For the past four days, I stayed in a hippie hostel. Even though I did not go hippie, the relaxed atmosphere still made me sit back and do nothing much but short strolls on the river and beach during the first one and a half days.
Yesterday, I went to the Oparara Basin, as already mentioned before. Today, I finally did a three-hours-long stroll on Heaphy Track. Continue reading Heaphy & Hippie
Today, I explored the Karst formations of the Oparara Basin As the original explorers were reminded of Tolkien's Middle Earth by this area, a lot of place names are references to "Lord of the Rings", like the Moria Gate Arch. Continue reading At the Moria Gate (Arch)
![[Picture]](../../../../../../regions/nz/south/thumb/av.jpg "Buller Gorge")
Even on a travel day, you may have an adventure. My route from St. Arnaud in Nelson Lakes National Park to Karamea on the west coast was an adventure in its own right due to the rather limited public transport: First, I took a private shuttle from St. Arnaud to Kawatiri Junction (approx. 20 min., 50,– NZD). From there, I caught the Intercity bus to Westport (2:19 hours, about 18,– NZD with a 45 hours flexipass). Finally, I took a minibus to Karamea (about two hours, 35,– NZD).
As the Intercity trip was going through the spectacular Buller Gorge, I also had something to see on the way.
In the last two days, I went on my first alpine hike on this trip: a two-day hike in Nelson Lakes National Park, going from St. Arnaud (a village at the border of the national park) to Lake Angelus (in the mountains) and back. It turned out to be quite a tough hike, but it was definitely worthwhile – even though the weather was not as good as I hoped for. Continue reading Up to the Angels
![[Picture]](../../../../../../regions/nz/south/thumb/ak.jpg "Nelson")
I cannot really say that I visited Nelson. Even though I am spending the night there, I have mainly just used its infrastructure: doing my laundry, stocking up on food, and organizing my travels. In the evening, I finally had a short stroll through the city center. This gave me an idea why the town is that popular with backpackers: There are indeed quite many nice cafés and bars. However, for me, there are other more important attractions in New Zealand.
Today I splashed out, and went on a full day kayaking trip in Abel Tasman National Park. The park is simply to beautiful to leave it after just two days. Continue reading Abel Tasman by Sea
The last two days, I was hiking in Abel Tasman National Park. Despite it being my first real hike, I opted for a two-day outing (which was recommended to me by an Austrian couple). As it turned out, it was a good decision. Continue reading Abel Tasman by Land
In order to avoid hiking in the rain, I made a detour to the far northwest of the South Island, and visited the Farewell Spit. Continue reading Hello, Farewell Spit
Yesterday I flew down to the South Island, where I enjoyed the warm weather and the sunshine. Continue reading Sanatorium for the Exhausted
![[Picture]](../../../../../../regions/nz/north/thumb/50.jpg "Myers Park")
My days in Auckland were dominated by my cold and my jet lag. Therefore, I mainly stayed at the hostel, and tried to get some rest. Continue reading Auckland for the Exhausted
![[Picture]](https://bernies-journeys.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-17.jpg "Heaphy Track")
![[Picture]](https://bernies-journeys.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-16.jpg "Moria Gate Arch")
![[Picture]](https://bernies-journeys.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-13.jpg "Lake Rotoiti")
![[Picture]](https://bernies-journeys.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-09.jpg "Onetahuti Beach")
![[Picture]](https://bernies-journeys.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-08.jpg "View from South Head")
![[Picture]](https://bernies-journeys.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-05.jpg "Cape Farewell")
![[Picture]](https://bernies-journeys.at/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013-02-03.jpg "Laughing Kiwi Backpackers")