I have to admit the rest days passed by quicker than expected. Since I had also hoped for the entire time that I would go back on the trail the next day I did not make any plans or organised long-term things. But it took way longer than expected – I actually was off the trail for nine days now!
So what did I do? I ate a lot of food, enjoyed breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Katie gave me a free city tours on two days and took me to a fabulous place in the west of Auckland with an amazing view over the city!
I still refused to eat anything with muesli on my days off!
I also visited the Auckland Zoo and finally saw Kiwis. They are a lot bigger than I remembered them. And I also had encounters with the Kea again. After our experiences and all the stories I was very cautious with my belongings in their presence…
And look, Scrat was also there!
On Saturday Sarah and I went out for breakfast on Takapuna Beach and also explored the area a little bit. What a beautiful spot! Since I will walk through all these places on the trail later – no pictures yet. Sorry ?
In the evening we were invited at Wayne’s & Anne’s place and had a fabulous dinner and a great evening. Thanks for having me over and feeding me. I will come back!
Maja and I caught up in the city for a brunch. I managed to become friends with the guy from the organic sausage place when I gave him lots of tips for his upcoming trip to Frankfurt. Send him to the “Atschel” to get Schäufelscher. I hope he likes it ? And he used me as his model for his Facebook promotion. Telling you – I will become a real star in NZ if it continues…
Sarah and I went out to see the movie Sherpa. Really good one and I liked it better than the Everest movie which came out last year. It’s amazing – whenever I do see Everest I can feel my heartbeat going up. That is not a good sign ?
Well, Sarah and I had a great time together chatting (and enjoying the one or other bottle of Pinot Noir from Mr. Schubert’s vineyard) through most of the nights. Thank you so much again for hosting me and all the deep discussions and uncountable laughs we had! THANK YOU!!!
Although I am sure that it’s better for our both health to have a short break now. Wine, food, late night cheese and chocolate and permanent lack of sleep would have been a fun but probably deadly cocktail if for much longer consumed by us… ?
But I am so much looking forward to continue when I am back in Auckland again! Make sure you get enough sleep the next days so you are fit again – the crazy German is on his way again!
On Monday was Anzac Day (very important in NZ & AU!) and a public holiday. More breakfast since we didn’t manage to get up for the parade and since we had fun at the movies we decided to go again. We decided on Phoenix and rushed to the cinema to find out we had messed it up and ended up in be wrong place. So another sprint to the right one and with this cut out all the commercials and trailers and just made it on time. And then – it was a German movie with English subtitles. What a laugh! I have to fly to the other end of the world to watch a German movie in the theatre ? But what a good movie and with my favourite ex-inspector from the German TV show “Tatort” – Nina Kunzendorf.
The unfortunate thing is, despite my resting and feeding I am still limping and my ankle is maybe 60-70% ok. It had gotten better every day by 10% but now the progress has flattened out. Pain while walking on stable ground is limited but I am still limping since there seems to be tension in one of the ligaments on the back. But I couldn’t wait any longer.
Even though being the most relaxed guy on earth now – everybody that knows me can tell how difficult it is for me to sit still and not doing anything. I started reading the success story of the All Blacks transformation into a successful team again – highly recommended! But I was craving to walk again…
So I decided to set off on Tuesday and give it a try.
Bye bye Auckland for now and thanks for the great time! I will be back soon…
Scrat ist ein Eichhörnchen, kein Erdmännchen!
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