More snippets from Middle Earth

In Waitomo Caves you can do all sorts of funky things: Black Water Rafting (Rafting in pitch black darkness on a big rubber thingy whilst screaming your head off because you have no clue where you are going - nope, didn't do that), Abseiling (I think it's quite awesome but I didn't do that either, maybe due to the fact that noone bothered to find an appropriate ENGLISH word for this activity. "Abseiling" is German, it should be called down-roping!) and waiting for glow worms to switch on their behinds in order to illuminate the dark. BUT Waitomo has one more awesome thing to offer: a little delicatessen shop which serves HOKEY POKEY icecream!! It's one of the nicest flavours I have ever tasted, and Waitomo's little shop makes the BEST icecream by far! And what's even better: slowly but surely the people on this hop-on-hop-off bus I am on are getting to know each other better which makes the whole trip so much more rewarding. And it is really cool to have your Quesadillas prepared by a newly-wed Mexican couple who just know how to do decent Quesadillas - and how to prepare so much good food that they are able to feed half the bus with it!

The North Island of New Zealand is an awesome place, even if you don't attempt the Tangariro Crossing (an exhausting but memorable hike, passing inbetween two volcanos, which starts at 7am and ends 8 hrs later [if you're late you have to pay NZD 100 extra!], leaving all participants utterly shattered, unable to tell everyone how awesome it was ... where's the point?). Some say that the crossing is the only reason they bothered coming to the North Island in the first place. I can't relate to that. I loved the landscapes, the valleys, the smooth green of the rolling hills, the ridiculously blue skies with the most beautiful clouds, the stunning lakes ... And what's more: if you don't go to the North Island (or come from it), you miss one of the best things - the interislander ferry between Wellington (North) and Picton (South)!! This 3-hour boat trip through the Cook Strait really is something else! Captain Cook and his crew must have puked their hearts out back in the day on their sailing boats ... When we did the crossing, the weather was good, the sun was shining, and the ferry was gliding through the ever rough and ruthless sea beautifully. But the wind ... the wind! We spent all time on deck, and that evening I lost half my hair (as most of you know, I don't have the best and thickest hair anyway, buhuhu) when trying to comb it. It's not wind we are talking about here, it's bloody gale forces at work on that ferry! I was blown across deck, I am not kidding. I had to hold on to the railings, when I tried to leisurely lean against them to look at the stunning scenery that was opening up before my eyes. "I see a storm bubbling up from the sea...", thanks, Caleb Followil, you could have told me that before. Anyway, the ferry is brilliant and a great way to reach the South.

Oops, I almost forgot to mention something important: when visiting "Te Papa" museum in Wellington (a fabulous place!), I touched the Pounamu, the greenstone or jade, which plays a very important role in Maori history and culture. No, I didn't touch it without permission (I took photos without permission though ...), they actually ask you to touch it. And believe it or not: I felt something. It was amazing, I put my hand flat on the stone, and it felt like my heart was beating heavier all of a sudden. Not faster, just heavier. Wonderful. And a bit scary. This experience touched me and didn't leave me, and a few days later I bought a Pounamu pendant which I have been wearing since. It's one of the important symbols the Maori use, the KORU, meaning "growth, new beginnings, and harmony" - which is exactly what this journey is about...

Take good care, all of you xxx