So beautiful, it takes your breath away.........

Checking in from Christchurch on the 1st of November on the South Island were we landed after crossing the Cook Strait early this morning.

Getting up at 6 am wasn't exactly my cup of tea, to be honest. I am suffering a bit from insomnia lately, but then so is Rob. Probably due to the bouncy beds that make you jump whenever your spouse is only doing the slightest move, but most definitely also because I just can't put my mind at rest at night. We're experiencing so much, see so many insanely beautiful and exciting things, that it would take a braindead person not to be affected by it.

We're still going strong though, and were able to prove all the oh-so-brainy tourist guides wrong today who claim to know that the Cook Strait is almost always very rough waters and bumpy etc pp blabla................... it was as quiet as a duck pond. Absolutely no waves or anything like that.

However, we drove down Highway #1 after we arrived in Picton, and I can honestly say that this was the most beautiful drive we've done so far. The region around Kaikoura where we had a lunch break is just indescribable........ we took a lot of pictures, but seriously doubt that only one of them will actually be able to show the beauty of this country. I said exactly the same once after I met Michael Stipe, when I realised that no picture could ever mirror the blue of his eyes........ it's the same here. No matter how many pictures we take, none of them will truly mirror how turquoise the water is, how blue the sky, how green the meadows. It's just not possible to put so much beauty into digits or on celluloid. You have to see it with your own eyes.

Who would ever believe that you stop at some random place somewhere along the coast, to take some pictures of a brilliant spot, and suddenly find yourself surrounded by furry seals?! Who just happen to lie around there, not in the zoo, not fenced in, no! Just on the beach, on the rocks, 2 m away from you! And not only in this one particular spot, nope! They're just everywhere, wherever you stop, around Kaikoura! And the worst thing about New Zealand probably is that you at some point can't take all the wonders in anymore....... when we had taken pictures of a few seal colonies, Rob said at some point along the way „oh there is another one [colony]!“ - and I just went „oh yeah, another one.“ You can't help but get used to things you've never ever experienced before in your life, just because there are so many miracles happening here every day, that your brain literally forces you to format it, otherwise you wouldn't be ready for the next wonderous thing to be taken in. I can't explain it any other way.

We're now in Christchurch, only for one evening, because tomorrow we will go over the Arthurs Pass to the West Coast of the South Island. We've taken some pictures of what is left of Christchurch, which is very pittoresque and lovely, and some pictures of the damage that is still visible after the fatal earthquake of 4^th of September. I was kind of resistent to believe that there are still aftershocks now, but when we were having a pre-dinner Kilkenny at an Irish Pub, I was taught otherwise, as the barstools, the table and the building rattled for a few seconds just like when a tram goes by............... just that the tram had stopped going already at 4.40 pm. Yep, a little earthquake. No one else seem to take any notice, they're probably used to it meanwhile.

I can't really complain about food................ Wagamama twice in just 48 h isn't too bad at all, is it :D?

At any rate, I can't be bothered to figure out the internet, so this will have to wait another day, and then you guys get to read and see twice as much as usually!