My second stop during the world travel was New Zealand. It was more stop over than discovering the country. I was in NZ about 15 years ago visiting both islands. This time I decided to visit my niece Mateja and her family. They are living on the east coast of the north island in Hawke’s bay region in the small town called Clive. The region is known for its beaches, rivers, wineries, and ideal terrains for biking.

As it was early spring the weather was inconsistent, changing from hour to hour. Sunny hours were interrupted by showers. Despite that, we managed to do a trek to Te Mata peak (399m), which was easy to reach. In some parts, the path was covered with fossils of shells. The views from the top were magnificent where you could see beautiful long beaches.

I made two bike tours, both around 50km long. The paths lead you along the coast and through many natural sceneries where all kinds of birds found their breeding home. I was overwhelmed by elegant black swans and so-called pukeko birds. These birds have blue bellies and red beaks. They are very shy, bad flyers, and run very clumsy.

During one bike trip, a herd of black bulls stood in my way. I am not afraid of animals, but they were really big! When I approached them they slowly started to get off the road. You can imagine the relief I felt!

Time passed too quickly and I had to say goodbye to Mateja, her husband Matija, her very intelligent son Matjaž and adorable little Neli. I must not forget to mention their dog Nia, who became a very good friend of mine.

See you in Slovenia for a good breakfast.