The flight from Christchurch to Auckland goes smoothly. I take the bus and check in again at Yaping House for my last day in New Zealand. After walking a kilometre with 40kg of luggage, I’m pretty exhausted. As soon as I arrive, I finally run head-on into a really good person again.
That makes my last day in New Zealand very nice. Indian food, an afternoon on the beach. No wind, but it doesn’t matter with the right people. A nice bottle of wine in the evening. Everything is quiet. I look down on Auckland’s twinkling lights from Mount Eden. I’m exactly right, here and now. That’s why I can go on.
Leaving for Sydney the next day is very stressful. 1km with full luggage to the bus. It doesn’t turn up, I’ve already paid for the ticket. Luckily a shuttle stops and takes me to the airport at full speed. I arrive 50 minutes before departure.
The queue at check-in is long. Finally at the front, the good man asks: “Where’s your visa for Australia?” -“Excuse me?” In Kettcar’s words: nobody told me anything. After 15 minutes it’s clear: it was done electronically by my travel agent. But with the wrong passport number.
We head to the counter for the departure tax. Then drop off the kiteboard at the other end of the airport. Good news: the Qantas website said AUS$80 extra, the hotline said $20. The check-in man didn’t want anything. Security check. They think I’m a bomber, which is why my rucksack is subjected to an embarrassing spectrometer examination. Then finally: seated. My plane leaves in 15 minutes. A few quick lines.
I’ve wanted to come to New Zealand for over ten years. Long unfulfilled wishes mean high expectations. I had them too. But the reality in New Zealand was mostly even better, apart from a few overcrowded “must do’s”.
My highlights in New Zealand: sandboarding on monster dunes, Cape Reinga and 155km/h on Ninety-Mile Beach. Swimming with dolphins in the Bay of Islands. The Tongariro Crossing and climbing Mount Taranaki / Egmont. The Abel Tasman Coastal Trek. A wild student party in New Plymouth. Kitesurfing in Nelson, Lake Te Anau, Glenorchy, Invercargill, Christchurch and Milford Sound. The sea lions in the Catlins. Grade 5 helirafting in the New Zealand Alps and climbing the Fox Glacier.
Forgotten something? Yes. All the good people who are worth talking to. And even the others I could have done without. Nothing happens for nothing.
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.