Here in New Zealand a lot is inverse: in the North it is warmer than in the South, the high pressures turn left and the cars drive on the left side. New Zealand is the antipode of Spain and the northern part even lies on Morocco.
Here it is almost tropical. Here grows the so-called Ponga Tree, which looks like a palm tree, but has leaves like a giant fern.
We enjoyed the first summer days and made many small hikes. Sometimes they led to a waterfall and sometimes to a gigantic kauri tree.
New Zealand is the land of sheep. There are 10 times more sheep than citizens. On a farm they showed us how the dogs in the meadow bring the sheep to the stable and how they are shorn. The world record is 44 seconds for a sheep. Even the children could give milk to the little lamb.
And then we came to Auckland. Big, loud and heaps of people, that was our first impression. We got used to it quickly and the city appealed to us more and more. We particularly liked the Hauraki Gulf, where the best America’s Cup sailors come from. We spent two cool days here with the crew of SY Pelizeno and were able to spend the night on a ship again. A highlight for the boys was the Museum of Transport and Technology.
Further south, there are the hotsprings of Orakei Korako. There it’s bubbling and steaming out of the earth. The kids jumped from one geyser to the next. The colours of nature are very special there.
In New Zealand you do not drive far to the next hiking trail, viewpoint or campsite. There are also many beautiful playgrounds where children can run and jump around.
In the south of the North Island we reached “windy” Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Even in summer it is often cool here because of the strong wind blowing through the Cook Straight. Here we met our American friends from SY Shawnigan. So Nael and Ilian could play again with Taj for a whole day. The next day we took the ferry to the South Island.
