Report from 10 to 18 May 2024
From: New Zealand
Spend the night in a yurt
A profound decision
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The car is possessed by a demon
We are still on our way north, to Auckland, to sell our van there and then buy a plane ticket to Germany. Our next stop on the way is a pizzeria. We received two independent recommendations for this one. It's only open once a week and the building itself is supposed to be great. In the second recommendation, which comes from Finn, he adds the contact details of a friend, Alex, and says she lives just round the corner. I find it a bit strange to write to a stranger saying "I've got your number from XYZ, he thinks I should say hello". But Alex was very open from the start. She immediately invited us round to her house for the weekend.
So we pick Alex up one Friday evening (the pizzeria is only open on Fridays) and drive to the pizzeria. When we arrive at the restaurant, Günni, our van, suddenly has problems. The engine is running but the car won't move! I press the accelerator, the engine howls, but the car stops. My nerves are on edge and I can already see our money flowing away and the car being taken to the scrap dealer. We didn't get to enjoy the pizza as much as we had intended, but it was still very tasty. Alex goes to the next table and organises a ride home to her house. After dinner, we want to get a few things out of the car and suddenly realise that the car is working again! Very strange. Before we take the car anywhere, we want to go to a garage first - after the weekend we'll go to the garage. Until then, we'll stay with Alex. Here's a brief anticipation regarding the car: the mechanic we visited on Monday states after the inspection that "Günni" has a demon". The mechanic can't explain what's going on. Also good. Then back to plan A: sell Günni.
But there's a weekend between the pizzeria and the visit to the garage and we don't want to move our van because we don't know what's going on yet. We were so lucky that it happened right there. Alex gave us a really warm welcome.
Alex in the yurt
Alex has a yurt. It is around 75 square metres in size. What would be divided into different rooms in a normal flat is all in one room here - living room, bedroom, dining room and kitchen. Alex imported the yurt from Canada. Why Canada? because it is also extremely cold in Canada, so Alex was sure that the yurt would keep him warm. It has an outer skin made of lorry tarpaulin, an inner fabric and a layer of NASA bubble wrap in between. She cut the windows into the fabric herself. It's really crazy, but this yurt has much better insulation than the average New Zealand house. That's why we don't say no to the invitation to spend the night in the yurt. We are grateful for the invitation. Whilst it is once again around zero degrees outside, we lie in the cosy warmth. The best thing, however, is the good German breakfast. With real bread and a boiled egg. Marvellous! I am happy.
I am really fascinated by this living concept and the thoughtfulness of everything. Everything goes hand in hand. Alex's core principle is simplicity. The fire not only heats the house but also heats tap water for showers and washing hands (keyword: heat storage stove). A kettle is placed on the stove and when it is hot it is kept warm in a thermos flask. The tap water, which is made entirely from rainwater, is stored in large cisterns - enough for showering, washing hands and cooking. It's just not enough for the toilet - but it doesn't need to be, as it's a dry toilet. Surprisingly, it doesn't stink at all. Once the box is full, the excrement is left for six months and can then be used to build up nutrient-rich soil or as fertiliser.
Alex also keeps a few chickens and cattle on the side. Many trees and fruit bushes grow in her garden. This is the first time I really realise how different the climate is to Germany. New Zealand has a relatively similar climate to Germany. But the north of New Zealand has hardly any ground frost - which is why avocados, palm trees and citrus fruits can grow here that don't grow in Germany. There are also bushes with fruit that I have never heard of. This includes the feijoa. A fruit that is completely different to ours. It is a Guavan species. You can't eat the thick skin, but you can spoon out the inside. It tastes sweet and sour at the same time.
Experiences like this one with Alex and Bob & Kristie give me much more than travelling around all the time. Of course it's nice to see the sights of a country. But I'm pretty tired of that right now. Here we learn a lot about the country and the people. New Zealand is the same and yet different. I find it hard to put into words. It seems more unstructured, less well thought out, improvised and simple in many places (e.g. uninsulated houses). Nevertheless, rental costs are more expensive and so are food costs, but the average income is comparable. Alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco are really expensive in New Zealand - a packet of cigarettes costs the equivalent of around 25 euros. The simplicity also relates to consumption, my impression is that New Zealand is less consumerist, which I like. But maybe it's just because people are often struggling more with their lives. On the other hand, you do get the impression that New Zealanders "live to work" rather than "work to live".
Anderes ergibt für mich keinen Sinn. Zum Beispiel sind Scheinwischer und Blinker sind "falsch" rum, genauso wie Türen in die andere Richtung aufgeschlossen werden.
Krankheitstage in Neuseeland sind limitiert (häufig 10). Urlaubstage in Neuseeland. Neuseeländer sind sehr offen und quatschen einen total gerne irgendwo an. So knüpften sie schneller Freundschaften. Aber gleichzeitig haben wir auch vielfach erzählt bekommen, dass die Freundschaft dafür auch nicht so tief bzw nicht so lange halten. Ich weiß einiges in Deutschland jetzt ganz anders zu schätzen
Tauranga
Unfortunately, we have to keep going. We drive 500 kilometres north on what is called a "motorway" here - not even comparable to a main road. We arrive in Tauranga and experience a beautiful sunrise by the sea the next day.
We only really cook for ourselves here. Firstly because New Zealand is expensive enough. On the other hand, because it's nice to cook again. At the beginning, when we bought the van, we were so overwhelmed with how to cook again. After all, we hadn't cooked for more than a year. There were simply no kitchens anywhere in Asia, not even in the hostels, because eating out was so cheap. It's only now that we have our own van that we're really cooking again. At first I thought we'd forgotten how to do it and was totally clumsy. But now we really enjoy it. Curries with fresh vegetables, vegetable stir-fries, fried rice, pancakes, custard. But the highlight was definitely the venison goulash.
When it's warm, we cook outside on the rickety camping table. If it's cold or raining or already dark outside, we cook in the van. Now that it's winter and the days are getting shorter, we cook almost exclusively in the van - which, by the way, is the same as cooking in bed, as our van is quite small. It's a bit complicated, and it's not unheard of that times
some of the sauce ends up in the bed, but you can wash it.
Unfortunately, there are also major mishaps from time to time. For example today. We cooked potatoes last night. We didn't secure the pot properly when we drove on and didn't pour off the potato water last night and so what had to happen... happened. The mattress is dripping wet and our duvet cover is full of potatoes. Beautiful shit. Any good mood is gone. We drive to the nearest launderette, wash all our bedding and then find a nearby pitch for the night and get the foam mattresses out so they can dry a bit. We've only just bought new ones - don't let them start to go mouldy.
And then my despair about my decision comes to a head. I don't know what I want to do. Karli is going home soon. And me? Maybe I don't want to go back either. I fall into a deep, deep hole at the thought of flying home. I'm kind of desperate. I don't want to go home. I don't know what I want. I am deeply divided inside. I've achieved so much here in the world and accomplished so much and I don't want to go back because I have the feeling that what I've achieved over the last few months will collapse. The thought of flying back to Germany feels like going back into a piece of clothing, back into a corsage that I've outgrown. Karli and I talk a lot and in the end I decide that Karli will fly home without me for the time being.
Temperature difference north-south axis
A few days ago we had frost at night and froze our arses off. Meanwhile here, 500 kilometres further north, it's simply summer. Summer! And no wind! A jackpot. I'm completely knocked off my feet. Even I'm travelling in a T-shirt. We enjoy the weather, take a walk on the beach and hop into the cold ocean. Yes, one more hop into the sea... We don't realise it at the time, but it was the last time we were together in the sea...
Auckland and selling a car
On the way to the metropolis of Auckland, we have the first sales talks for our van. I put our Günni on "Facebook marketplace". It's not going well. Only a few enquiries come in, or the ones that do want the car at a joke price. It's winter in New Zealand and summer in Europe. That means there are few holidaymakers and backpackers in New Zealand and therefore few buyers. My observations show that you can expect to pay about half the summer price for your car in winter. The vans are usually sold on from one backpacker to the next. There is always a car show for backpacker cars in Auckland on Sundays. Auckland is particularly popular for sales because most travellers usually arrive here from overseas. We go to the fair to offer our Günni for sale. It's a very funny day with the other sellers - all backpackers like us. We chat a lot and exchange ideas with them. But we don't find a buyer for our van.
📷 Here are a few more pictures:
(this time a little less than usual)
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