~ The Catlins ~

Hey there my dear friends,

we´ve been away last weekend for a 2-day-trip and drove down to the very last end of the south island of New Zealand - The Catlins!
It´s been a great trip to a very fascinating part of the country with an amazing landscape - remote, rough & beautiful!! I loved it!

Have a look at some photos :)

~ Surat Bay ~

that´s the place where we stayed over night... can't complain, hey?

~ Jack's Blowhole ~

~ Purakaunui Falls & McLean Falls ~

beautiful waterfalls surrounded by bush (a bit of a Jurassic Park feeling here)

~ Curio Bay ~

start of day 2: yep, we did get a bit wet there... didn't keep us from taking funny chinese tourist photos :-P

~ Slope Point ~

the southernmost point of the South Island

Note from the author: 'I have been the furthest south I will probably ever be... AND I have also been the furthest away on this trip from you all!!'

~ Waipapa Point ~

sweet lighthouse, nice beach and look at the biiiig sea lions we found there ;)

~ Nugget Point ~

... at the end - the grand finale!!! Just look at these photos! I was so amazed by this spot, definitely my favourite!! And we also were so lucky with the timing we got there - sunset, rainbow... it couldn't have been more kitsch :)

~ Dunedin ~

Hello =)

We´re very lucky with the weather at the moment as it´s actually winter here... it´s freezing as soon as the sun is gone but during the day it´s simply great! So we were enjoying some beautiful beach days :)

I just called this post 'Dunedin' now as I´ll simply keep uploading photos from Dunedin and the area here into this post... and I´ll do the same with Timaru and photos from the farm - just to let you know. So, keep checking up the 'older' posts as well ;-)

Cya Claudia!

Saint Kilda Beach

... and St. Kilda at sunrise =)

... playing with different settings on the camera :-P  

Sandfly Bay

@ a warm day with biiig and very sleepy sea lions

Another day @ Sandfly Bay...

... with the giant sea lions, sleepy at the beach but in action in the water!!

We also spotted some yellow-eyed penguins :)

But then the highlight - a group of seals under the rising full moon!!

We couldn't believe it and were deeply impressed with this stunning setting - once again a memory that I won't forget!

VIDEOS of the playing sea lions and little penguins =)

Tunnel Beach

The father who that property belonged to actually dug this tunnel through the rocks, so that his kids had access to the beach ;-)

In the streets of Dunedin

... the world's steepest street

... with Michael @ the university and in the Museum of Dunedin and with Kate at the Otago Farmer's Market - yummi food :-))

Mexican dinner with Michael, Tim (Timothy / Timmy) & Kate =)

~ Timaru ~

Hi peeps,

we did a little trip together with Michael´s brother Tim and their mate Adam to visit Michael´s parents in Timaru and stayed at their sheep farm for a couple of days. It was a totally new experience for me, but I loved it - so we will come back! ;-) It´s a great place that they´ve got their with a fantastic countryside... the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other - incredible!!

Enjoy everyone!

Amazing views, blue skies, hard working men, dogs & sheeeeep =)

Another great & fun-filled weekend - spent my last few days in New Zealand at the farm at lambing time! So cool !!

Me & one of the cute little lambs :)

Lots of sheep with new-born lambs...

... got some calves, too ;-)

 action on the bike - lots of fun *hehe*

marking lambs - brilliant weather!!

( this could so be a New Zealand farm advertisment photo, Michael! :-P )

feeding one of the little cuties

~ New Zealand ~

Hi again everyone!

I am safe & well and made it to my next destination and my new home for the next six weeks - New Zealand!! So the journey goes on... taking me to a new country with new experiences ahead of me and I can´t wait to find out what NZ, the home of "Lord of the Rings" and the so-called Kiwis has to offer ;-)

So far, it´s very hilly and almost seems a bit like Northern Europe to me, as some places just remind you of the UK and some of the Scandinavian countries. Dunedin, where I am now, is apparently like Scotland´s Edinburgh - the Scots back then just grabbed the map of Edinburgh and dumped it on what is now Dunedin, not concidering the fact that Dunedin is very hilly in some places, so there are some really steep roads now. But anyway, the two cities - Dunedin in New Zealand and Edinburgh in Scotland have the same street names and all that sort of stuff... somehow weird but also very funny.

Anyway, till I find out more about this - from my side so far unexplored - country... here you go with the first pics to give you all a first impression.

Cya Claudia

the city of Dunedin @ night from a lookout point

St. Kilda beachwalk with my friend Michael

 

great view over some parts of Otago & Portobello Bay

~ More Australia ~

Hi my dear friends,

as you can probably guess, I´m keeping myself busy all the time, so please excuse my rare blogs. But I´m trying my best to keep you up to date... so here you go with some more photos of the last few days - enjoy!

I´ve been to Melbourne again to catch up with a friend of mine, Cameron, who visited us about 2 years ago in Tutzing while he was doing a trip through Europe - so some of you might remember him. I met him and his friend Simon and we spent a great day in Melbourne... with a pancake breakfast, walks along the river and through their "hometown" South Yarra which is actually just another little separate part of Melbourne, lots of chatting and laughing :D  and then a nice dinner to finish a beautiful day :)

I also did a short trip to Bendigo - a really nice city, smiliar to Ballarat, also one of those places that popped up and developed during the Gold Rush and still manages to keep that British Victorian style alive which I like a lot.

The last little photo collage I just made out of some of my shots from the drive to Bendigo and back... but guys, please just look at the scenery and the weather!! It is actually winter here at the moment... I wouldn´t complain if our winters would always be like that! :-P

Until my next post... cya! :)

Melbourne with Cameron & Simon

Bendigo

On the road... Australian winter!!

@ a winery tour (with bus driver) *lol*