We bid goodbye to our friendly Fawlty Towers, after they have of course 'accidentally' overcharged us and 'accidentally' tried to rip us off. We have a long way to drive today. I say we - I'm doing the driving and Tony is playing the music and navigating. It's a good job really, as the one time he didn't direct me i took the wrong turn. We call in Featherston on the way down, the hometown of my Kiwi mate Craig - alas i blink and so miss it - only teasing Craig :-)
It's late afternoon when we arrive in Wellington, The Breeze is on the radio - a very aptly named station, we discover what traffic is again and try and find somewhere to park where we won't get a ticket. It's only on a vertigo inducing hill that we find a space - no one else would dare (or be stupid enough) to park there i think. We've heard many good things about Wellington, but our half-a-day doesn't allow us to see any of these. i know I'll be back, so I'll reserve judgement until then and hopefully discover this 'happening' city. In the morning we discover we've got a parking ticket...
We have an early morning ferry over to Picton on the south island. It's a smooth crossing and the 3 hours go really quickly with coffees, muffins and broadcast from the crew that whales are on the starboard side. I'm excited to be in the south island. It's like that initial buzz from being in a new country. It's a short drive to Nelson, our home for two nights, so we stop in a winery and enjoy the sunshine, a glass of Marlborough Sav Blanc with breads and dips. Travelling is just so tiring.
Nelson is a lovely little town. It has some very strange architecture, and some very nice restaurants and hostels. The whole place has a good feel to it - our 2 nights pass very quickly.
