New Zealand... In February we had a long vacation. With a short stop over in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) we flew all the way down under to New Zealand. Already the third day we climed the cone shaped volcanoe Ngauruhoe in the Tongariro National Park. This long day hike in best weather conditions was already one of the top highlights: The following days we drove to Napier, Mahia Peninsula, Gisborne and Rotorua, the best known geothermal area in New Zealand with the impressive Pohutu Geyser. A hike through an old 500m mining tunnel (with glow worms) and the nice landscape of Coromandel peninsula were some more highlights on North Island. The South Island trip we started in Christchurch and went to Lake Tekapo, the Moeraki Boulders and further south, where we saw some of the rare Yellow-Eyed Penguins: Then we crossed the island over the Haast Pass to the west coast. An owesome view was Lake Matheson mirroring the snowy mountains of the Southern Alps (Mt.Tasman and Mt.Cook) in the early morning hours: We took the chance of the great weather for an unforgetable helicopter flight over Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers: ... and Australia The last 10 days we spent on Kangaroo Island for hiking and animal watching and in Adelaide. Bicycle tour In June we did a 4 day bicycle tour of about 300km to Lausanne.

Balloon August 19th: At 06:30 we started to a 2 hour balloon trip. That peaceful flight was really a great experience! Engagement and civil marriage In May we got engaged and at September 1st was our civil marriage - the church wedding is planned for 2001. Honeymoon Our honeymoon we spent in Portugal, at the rugged Algarve coast: and in Lisboa, where every ride with an old tram is an adventure: Malta For some more sunny and warm days before winter time, we spent our last week of vacation in Malta. We especially liked the colorful fishing boats called "Luzzu", which the Maltese take loving care of: House building Besides all we bought a small piece of land and started to (let) build a house: We are looking forward to move in 2001 ! | Home |