After 26 flights, 42 boat trips, 13 train rides and countless travels in buses and other ground transport (e.g. bicycle, subway, hitch-hiking, rental car or taxi), and travelling almost 62000 km by air, about 1000 km by sea, and probably around 16000 km by land, I have finally returned to Austria. Now, it is time to look back at the high- and lowlights of my trip.

The Good, …

The most beautiful country …

New Zealand

'Atiu Coast

View from atop Avalanche Peak

… was really hard to determine, but the award finally goes to New Zealand.

The most beautiful city …

… was not easy to find, either, but finally I came up with Wanaka, due to its nice location on the shores of Lake Wanaka, amidst the mountains.

The most beautiful beaches …

… were the ones on 'Atiu (Cook Islands).

The most beautiful corals …

… could be found off Wayalailai in Fiji.

The best hike …

… was a difficult decision again. So, I could only narrow it down to three hikes:

• Avalanche Peak
• Ballroom Overhang
• Milford Track

The best accommodation …

… was without doubt the Sequoia Lodge in Picton, New Zealand, thanks to the free breakfast, the delicious free daily chocolate cake, and the very nice atmosphere.

The best food …

… on my whole trip, if not of my whole life, were the "Lamb Shanks in Massuman Curry" at the Thai Saigon, a Thai restaurant in Invercargill – the mixture of spicy curry and sweet cocos sauce was simply perfect!

… the Bad, …

The worst accommodation …

… was without doubt the Kiwi House in Christchurch: tiny kitchens which smelled of the old cooking oil of the last few days (if not weeks), a tiny common area directly next to one of the kitchens (and smelling just like it), and bed bugs.

The most unnecessary experience …

… was losing my hiking boots in the shuttle van in Sydney.

The most annoying thing …

… was the fact that I was not able to hike the Banks Peninsula Track due to an illness.

The scariest experience …

… was meeting a shark while snorkling alone off the coast of Naviti Island in Fiji.

The most stressful experience …

… was booking my Nicaragua flight, which had to be done within twelve hours, as my original flight was incredibly delayed.

The worst illness …

… was the diarrhea in Taiwan, when I had the impression of almost dying of thirst.

The worst surprise …

… was the fact that I was actually able to compile the above "illness rating".

… and the Funny

The most creative way of writing my name …

… was "Burnheart" (seen on a receipt in Aitutaki, Cook Islands).

The most creative way of wearing a bike helmet …

… is on the ellbow (seen numerous times in Taiwan).

The most amusing flights …

… were the ones on the Cook Islands, especially to and from 'Atiu (with a sun screen across the cockpit window, or a plane full of passengers with numerous flower necklaces).

The most surreal experience …

… was the school eviction of another kind, when we had to vacate our Spanish school within just a few hours.

The weirdest wacko …

… was an American (name withheld), the (self-appointed?) new star among the screenplay writers, who told me about his two scripts for the "Hobbit" (and numerous others for upcoming films) that he has already written.

The craziest statement …

… was again made by two Americans who both are in favour of private gun possession – the reason being that "otherwise, the government takes over". One of them went even further: "Right, something like in Germany 60 years ago can happen everywhere!"

The most logical explanation …

… was finally provided by the Virgin Atlantic crew on my flight home: "If anytime during the flight, a flight attendant asks you to sit down, do so immediately, as there will be a genuine reason for this."

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has (virtually) followed me on my trip until the very end. Now, just one thing remains to be said: It's good to be home!