After Christchurch, I got a ride from an English woman named Susan to Kaikoura, a little beach town. It was a cloudy day when we arrived, but the next day was sunny. I knew I had to get moving back up to the south island, so I headed up to Blenheim pretty quickly, stopping there one day to take in a wine tour. I ended up on a tour with three older couples, which was pleasant, because they knew what they wanted to try, and I had no ideas. So I tagged along and had a really good time. The next morning I caught a bus to Picton and took the ferry back across to Wellington. On my previous ferry trip, the sea had been very calm. This time, it was pretty rough, and we had a good two hours of up and down. I don't get seasick, but it was still distracting. Too bad because I met this friendly Canadian woman and she wanted to have a good conversation--as did I--but I needed to just close my eyes after a while because the motion was getting to me.
I still like Wellington. Not that I have really seen a whole lot of it, it just has a nice feel to it for me. Today I am renting a car and going to head north. I don't even have two weeks left in New Zealand, which is hard to believe. I have been trying to plan my 10 days in Australia, and it sounds like I will only get a small taste in such a short time. Looking at the size difference between NZ and Australia, and given how much I won't be seeing in New Zealand, I can imagine I won't be able to do too much in Australia. Hopefully it will be a good taste, though.
Off to pack up my things, once again!
