got caught by this power pole…