The last days in New Zealand =(

Heyhey....

The last days in New Zealand have begun for me now and we're off to Aussie the day after tomorrow (6th July)! Quite sad actually because I've made so many friends here and my English has improved quite a bit.

Today, I went souvenir-shopping and a shop assisstant asked me where I was going... I said: "Back home to Germany!" and she was like: "No way! You don't have any accent at all... I would have taken you for a kiwi going overseas for a holiday!!!" That was real nice I thought... I bought a T-Shirt saying:

"I support two teams: New Zealand and anyone playing Australia!" =P

So yeh, yesterday, I said good-bye to one of my best friends, Manatsu but he promised to come to the airport on Friday! =) Mrs Glue is gonna come, too I think to help me with the luggage allowance limit. Ms Barker, my French teacher (see photo), wants to come too if she's got time! Really nice... Dunno if I'm gonna cry but I reckon I don't realize what is happening and that I have to leave all my friends behind... I'll get over it though!

During these last few days, there's still quite a lot to do such as getting all sorted and pack my stuff or get some souvenirs, burn the last pics on CD etc. etc.! =/

AND finally, I made the effort to take a photo of my hostfamily! It was because Poom was going to Queenstown and I just quickly needed a picture so yeh:

Me on the left, then Sharon and Mason, Miller and Poom in the front row!

I got this photo printed off for them as a souvenir for our time together... I think it's a nice farewell gift. =) Have to get some more pictures though, in Australia... =)

Ok, guys, I'll see if I find an Internet Cafe somewhere in Brisbane or on the Gold Coast and then, I could send some more pictures... =)

Till then and I'll catch ya's later!

Chris...tian

St Arnaud and the Nelson Lakes - 24/06/2007

Hello again! =P

Well, I got soooo much to tell you now so I thought I better do more than one post...

Ok, well, that weekend, I stayed at Matt's and as I already told you, we went to the Centre of New Zealand. But also, on the 24th (Sunday), they took me to St Arnaud which is a popular Skivillage about 100km south of Nelson. We also went to see Lake Rotoiti which is one of the two Nelson Lakes and the same Nationalpark!

Surprisingly, we found that it had snowed there the night before so there was about a foot of snow on the ground (= about 30cm!). Matt's 2nd time ever to see snow (of course in Australia, snow is rare and the ski fields closest to Adelaide are a 2 days drive away!!! =)...

Here are some of the best photos I took - coz I didn't forget my camera that day!!! ^^lol.

And here is Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes Nationalpark:

Thank you so much guys! I had an awesome time with you and I am sure I'm gonna come back sometime.

First, I am going to Australia though - to Brisbane and the Gold Coast! I'll post some pics later - of course you can google it and put them on here now already - but it's not the same as if I saw it myself and took the pictures myself! =P Little complex... haha

Anyway: if you're interested in the Gold Coast now, type in "Q1 Tower, Surfer's Paradise, Queensland" and you'll find some amazing views from the top of the highest residential tower in the world! More about that later... ^^

Well, what I actually wanted to say is: i'm gonna meet Matt and his mother again on the Gold Coast before I finally go back to Germany. Yep...

All 4 now,

Chris...tian

At the Centre of New Zealand

Hey guys!

Well, guess what... I've been to the centre of New Zealand!!! That's just 10 minutes' walk out of Nelson and the view is fantastic:

The view north towards the sea and the Bay

The view south towards the Maitai Valley

Well, yeah, sorry - these pictures are not mine, I got them from a website because I forgot my camera just on that day. =( Well, anyways, thanks to :
"www.nelsonlodge.co.nz/aboutnelson.html" - have a look there! It's worth it! Some awesome pictures and a real nice lodge! ;-P

Thanks also to Matthew and his parents for taking me up there!!!

Chris...tian

Sunset photos from Nelson =)

Hey everybody!

Yep, I am alive and I wanna take this chance to write again before I have to go... During the last few weeks actually I took lots of photos of sunsets here in Nelson!

Here's a selection... enjoy:

Picture taken 10/06/2007

Picture taken 16/06/2007

Picture taken 21/06/2007

I hope there are still more to come! Maybe some from Australia as well... I'll have to see.

Well, all 4 this topic then.

Catch ya's later ;-)

Chris...tian

Queen's Birthday Weekend III - Greymouth to NSN

So yeh, and the last part was a 6-hour-bus trip back up to Nelson!

On the way, we saw some great scenery:

The Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki! Impressive!

The Buller Gorge between Westport and Murchison!

So, yeh. That's it! Thanks again to all people who I stayed with! Hope 2 c u again!

Greetz,

Chris...tian

Queen's Birthday Weekend II - CHC to Greymouth

My second part of the weekend took me from Christchurch over the Southern Alps to Greymouth on the South Island's West Coast!

It is a very rough countryside but really beautiful - with lots of Nikau palms, ferns and cliffs! But have a look yourselves:

At the foot of the Southern Alps. It had just rained the night before so we had a thin layer of snow on the mountains... =)

It was sunny but freezing cold and misty. We might have had around -2 degrees which is even colder on a fast train!

But still, we could see the snow-capped mountains and the countryside was just AMAZING!!!

Just behind Arthur's Pass - the Gateway to the West Coast. The countryside is already much greener and seems friendlier!

Arriving at Lake Brunner

In Greymouth, we stayed with Matt's cousin Laura McIlroy. She showed us around:

The former Brunner Mine - destroyed by a coal dust explosion in 1896! Around 60 people died.

Shantytown - a former gold-digger town, today it is a museum!

Goldpanning - of course they put some gold in the pan for you to keep!

So, that's Greymouth! Thanks to Laura McIlroy and Patrick Sweeney! Enjoyed staying with you guys!

Chris...tian

Queen's Birthday Weekend I - Blenheim to CHC

The latest thing or trip I've done is this one:

Over the Queen's Birthday Weekend, I went down to Christchurch with Matt to visit his grandma over there. We took the train down from Blenheim:

Through hilly grassland ....

... through vineyards....

... and the salt fields of Lake Grassmere (100,000 t of salt per year!) ...

... we finally came to the Pacific Ocean which we followed southbound for about 200 km to Christchurch!

Christchurch is really beautiful and for those of you who have read carefully: yes, I have been to Christchurch once before but only for about 2 hours and I couldn't see much! Here comes my true impression of Christchurch:

Cafe-Restaurant Takahe Sign

Christchurch from the top of the hills

The Banks Peninsula

Christchurch City

Oh yes, and I would like to thank Mary & Laurie Brennan, Matthew Prater and everybody else in Christchurch who has made my stay so agreeable! It was a really really awesome time and I hope I'll be able to visit you again sometime!

Chris...tian