Before I go to bed I open door of my camper to look outside. It’s super cold outside, but the view is totally worth it. I haven’t seen so many stars in years. The whole sky is filled with millions of stars, a lovely view. When you live in a city, you can sometimes easily forget that there are so many stars in the sky.

When I wake up in the morning, it’s raining. I decide to stay inside for a while and watch a movie. Then it gets dry for a moment and I go outside for a hike. It’s just after only a couple of minutes that it starts to rain again. I don’t mind and am happy with my waterproof jacket that I bought a couple of months the ago. The nice thing about the rain is that I’m quite certain I’m the only one in the woods and that makes the morning walk even more special. I walk to Rivendell where they recorded the elf kingdom in the first movie of the Lord of the Rings. After visiting Hobbiton two days ago I decided to visit more places of the movies and that actually brings me to really beautiful nature. Next to Rivendell is a big swing bridge over the river, also nice to walk on. Then I walk back to my camper to have breakfast.

Last night I thought I would stay here for two days, but it keeps raining and the park ranger tells me it will rain in the whole country and that it’s a good day for driving. I continue my road trip to Wellington. The big windy city is nice, but after being in nature for almost a week it’s not really appealing to me. I drive to the warf to see when the ferries to South Island depart. I first go to Interislander, but that one is fully booked and the next available boat would be at eight o’clock tonight. I don’t want to do the cross over in the dark, because you cannot see anything then and I drive to Bluebridge. As happens more often, I’m very lucky and their next ferry leaves in half an hour and has a place available for me and my car. I buy a ticket and drive my car on the ferry. I had not expected to go the South Island so soon in this adventure, but it’s a nice surprise. I’ve heard so many stories about the beautiful nature on the South Island, so I’m very excited.

Traveling by ferry is quite a bit less comfortable than I hoped for. The waves are high and the boat moves all around. I’m not feeling so well and go outside for a while. The fresh air helps and when I get back inside I sleep for a moment. I think the waves make you sleepy, because many people are sleeping in their seats. When I open my eyes again we’re slowly moving into some of the first bays of the South Island. We still have quite a while to go before we’re there, but there are no waves anymore. I feel better again. The first view of the South Island is very pretty, many hills covered with trees.

By the time we arrive at the South Island it’s almost getting dark and I’m pretty tired from the boat ride, the bad weather and everything. I decide not to drive too far and stop when I see a motel. I ask if they have a room available, but they don’t. Though, for ten dollars I can park there and use the kitchen and bathroom and toilet. For a few bucks more I can also use their fast internet and so all my needs for today are covered. This evening I’m really tired of traveling and wish for a moment I was back home in my own bed. Those days are part of traveling as well, you just miss being comfortable sometimes. I decide to watch a movie and relax. I hope tomorrow will be a better day again.