After our rest day in Invercargill, Peggy and I head to Dunedin by bus, arriving at lunch time at our cool Hogwartz hostel.
After a coffee we go explore the town, following the Street Art Trail. Dunedin has such a variety of buildings just next to each other and the atmosphere can change within a few hundred metres. There are plenty of nice cafes, shops and restaurants and the Street Art is interesting and sometimes beautiful.
At the iSite we were advised that a ship from the Sea Shepherds is in harbour just for the weekend, offering a visit. Sea Shepherd is an NGO fighting to protect marine wildlife and although we had to wait 90 minutes for the tour, it was interesting and touching to learn about their activities and discover the rather old boat. I wouldn’t quite feel safe at sea in Antarctica on it though!
In the evening we have a wonderful chat and for me a goodbye wine with Jan and Jasmin, the German couple we met on the last days of the TA.
Early next morning it’s time to say goodbye to Peggy. After so many weeks with her, this marks the real end of my New Zealand adventure and feels quite hard. She still has 2 weeks to discover the rest of New Zealand, especially the North Island. As for me, I am sitting for 6h in the Intercity Bus to Christchurch, driving close by familiar towns like Methven and thinking of the trail…
Christchurch is a mix in between traumatisation by the earthquake and a great example of temporary solutions and strength. Everywhere construction sites, road closures, destroyed buildings. But in between, street art, colourful containers with temporary shops (“re:start”) and to me it feels like this town is keeping it’s chin up! The colours are striking even on this rainy day.
I am back early in the hostel, feeling very tired. Must be the lack of hiking 😉
Tomorrow I am off to Auckland by plane, staying for 2 nights with friends of my mother before taking my plane to Buenos Aires on Wednesday. I’ll be back with my blog from Buenos Aires!
“Don’t worry about a thing, Cause every little thing gonna be alright.”
Hello Mountains 
Hi Bettina
as your New Zealand trip is nearly over I would like to thank you for the great blog and the inspiration you have given many people Iam sure like myself you have inspired many people and encouraged many kiwis to explore more of our country I hope you have many great memories of Nz and hope you will return again one day
You might find this link inspiring
lotsafreshair.com
an interesting australian lady who has discovered the outdoors
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Thank you so much. New Zealand and the trail have a special place in my heart for sure! Thank you for the link, I already like the title, fresh air 😉
LikeLike
Congratulations on completing Te Araroa with a smile! What an amazing adventure and thank you for sharing it with us – inspirational! All the best on your travels overseas, look forward to more blog instalments.
[PS: Thank you for your kind words about my old hometown Christchurch. Been very hard to see the changes but one day it will once again shine! The quake memorial has 185 empty chairs…]
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much! And glad you noted that error about the chairs, I will correct it.
LikeLiked by 1 person