Describing New Zealand’s beauty in words is a pointless undertaking. As usual, the New Zealanders also have their say (and pictures) in this article, but at this point we want to do to you what has happened to us: the sensory overload by the views that we have encountered every day, seriously every day. Our photos can only partially reproduce this, but we hope you will at least get an impression.
We would have liked to stay even longer, but also for budget reasons we decided early on for a rather short stay of three weeks. Far too little!
We would like to urge all readers to visit New Zealand in winter. Yes, it’s cold, and the days are short. But you get wonderfully clear fresh air with nice weather and endless visibility, relatively empty campsites and discounts here and there. The snow-covered peaks are simply the icing on the cake on the landscapes, which already rob you of your language.
But now to the statements of the kiwis:
“New Zealand is medium. You can’t trust most New Zealanders. There are way too many gangs.” Carlos, a hitchhiker on his way to Queenstown.
“I love my country very much.” Cashier in Blenheim
“I have been working in the United States. It was really great. The way of life there? Raising children in the US? Never. For me it was clear I want to spend the rest of my life here in New Zealand.” Man on the ski lift on a Saturday morning
“My country has a great landscape. You don’t have to thank me for the flight. I didn’t make the mountains.” Ben, pilot at Milford Sound
“Look outside. I don’t need to go anywhere else when I have this. I’ll just stay here.” Receptionist at camping Glendhu Bay
“Dear skiers and boarders, attention. This is an important announcement. The weather is wonderful today. Please go on and have some more fun. Thank you.” Staff of the Treble Cone ski resort
And finally a song as a kind of counterpoint that we listened to quite often on our long drives.