From South Island to Mt Taranaki

Hello Everybody - it's been a while!
Well, so here is our first blog in English and there is quite a lot too tell about! After leaving our first tramp Wiebke unfortunately had some problems with her achilles tendon so we had to delay our next tramp for a while. We, nevertheless, had a great time. We especially enjoyed an overnight stay in Riverton where we had a deluxe meal after our instant food days in the tramp. I can't tell you how good that steak and seafood tasted... I think I found my new favorite dish: suf and turf (steak and seafood).
After that it was back to Dunedin to get Wiebke a new Surfboard, because the old one had been successfully sold by the Kiwi equivalent to Ebay - trade me (thanks again Holger, Claudia, Hannah and Max!). So we went to the only real place to get a board in Dunedin: Quarry Beach and got VB a real nice 6'9 - and off we were to the Catlins. This a really remote but beautiful area south of Dunedin with pristine beaches, lots of maritime sealife and very COLD water. We spent a few days there, catching some waves in places like Purakanui and Porpoise Bay - freezing our a.... of! We also had another great Dolphin experience at Curio Bay, where the beautiful and playfull hector's dolphins come right up to the beach and surf in the waves (a lot better than we do). Down there we also found one of the nicest DOC Campgrounds around in Papatowai (That's the one Jeff and Di!), where we had a great but late Dinner with Holger and Max the Grillmeister. Then our last night ion Dunedin approached, beginning with a stunning game of Rugby, where the Highlanders (Hey Ho) smashed the RSA Stormers. Great experience, but not really sport. The Evening was topped off with a great Dinner at the Harmsens with a Sauerkraut and Bratwurst Dinner.
Finally leaving Dunedin for some lovely Rainforest in Pukaiki but deciding to leave the South Island for warmer weather and water - heading out to Picton and arriving in Wellington. Welly was nice (did the famous Te Papa Museum) but got tired of city life quickly, so we headed towards Mt. Taranaki and Surfhighway 45.
By accident we put up our little tent at the Cape Egmont Boat Club (Next to the famous Surfbreag Stent Road), where, lucky us we bumped in to one of our most special Kiwi experience yet - Heeps of lovely people! To begin with there was Craig, whom I (illegaly but unknowing) wanted to buy a Crayfish from, who invited us to dinner instead, where we met Jeff and Di, preparing the most gorgeous crayfish and paua (abalone) dinner (tea, as the they say here) you could imagine! This was our introduction to society of Cape Egmont and we met many more very lovely and generous people, Norm and the great cook Ginni, Dave and Glenda, Gary and Mary (and their boss), just to name a few! We had a wonderfull time down there, hitting the breaks, Wiebke, eventually, after some starting difficulties, falling in love with her new surfboard! After a few days of beach life we headed for the ever present Mt Taranaki (2514m), to circle and climb it, this beeing our second tramp. Unfortunately we didn't meet Craig and his mate up there, but he did it anyways and now he is hooked on to climbing that Mountain again and cooking up some steak on top - crazy people?! Luckily Wiebkes foot did just fine, it must have been the paua and crayfish, they were feeding us on in Cape Egmont...
Well, that should be it for right now, we are about to leave this beautiful spot and its people but be sure us coming back or meeeting U all in some other place of this sometimes so small world! Pics will be in on the next occasion,

t & w