Kia Ora Aotearoa - Hello New Zealand!

So much has happened and I am way behind with my blog so it is definitely time to do something about that! For now I will start with my trip to New Zealand. About 4 months ago (wow time flies) I started 4 incredible weeks in New Zealand together with my dutch Australian buddy Leonie. The 30 days that I traveled around the north and the south island of this country have been unforgettable. Because I have done and seen so many things it won't be possible to tell you about everything so I am going to try to make a top 5.

Nr. 1: Swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura.
This one is definitely my favorite. Swimming with dolphins has always being a dream of me but swimming with hundreds of wild dolphins in the open sea is just an experience on a different level. Well.. for me! It is hard to describe the feeling but swimming in an open sea and seeing dolphins all around you. On your left side, on your right side, under you, in front, jumping next to you.. The even play little games with you and come so close! That evening I was still so excited that it was hard for me to fall asleep and I felt like the luckiest girl. This world has to offer us amazing things!

Nr. 2: The Tongariro crossing.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is heralded as the best one-day trek in New Zealand, and it is ranked among the top ten single-day treks in the world. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing track spans the length of Mount Tongariro, covering 19.4 kilometres. The trek took us nine hours to complete and has really steep parts and a lot of the time I thought to myself.. Why I am doing this! It was killing me! But having the most amazing views over volcanic landscapes, walking right next to mount Doom from lord of the rings, seeing the emerald lakes with there beautiful colors and walking the last part next to a active volcano made it so special and absolutely worth it that it will be hard to find an another walk that will ever beat this one!

Nr. 3: Black water rafting in the glow worm caves in Waitomo.
Never thought I would be doing this but wow! I did a three hour tour which made me climbing, tubing and floating, and jumping of waterfalls all in the underground caves. Luckily we were giving headlights since it is pitch-black everywhere but every now and then we had to turn our lights of so it was totally dark.. And there you are.. 30 meters underground floating on a tube in ice cold water and the only light you have is of the thousands and thousands of tiny glow worms above you. I just feels like you are looking at a sky full of stars. I felt so small and again so lucky to experience it. 

Nr. 4: Tamaki Village, meeting the Maori people in Rotorua.
We visited an authentic Maori village in Rotorua and experienced a bit of the colorful culture on the Maori people. Māori are the indigenous people, of New Zealand. They came to New Zealand more than 1000 years ago. Today Māori make up 14% of the population and their history, language and traditions are central to New Zealand's identity. What impressed me the most was seeing the Maori men doing the Haka. I have seen it in movies and on tv when New Zealand do this Dance of Ware before a game of rugby to impress and scare the other team. And I can tell you this... With all their face paint, the noises they make and the sticking out of there tongues all the time while looking at you with their big dark eyes.. They definitely make a impression!

Nr. 5: The natural thermal spa in Taupo.
On one of my last nights in New Zealand we stayed for the second time in Taupo in the north island. The first time we stayed there we didn't have time to do this nor the energy since we had done the Tongariro crossing. But this time we did have the time and I am so glad we did. It was about an half an hour walk and I was sure what to expect. But once we got there I loved it. I'll try to describe it as good as I can. It look like an normal river. Just one you have seen before but it was absolutely different. At one spot of the river where the water was quite low there were little waterfalls and the water was hot!! You good see the steam coming of the water. The closer you got to the middle of the river the colder it got so you could choice the water temperature you liked. Since we got there right before the sun went down it started to get darker and darker. So after a while I just found myself sitting in natural hot water with little waterfalls around me a thousands of bright stars and the milky way in the sky above.

Well.. that was it! My top five! There is actually one more place I wanna tell you about..
Not because of how amazing or awesome is was but because of the impression it left behind. The city of Christchurch. Christchurch has been hit by a earthquake in 2011. The people from New Zealand told us that Christchurch was one of the most beautiful cities of the country. They talked so positive about this city but the earthquake has done so much damage that it feels more like a ghost town right now then a city you could fall in love with. 185 people died because of this earthquake and so many buildings have been destroyed. When you walk around the city you see empty buildings, buildings that have been fallen down, buildings that are getting rebuild, you see builders everywhere.. Since it was dinner time we looked for a place to eat but couldn't find any nor a bar/cafe even though it was the city with the most bars before the earthquake! Shops have even been placed in to containers. Walking around this city made me so sad that I was actually happy that we only stayed for one night. I feel sad for the people who experienced this terrible moment and who have seen the city changing from a beautiful place into a ghost town.

I must say it was hard to pick a top 5 or actually a top 6 and I would love to tell more about this stunning country. Would love to tell you about all the stunning mountains, the incredible blue lakes they have everywhere, the fun city Queenstown, the crazy people I have met from all over the world (well.. Mainly from England haha) who made my trip so much fun, the beautiful Cape Reinga, the hobbiton and so on.... But I promised not to do that! ;)

Hope everyone of you will get to chance at some point in your life to go this amazing country New Zealand. I will promise you.. You will not regret it! Alrighty.. I gotta go! Hopefully I will be back soon and be able to tell you about the great weeks I had with my parents!!! Mum and dad, I miss you!!!
And the rollercoaster ride I've been on since they left! Haha

Lots of love from Down Under,

Mexie