Kia Ora,

...I step through security "door" just watching the guy check the screen and inside of my bags, hoping for the best. My heart was in my stomach and all I could think of was how that dog is going to smell something, they're gonna take me aside, open my bags, pull those macaroni out and say I gave out false information.......oh gosh, I'm going down!! :O
My bags finally came out and the guy was still sitting calmly and silently in his seat...uhmmm, what now.... am I good to go?? Do I wait? Do I run?? I finally picked up my luggage and tried to leave as fast as I could. Thank goodness no one was running after me when I walked out to arrivals area. Holy mother of god...I cannot believe myself...what an idiot I am Hahaha
I finally got out the other side still a bit shaky, buuuut when I spotted Georgia that immediately disappeared and I just ran towards her...omgg we haven't seen each other since we lefe camp in August 2016!!! And now I was there, I was in New Zealand!!! How crazy is that??? The temperature outside was quite a shock for me for sure, I wasn't used to cold anymore..how fast you loose that cold resistance.. funny, hey! :O Amen to triple layers of clothing!! Haha we spent the following day preparing for our ultimate South island road trip and taking a walk around Christchurch. I was sooo happy to also catch up with the only two Germans that I (at that point) could stand hahaha it's only been a month but it was great seeing your annoying faces again Sarah and Pascal! Miss you loads!! :* Of course we went out to eat, that's what we do best :D
And so it began, on Saturday Georgia and I drove off on our little NZ adventure. The road took us from Christchurch straight to the west coast, driving past some really magical places like Castle Hill where they filmed Narnia, through Arthur's Pass to Punakaiki with unbelievable viewing points over the coast, blowholes and pancake rocks, and all the way to Hokitika. Must stop was a local fish and chips shop and catching a sunset at the beach. Of course we couldn't pass the opportunity to see some glow worms too...for free!! (no need to pay for glow worm caves and similar stuff). Morning of day two was reserved for a visit of some local natural sights including Hokitika gorge. Despite the shitty weather, this was just a preview of what all South Island has to offer. After a gourmet lunch from the trunk of our car (mmmmm wrapssss) we hit the road again, going south to the Glacier Country. We did a short hike for a closer view of Franz Josef glacier and the valley, but the best was yet to come, at least for me. 
Early in the morning of day three, we had to keep moving south where I booked myself in to do a helihike on Fox Glacier - helicopter flight with a glacier landing and then a two hour hike on the lower glacier. Soon after safety briefing, we were given wool socks, waterproof pants, jackets and proper footwear. Before we knew it, we were getting weighed up for the heli groups and off we went! First time flying in a helicopter AND I got the front seat! Hell yeah! :D as we were approaching the glacier, you could see how majestic it really is. What we saw at Franz Josef, doesn't even come close! After our whole group was dropped off and got crampons that had to be attached to the soles of our shoes, we were all ready to rock & roll. We found some beautiful ice caves, waterfalls and lakes. Light that reflected back from the ice appeared deep turquoise blue and it was just amazing to look at. But what shocked me the most in a negative way was seeing visible lines where the glacier used to be and how much it disappeared in the last couple of decades....to see something so beautiful and knowing it will soon be completely gone...very very sad! :(
Anyways, experience so unique, 10/10 I'd recommend doing and it's well worth the 450$ you pay!! When I got back in early afternoon, Georgia was already waiting for me. We weren't wasting any time and hit the road straight away to reach Queenstown before evening. This was by far the longest drive we've done more or less in one piece (around 5hours). Since it was raining we limited stops to a minimum and arrived to our destination late afternoon. Finding our hostel and a parking spot in the city was a pain but we did it (and parallel parked too, goo Georgie haha) so of course we had to reward ourselves with a scoop of oh so good gelato from a local dessert cafe...no self control whatsoever!! :o Queenstown was noticeably more cold and snow was in the forecast for the next few days. Yuppie, I finally got to experience winter again after a year of summer!! The city was so alive and vibrant, we almost weren't used to that anymore after spending past few days in smaller (dead!) towns. So much to do, so much to see that we spent the next day wandering around the area, had the notoriously famous burger from FergBurger and basically inhaled it within seconds. Animals!! I even got to experience some snowfall while hiking on top of skyline, and almost dying doing it (ain't nobody got money for the gondola!) :D
Anyways out of three days we spent in Queenstown, one was reserved for a trip down to Milford Sound. For all that had no idea (like meee), New Zealand really has it all...even the fjords!! The trip was full day of a beautiful scenic drive (like 600km all together wtf) and a lovely boat ride in the fjords. The landscape of that area is just jaw dropping. The waterfalls, the mountains, the glacier and a cute extra, SEALS sunbathing on the rocks!! *seal noises and clapping* ;)
For our next stop we headed back up the island (the piglets we are, we had to stop at several farms on the way to sample.....cheese!!!! hellyeeees, #getinnybelly)...and we arrived to Wanaka. One of my favourite places. So relaxed, so peaceful, so pretty. And the lonely tree, ohhhh I surely wouldn't mind being a lonely tree with that view! *.* Wanaka was extra short, extra sweet, but we still had a bunch of stuff on our plan so off we went further up north.

What was waiting for us there, how our South island trip ended and all about my North island adventures...you'll have to wait to find out :) :)

xxx

D

Brisbane, you had me at hello

Here I gooooo! The end of my East Coast trip was approaching with lighting speed. Only a short drive from Noosa and I was in Brisbane. I always use bus rides for sorting out my gopro shots and finishing blog posts (if I don't get distracted :o). But this drive was the shortest of all so before I knew it, we were in the city. As usual, I grabbed my stuff and left the bus. My agency booked me a hostel and thankfully I went to check it the night before...it turned out it was this dodgy place out of the city with really bad reviews hahaha hell no, I've stayed in some interesting places, but that one just seemed too much (50 bed room?!?!?!). So I found a different one, very conveniently located just around the corner from bus station. I went to drop off my bags, put my "fake eyes" in my eyes haha and wait for Alex to pick me up! She's just one of a few camp friends that I was/ will be visiting throughout my whole trip. She took me right in the heart of the city, vibrant South bank with a lagoon and pools, bars and restaurants. It just hits me over an over again how camp brought so many beautiful peope in my life and I cannot be happier that I actually get to visit them all around the world!! Alex you're such a sunshine, thanks for a mini tour of the city and your lovely company, only wish I could've stayed longer! Until next time!! :)
I spent the rest of the day exploring South Bank by myself. I immediately fell in love with this city and all it has to offer. So much green, so much water, so clean and neat! All sunshine and rainbows until just out of the blue I figured I don't have my gopro on me...not in my pockets, not in my bag...don't panic, it might be in one of the bags in the hostel...I rushed back to check everything...only to realize I left the freaking camera on the freaking bus!!!! What an idiot. I know exactly how it happened and it is the stupidest thing. Left it on the seat and didn't see it when I left the bus (the first time I didn't triple check if I forgot something?!?!?!). What now..it was evening of Eastern Monday so of course bus office was closed. Shit....thinking of all the worst scenarios...I basically lost everything...every single video and photo that I didn't transfer...95% of my east coast memories. I nearly cried. Buuut yo, there's still a bit of hope the driver found it and took it to lost and found.....oh but that was not all, nonono, the evening was only getting "better" haha you know that feeling when you just get out of the shower, make yourself ready for bed and realize you misplaced your glasses...I know, blind people problems....but what the heck. Where did I leave them, I can't go around without them, wtfff?! .......Remember me putting my contacts in before heading out for lunch??? Yes, I left my glasses in reception toilets...and luckily they were still on the sink when I went looking for them. I mean....I'll blame it on the full moon (or maybe I was just really really tired haha). And to top things off...why not wake up in the middle of the night to some lovely sounds of your roommates having a bit of adult fun if you know what I mean....why, oh why??? #travelbrain #hostellife
Anyways, I was up very early next morning to run to the bus station and check if my gopro was hopefully brought to lost and found...Me to the lady behind the counter "I kinda forgot something on the bus yesterday..." lady: "oh, what was it?" Me: "a gopro..." lady: "ahh, hmmm, is it this?" Me (almost having a heart attack): "YAAAASSSSSS................" lady: "you're one lucky girl" ....seriously, whatever I did to deserve getting it back...it must've been something really really nice...KARMA IS NOT ALWAYS A BITCH! :) Oh my, oh my. I guess I need to start physically sticking my things on me...After the initial shock and when my hands stopped shaking I was able to calmly pack up and check out. I had a couple of hours left in the city so I went for a looong relaxing loop walk, had some lunch with a view and jumped on the train to North Lakes to spend a couple of days with family friends...unfortunately they were just coming back from vacation in north Queensland and the weather wasn't in their favour...sooo that ment a good six hour wait for me. Ofc everything was made easier when a security guy let me stay comfortably seated in a mall after they locked everything up already - "just call when you wanna get out" haha alright then :D so the hours went by and just after 9pm Milena, Igor and Iva came to pick me up. What a lovely change to spend some time with Slovenians again..felt very much like home. They fed me our Slovenia food (haven't had this much national food in a very long time!!), they showed me around their neighborhood, fed me some more, I even had my own room with oh so comfy bed. One of the highlights was definitely Australia Zoo, (used to be) home of the Crocodile Hunter himself - Steve Irvin....for those of you who don't know who he is, do the research, for those of you who do know him, congrats, your childhood was fabulously filled with his thrilling wildlife TV shows. :D the zoo is still operated by his family - wife and the kids aaand they still do crocodile shows, crikey!! Definitely a must see in Brisbane! I loved it despite a rainy day.
Annnd just like that my time in Australia came to an end...well only for the next three weeks while I jumped over the Tasman Sea to see what's on the other side. Milena kindly dropped me off at the airport, I checked in and there I was again facing the uncertainty of getting through all the checks without getting charged extra for my (to)heavy bag. Thank goodness New Zealand was expected to be colder so it wasn't too weird wearing three layers with extra jacket (with a hoodie and another long sleeved shirt tucked inside) in my arms....and I got through successfully, boom!! Only two more flights like this!
I safely landed in New Zealand...very very excited!!! But there were a couple more stops till I could finally see Georgia on the other side. I filled out the declaration form, I decided I rather throw my two apples away (suppper strict policy with bringing food in to the country)...I say I've got nothing to declare....get out through passport control...signs everywhere how you're supposed to declare everything, tick on the paper if you have any food at all or else you get fined 400$..ok I threw my apples away got in line and gave my paper to the guy...he asked more questions "you've got nothing, sure, no fruit blabla.." nop, nothing. It does make you feel very uneasy...he then gave me a stamp and sent me to another line....que for bag check. FUCK!!! ANOTHER BAG CHECK?!?!...I did not see this coming, wtffff?! Like, nowhere else are they taking this so seriously?!?! Not even America! Something in my mind didn't give me peace....things like this always make you a bit nervous to be honest... I was going through the past few days and at last I remembered I had an opened bag of uncooked pasta somewhere in my big bag that was there since I arrived to Brisbane. Omg. Shit. Shit, shit, shiiiiiiiit!!! I'm silently panicking and trying not to be too obvious. It's only pasta, right??? Aaaah, What do I do now?! Can't go back cause I've gone through pass control and the second paper check, got two stamps....no turning back now, I don't have a choice. Already thinking of the worst case scenarios...this is it....she took my paper, both my bags...here i go...I walk through and wait for the worst to hit me

....to be continued....