Directly after we arrived at home from Great Barrier Island we went to Meadowbank Train Station to pick up Hilke, a Scout from Germany.

The next 2 days we went to Devonport to explore the Suburb and to go swimming and to eat finaly Fish and Chips. The other day we met us with Joe (a Scout from Kenya, who I met at the Jamboree) to go in the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The Museum was pretty good, but wasn't good as Te Papa in Wellington. Afterwards we ate some nice stuff.

 

The rest of the week I wrote blogs, sorted photos and Sunday I got picked up by Allan and Sue (3.guest family) to go with them to Holiday in Whangamata (Coromandel).

In Whangamata Allan and Sue have a house, which is 10 min to foot from the beach away.

So the next days we walked around the city, to the Wentworth Falls and I had three hard, tiring surf lessons at the beach. Especially the outpaddaling with the arms was exhausting, because I did no sport since 6 months. The rest of the week we relaxed, played games and enjoyed each other.

Friday Allan brought me to Kopu, where I got picked up from Heather and Blair.

We drove then to Taupo to my Grandmother Joan. We stayed until Monday in Taupo, in these days we walked to the Huka Falls, drove to the Aratiatia Dam to see the every 2 hours opening from the doors of the dam, then we went to Lava Glass and to L'arté Cafe & Gallery. The rest of the time I drove around with Joan's scooter.

Monday we drove back to Auckland.

These were my last to weeks of my Holidays! :( So far the Holidays have been the best time yet in the exchange!

Henning's Fact for the weeks:

In Germany, there's a specific word for analyzing and learning to live with the past, in particular the Holocaust: “Vergangenheitsbewaltigung.”

 

Henning's phrase for the weeks:

“You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

― Jon Kabat-Zinn