This report’s podcast is only available in german: 18.690 km Away From Home.

We still have more than a week before our ferry leaves for the North Island – and we’re using it for an extended loop via the Rainbow Road and Molesworth Route. It’s a spectacular detour through empty uninhabited mountainous terrain, through barren wide valleys, along rushing turquoise rivers, over short but very steep passes and all this in the midst of violent gusts of wind from all directions. Not only the landscape, but also the quality of the gravel roads reminds us of Central Asia. In the south of the North Island, at an inconspicuous crossroads, we reach the point on our tour that is furthest from our starting point at Karlsruhe Palace – so from now on, we are basically heading back home! Apart from that, one thing in particular has kept us busy on the North Island so far: rain. In the 10 days since the ferry crossing, we have hardly seen the sun, and packing up the tent wet has become the norm. But luckily for us, New Zealand hospitality has not let us down.

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We are going to get on our bicycles once again and further collect kilometers :-)

See you again soon!