I’m lucky! I have great weather! I’m in great mood! I’m outdoors! I’m healthy & fit!

I’m surrounded by so friendly people!

I’m happy!!!

People here in New Zealand are so friendly. They always smile at me, offer their help, invite me over for dinner, buy me a drink, offer me a place to stay, share favourite cycling trails, hook me up with other cyclists….and I’m only one week in the country. If it were Jayne & Graham where I stayed in Auckland or Maria from warmshowers.org who opened her house to let me stay for a night, giving me a little sightseeing tour into town & introduced so yummy 2 ingredient banana chocolate ice cream. But there is also Chris who stopped me on the street, telling me about his cycling dream and offering me a warmshowers stay in Hamilton. And there were Sioux & John in Whakamaru who offered me to stay in their campervan, for free too…could this happen in Germany?

Let me introduce my new friend! “Jake the Snake”…we will be riding for the next 5 weeks from north to south and we get along quite well!

You cycled 400km & 2800m ascent with me and all the bags on you! Not easy but you made it. We had some starting problems as you wanted to go on the tour with click padales. I never rode a bike with clicks so that was/is new to me. I tend to forget to click myself out of the padales and gravity does the rest 😉

This is why I’m here! Nature is getting nicer and nicer every day, which is good! Waking up with sore muscles, slightly tired and not having such nice nature around me – would be more difficult and challenging!

Now after 5 days I arrived Taupo where the 70th Ironman is been held. Danielle who I met in a hostel in Cambodia is here for some months and participates. Great to be around and watch her swimming 3.8km, cycling 180km and running 42km. CRAZY!!!