wanderlust

13/11 - 19/11  I spent my second week of volunteering in the same place (Atiu Creek) and fulfilled smiliar tasks as last week:  We collected seeds for growing plants, did potting for almost 3.000 plants in total, built another bridge at a paddock and chased an invasive (non-native) species. On the weekend, I had some time to go to Auckland City and did some shopping. The more the temperatures are rising, the more you can find christmas decorations in the shops and on the streets. Odd! You definetly don't get into the christmas mood when in New Zealand. 

10/11/2017 - 12/11/2017 My Conservation Volunteers team and I rented a car for the weekend for some adventure time.  After our work on Friday, we drove back to Auckland and got our car.  Our first stop: the Kauri trees in a national park in the north. There we saw the second biggest Kauri tree (Father of the Forest) and the biggest one (Lord of the Forest). We went for a nice walk through the forests. In the evening, we drove to the Bay of Islands on the northeast, so that we could use the whole next day there.  On Saturday, some of us went on a boat cruise, I decided on renting a kayak instead with another team member. We went by kayak to a nearby island and enjoyed having some time at a beach just to ourselves. After chilling some more on the mainland, we drove to another beautiful bay which was stunning in the golden light of the setting sun.  On Sunday, we drove up north to Cape Reinga, the most northern point in New Zealand with the popular lighthouse. It's a sacr

03/11/2017 - 09/11/2017 My conservation project in New Zealand starts. After meeting the team and our team leader Bruce in the office in Auckland and after a two hours drive, we arrived in Atiu Creek, a national park north of Auckland, which perfectly depicts the stereotypical nature: big, lush green hills, forests, mangroves along the coastline, a mixture of normal trees and tropical palm trees and vines in the bush, colourful birds and thousaaaaands of sheep!  There, we lived in Bruce's house with a nice common room and kitchen and of course bunk beds. We have the weekend to ourselves, so we decided on doing some walks through the park and I was also forced to watch The Lord Of The Rings for the first time as I was accused "to lack some education".  Our team consists of very different personalities, but we come along well.  My first week with the Conservation Volunteers: We cleaned hundreds of pots for plants, constructed a bridge for the paddocks, prepar

02/11/2017 I used my last day of free-time to meet a friend I got to know in Bali. We went to the museum and to the wintergardens in the Auckland Domain Park and chatted for hours and hours. We almost forgot about the museum which, to be honest, has no logical concept. It is called The War Memorial Museum, but it was not only about several wars, it was also about volcanos, dinosaurs, sharks and birds, insects, Japanese art, ancient tools and houseware etc.  I also met someone else and we went to the theatre, not to watch a play, but to walk around in the hallways and to look at the paintings.  Tomorrow, I will join the Conservation Volunteers New Zealand - my next volunteering project is about to start.

01/11/2017 Time for some exploring! This day, we went to Waiheke Island in the bay of Auckland. We thought t would be a great idea to get around by walking. Well, it was a bad idea. We got lost of course. Although we took some nice photos and enjoyed the sun. We were lucky that we found some guys that would let us hitchhike with them so that we were back at the ferry just in time. The view on the boat was amazing!

30/10/2017 - 31/10/2017 On Monday, I went for another long walk to the Harbour Bridge which - as I found out - you cannot cross as an pedestrian. I spent these two days with people I met in the hostel. We went to the Auckland Art Gallery, giggling about modern art, fascinated by really good paintings. Half bloody rookies when it comes to art, half pretending to be interpreting experts. We enjoyed activating cancer cells while chilling in New Zealand's sun in the park and Auckland's Thai cuisine.  As it was Halloween, we saw some people in creepy costumes running around in the city centre. 

27/10/2017 - 29/10/2017 I was getting emotional at the airport in Bali. I caught my flight to Auckland, with a stop-over in Sydney. After half a day of travelling, I arrived in Auckland. I immediately recognized how very different the perception of life is here in New Zealand - I was overwhelmed by the kindness and hospitality. It seemed so natural and normal to talk to totally random people - everywhere! Even though Bali is only 6 hours behind New Zealand, I had to face the worst jet lag I've ever had. This is why I started my stay in New Zealand with some clueless strolling around in the city. I went to the two big parks in the city centre (Albert Park and Auckland Domain) and enjoyed the rather chilly temperature in comparison to Bali's tropical heat. To get an impression of Auckland, I walked through some residential areas and then I realized how very very rich the "western" countries are. It seemed so exaggerated that the houses have several floors, a big g