like i never left

it's been while, but driving on the left side is pretty familier. it was like i never left, like everything seemed to be the same. nothing really changed. ok, the landscape it still awesome and the colours are as powerful as they can be. but the people are friendly and kind. they are relaxed and enjoy thier beeing on this planet as much as they can which is the main difference between us and them. that is actually on of the main reasons to came my way far  down under to new zealand. to experience this lay-back-attitude and the life itself. to dont worry about nothing but the next turn and the next beautiful view is just an amazing life and an awesome journey.

kaikoura

 

anyway. we arrived in kaikoura and a canadian guy told me the waves are pretty solid and he just came back from a session. so we cruised to the famous kaikoura breaks 15km north and parked our car in the golden green grasses right infront of the rocky break. i couldnt wait, i checked the spot 2 minutes and prepared for my first session since september. it wasnt big and definatly powerful, but a beautiful break and the waves were peeling quite nicely down the rocky shore. the spot is called meatworks, because these round football sizes rocks role over when a waves breaks and were working of the meat of surfers feet in the early years :) oh dear. i went out and caught quite a lot of waves. more than i thought. i wasnt exhausted and the turns fitted pretty well. we were lucky with the weather and keen to go on a trip.

lake takepo

the name of the county is pretty much what you get all the time. long white clouds. it is amaziong, there are always a few clouds in the sky and they are always fluffy and mellow. blue sky in the background and the greenest green and golden gras on the ground. mountains switch from grolden to green to rocky grey or black and everything in between. the scenery switches with every corner and every pass.

the trip started in kaikoura and we went straight through to lake takepo which is famous for its old chapel which rises from the shore of the lake and is a great view with the alps in the back. we were having lunch and moved on to mount cook. he wasnt there, he was hiding behind thick dark clouds and drisseling rain. we went the 55km along the lake all the way to the end of the valley and the campsite. we had a nice but casual dinner, pasta in tomato sauce. the night was surprisingly warm for sleeping on probably the highest campsite in new zealand and heaving quite a few 3000ers rising in the sky. by walking to the bridge over the river from the glacier lake i realised the glacier of mt. sefton has become a lot smaller compared 2 years ago. global warming is a present danger. after waking up and still no sign of new zealands highest mountain we went on to wanaka and had lunch at the lake with a nice view. a classic fish and ships and burger lunch and a sunny afternoon with kids playing and went swimming in the bloody cold lake. kiwis dont freeze at all, it's amazing. afterwards we went to queenstown... but so far so good.

lake takepo again

lake pukaki and mt. cook