all Kiwis celebrated our beloved Queen of England’s birthday last Monday. Sabrina and I used the public holiday to travel a little more around the country. Even though I had been on the Coromandel peninsula before, the trip was awesome. The most spectacular part of our trip was the sea-kayaking tour we did on Monday. A guide took us along the secluded coastline which had been granted the status of a Marine Reserve to protect the local fish population. This lead to a 1500%!!! increase in the fish population and a similarly amazing increase in “new” or returned species. The white sand cliffs offer nesting places for birds, and stingrays enjoy the calm and shallow waters in “Stingray Bay”, which is hardly accessible from land and thus perfect to aim for on a kayak trip like ours.

We also visited Hot Water Beach again missing the low tides by half an hour which meant that Sabrina could only stick her feet into the warm sand but not dig a hole to create her on “hot-tub”. We have to repeat that part the next time we are in that area which is only 2 hours from Auckland and thus in reach for a daytrip.

My thesis is growing as well, at the moment I am mostly busy writing down and deriving equations with my favourite “Word equation editor” Once I have the documentation for the code done, I will go back to Matlab and program it.

Sabrina just called me and told me about a Postgrad party downtown. You will understand that I have to go…

I don’t want to leave you without posting pictures of our Coromandel trip, though. I hope to talk to you soon,

Timm

Incredible conditions for an improving surfer family!!!

On the way back home, we drove past the Bridal Veil Falls again which I wanted to show to Sabrina. I am pretty tired now after driving for four hours and surfing for five… time for bed

Work is gradually showing results, although I am a little disappointed with my own progress. Research really takes a while to show improvements at times, and reading papers is not always helpful nor is it clarifying the matter if the authors just copied somebody else’s work…

However, I would never complain, but I’ll rather show you a nice and colourful picture of a possible future America’s Cup sail and some other recent shots from our weekend excursions:

Talk to you soon

Timm

Right now, I am situated at 3/73A Kupe St. in Orakei, Auckland. This is even closer to the beaches and in close reach of downtown Auckland and my office at the University. I am also getting familiar with the use of our manual Espresso maschine “La Pavona PL Professional” which has produced incredible espresso with an authentic dark “crema”.

My project is also going well, my sail analysis program is running and on its best way to being finished next week.
With Sabrina arriving on Saturday, May 10th, I will probably take a day off on the following Monday to show her the city and the most important places to go. Although the weather is more on the unstable side right now, I hope that we can use one day to drive to the West-Coast and enjoy the first bits of “The Great Outdoors” together.

I took some few pictures of my new house (living room) yesterday, that I posted above. There will be more pictures of the surrounding area and our balcony view soon, but our neighbours wifi-network that I am using right now is probably not going to carry all this traffic

I’ll get back to you later, have a nice weekend!!!

Timm

Irgendwie fühle ich mich in meiner Wohnung, bzw. in dem Haus nicht so richtig wohl. Hier gibt es JEDES Wochenende ein Saufgelage zu Tecno-Musik, danach Krach zwischen dem Mitbewohner und seiner Frau, wer denn wohl diese Woche mehr Geld mit nach Hause gebracht hat (das Ganze natürlich elegant und völlig besoffen unter den Augen des 15-jährigen Sohnes ausgetragen…). Dazu hält sich auch der Zustand der Küche sowie “meines” Badezimmers in Grenzen, leider musste ich letzte Woche 20 Minuten die Küche putzen, BEVOR ich sie benutzen konnte! Es hat ja hier sehr gut angefangen, das Haus ist super, mein Zimmer auch, leider stimmt das drum-herum nicht.

Naja, so weit so gut, ICH BIN DANN MAL WEG!!!

Hab mir heute zwei andere Häuser angeschaut, jetzt hab ich die Qual der Wahl. Entweder ziehe ich ein Haus, in dem ich einen eigenen Kamin im Zimmer habe und wohne mit einer Chilenin (Psychologin, 25) und einer Neuseeländerin (Modedesignerin, 26) in super Lage mit Blick auf die Pferderennbahn, ODER, ich ziehe wieder näher zum Strand in ein 6 Jahre junges Haus mit Terasse und sehr, sehr geilem Ausblick auf den Golf sowie die vorgelagerten Inseln, exklusiver Ausstattung inklusive Motorboot und wohne mit einem sehr netten deutschen Pärchen zusammen (und natürlich Sabrina). Ich glaube -kleiner Scherz am Rande- die $2000!!! manuelle Espresso-Maschine im Haus mit Boot gibt am Schluss den Ausschlag

Jetzt aber wieder zu den schönen Dingen im Leben, d.h. es geht auf englisch weiter:

After two missed chances to go to “Tiri Tiri Matangi” during the last couple of weeks, Julien, Leif and I finally made to this beautiful island, just an hour off the coast from Auckland. The whole island is a bird sanctuary and wildlife project for endangered bird species in New Zealand. Native trees have been replanted during the last decades and threatened species been reintroduced to the island, some of which can only be seen on this 220 hectar large island.

We met Isabell from Hamburg and took the tracks that lead along the island’s rugged coastline, only to see -and hear- hundreds of birds chirping and singing in the trees. By now, you wouldn’t expect otherwise, but I happened to get one or two good shots of the birds, see yourself. After a picknick on the black sand beach, we headed back through the bush toward the islands’ lighthouse on the southern tip. The failure of Isabells camera introduced a little tension into the atmosphere, but I think the nice weather and the birds made up for some of her disappointment.

With a biologist ariving here soon, I think I will go to that island again, hoping for another awesome day in the “Great Outdoors” of New Zealand.

Talk to you soon

Timm

We left Auckland on Friday morning at around 7am to drive south to Raglan. After having taken surfing lessons the weekend before, we wanted to improve our freshly gained skills on the water.

The waves were awesome for us newbies, although we definitely felt that some spirit had carried over from the week before to make us master those waves like surfchamps. The only problem was our physical condition. There is a reason all those surfers look like spending most of their time bodybuilding. Surfing is one of the most exhausting sports I have tried so far since their is no (wind)surf sail to help you out of the water once you have learned the trick of waterstarting. Paddling against and through the incoming swell is pretty discouraging at times when the waves carry you 20m back to the beach each time they hit you. Then, by the time you have made good those 20m, the next washes you back 25m. This is how Sisyphus must have felt like…

Surfing wasn’t enough for the day though, we had to stick to our plan to go to the Bridal Veil Falls close to Raglan, a beautiful waterfall of almost 60m (200ft) in height, plunging down into a pool of water underneath creating rainbows in the mist. We had a small picknick to prepare for another three hours of driving south to National Park, a small village close to the Tongariro National Park. The park holds the major volcanoes of Mt. Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings), and Mt. Ruapehu, the tallest of the three at almost 2800m (9300ft) ( the landscape of Mordor was filmed there). Our plan was to leave early on Saturday to climb Mt. Ruapehu by noon and be back at the car in the afternoon. The amazing 1200m climb took us about four and a half hours, mostly due to frequent stopping. We were enchanted by the views on this beautiful and clear day. We could see as far west as Mt. Taranaki on the West-coast, which is about 100km away, and an amazing volcanoe itself (like pretty much any other mountain on the North-Island ).

Mt. Ruapehu is an active volcano with the two biggest ski resorts on the North Island of New Zealand. It last erupted in 1995, when the Crater Lake was evaporated and blasted into the atmosphere in a huge explosion. Leftovers and traces from that eruption are still visible on the mountain, part of which is the dark layer of dust on top of the glacier which is several meters thick.

Towards the afternoon, the first clouds formed in the distance. This is common for the area, which is the reason why early morning hikes are recommended. We were back at the car around 3pm, leaving us with some time to relax and enjoy a cappuccino and a chocolate brownie on the premises of the ski resort. The drive to Taupo took us about an hour and a half, leading us through ever changing terrain from volcanic desert through fern woods and rainforest-like hilly areas on the Central Plateau to flat Plains closer to Lake Taupo, the caldera formed after one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in the younger history of our planet (26500 years ago with more than 1100km³!!! of ejected material). This eruption lead to the forming of a caldera because the amoung of ejected material caused the overlying mass to collapse and fill the gap. It is now a reasonably circular lake of about 50km in diameter which is world-famous for its trout-fishing and outdoor activities.

However, after a long day of hiking, we preferred the famous sport of “abzappeln” (dancing) in one of the Irish clubs in town refilling our lack of minerals with cooled, isotonic drinks made from hops

Our mineral balance was quickly reestablished which somewhat caused our sense of balance to be messed up in a strange way… thus, we allowed ourselves a good sleep-in the next morning to fully recover (from both our mineral overkill and hiking). The plan for the day said: Thermal Wonderland

We had thought the volcano would remain the highlight of the weekend, but soon we were convinced that the Thermal Wonderlands of Orakei and Waiotapu played in the same league as would Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove later on during our trip. I think in this case, the pictures speak for themselves. All colours of the rainbow, growling from the underground, boiling lakes of green and deep blue as well as yellow, geysers, craters without a bottom end, and rotten-egg-like smells from sulfuric acids diffusing out of the ground… I think that sums up the impressions we picked up in the parks between Taupo and Rotorua, our next stop.

Rotorua is situated on the edge of two lakes (roto = lake, rua = two in the indigenous Maori language), at least one of which is another caldera formed after a major eruption some thousand years ago. The earth’s crust is so thin in Rotorua that parts of the lakes beaches are steaming due the strong underground heat and hot-water springs. The city parks have public hot springs and hot mudpools that attract a lot of visitors. Nowadays, Rotorua is one of the most betravelled regions in New Zealand, due to the great outdoors in the area and the Thermal Wonderlands close by. It is also a very important region for Maori culture with several tribes living in the direct vicinity of the city. We visited the town of Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao (don’t even try…) to get to know the culture a little better (as far as that is possible in a touristic tour around their village…).

My beautiful van then drove us north along the Pacific Coast to the best hostel I have ever stayed in my entire life (YHA in Opoutere). Amazing views, birds chirping, library with fireplace, tranquillity and great facilities for 13€ a night!!!

Too bad we didn’t have time to stay longer as the fare for the night includes unlimited cayak rentals for the day in the lagoon in front of the door. Before driving back to Auckland on “todays’” Tuesday, we wanted to see Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach which are both situated on the Coromandel Peninsula facing the Pacific Ocean. Cathedral Cove was a 45 minute hike from the parking lot on top of the steep rocky coast going up 80m (270ft) from the water. Secluded beaches, white sand and crystal clear blue water make the place very special and famous for snorkeling, seekayaking and just chilling (guess what we preferred after four exertive days…). Pictures of me snorkeling and kayaking in the Pacific Ocean have to wait for the next time I am out on the Coromandel

However, a day without sports is not a good day. After renting a spade to make our own hot water pool at Hot Water Beach to relax a little more, we decided to rent surfboards for an hour and enjoy the Pacific swell. With the tides running out and easterly winds blowing towards the beach, the waves would have been more fun windsurfing, but not on a surfboard. Most of the time, we were washed back to the beach in the white water; and finally, we gave up…. for the day

If you made it this far through the post, you will soon find yourself in New Zealand. There is no necessity to rent accomodation, we have a spare bed

Timméh

After travelling for ‘one or two’ weeks throughout the US and A and having awesome times on the East Coast, in Houston and on the West Coast, it is time for me to get my life back on the working track. I spent the first couple of days walking around town and getting to know places while trying to memorize to first look right and then left when crossing a street. My first impression of New Zealand was great, I talked to many locals and had the chance to go to a rare concert on Waiheke Island (Hauraki Gulf) given by Monique Rhodes. It was so far out of the city that hardly any tourists had found their way there, making it a unique local Islander’s experience. After the first, I would again say ‘one or two’ New Zealand beers and an awesome performance, a local took me to a bar in Surfdale before taking the last ferry back into Auckland at 12:40am.

Spending six days in a hostel with clothes, laptop and all of stuff is definitely enough! That’s why I started to look for appartments and houses after a few days (I needed some time to find out which neighbourhoods I wouldn’t want to live in). The first one was a hit, but only as far as the location goes… 20m to the Pacific beaches, bus stops around the corner, shopping centre close by… BUT, the flatmate was, as diplomatic as can be, a ‘little different’. It took me about five seconds to figure that I would finish the tea he had offered me and head back to town to look for alternatives. It turned out, it wouldn’t be the last time to meet him…

Two days and multiple appointments later, I called Tony. Tony lives with his wife and his son (16 years old) at 14 Kaupa St., Meadowbank, Auckland. After talking to him on the phone, I decided to take the last train and drive to his place to have a look, not the worst decision I have so far made.

It turns out Tony lives in a very nice house only 3 minutes from the trainstation where the trains will take me downtown within 8 minutes and to my research facilities within 4 minutes.

It turns out, Tony has a nice room for me that, most importantly, Sabrina will be able to move in with me when she arrives in the VERY beginning of May.

It turns out, I will have my own bathroom, a place to parc my (future) car, my own fridge and lots of other fun things I can use with them, including a new home theatre system with automatic screen and projector.

To sum it up, an awesome place to stay. And not too expensive either, at least as soon as Sabrina has arrived to share the rent (450€ per month for the two of us). When I arrived, a French couple was living in the room I would move into. They have left last weekend since they started a different job a little further south and I could move into ‘my new room’.

To start with, I needed a new bed and a desk that I both bought on trademe, the NZ equivalent of ebay. I am also very happy to call myself the owner of a 1997 Nissan Prairie, an awesome van. I have already transported three bikes inside, three persons, a mattress, the bedframe and the slats at once. Almost feels like the ‘Joker’ except it’s not red nor does it have a VW sign up front

Last Monday, I also started to work at the Yacht Research Unit… Good stuff, and my motivation is increasing day by day. I reviewed and studied a lot of aerodynamic background that we didn’t learn in Stuttgart and I am starting to get the picture in which direction my project will be aiming. Yet, I have to take some pictures at the Twisted Flow Wind Tunnel with an America’s Cup boat model installed that we test on a daily basis.

On my first weekend with a car, Julien (from Belgium), Lief (from Sweden) and I went on two one day trips to the West Coast (Tasman Sea) and the East Coast (Pacific Coast). The weather is perfect for the outdoors although the sun is a little too strong during the day. Even SPF30 doesn’t protect you from sunburns, only long sleeves will help! Temperatures usually go up to 23°C (74F) during the day and down to 17°C (62F) during the night.

It is a little hard to get things done during the weekdays, as most shops (except for the big grocery stores) close at around 5pm or 6pm the latest. The atmosphere at work and in the general public is very relaxed, and the people are very interested in foreigners and very helpful. It has happened to me twice when I was walking along the street looking at a street map that people stopped for me asking if I were alright or needed some help to find the way. Robert from Auckland saved me from walking through the rain and gave me some very helpful tips on how to get along in this new city. After meeting at a boat club in South Auckland and talking for a while, he offered me to drive me to the next train station. During our conversation, he told me about his trip around the world and we got into a really nice chat. In general, people seem to be very open minded and they always greet you when you’re hiking or walking in parcs. I very much like that.

Before I write too much, I want to post some first pictures I have taken during my first days. As you can all imagine, I have taken -once again- ‘one or two’ pictures of which I will post some of the best.

I am looking forward to hearing from you soon and please feel free to comment and comment and comment…

Hei konā rā

Timm