Made the drive to Wellington today. Before the trip, Wellington was the city I decided I'd live in if I had to choose a place in NZ to live. However, I'd just be driving through Wellington to get to the ferry this time. I've got plans to come back in a month.
Finding the ferry proved to be difficult for some reason. I was watching for signs, but somehow drove past the exit. I gave myself plenty of time, so I still made it with time to spare. Actually, I had to wait for about 45 minutes before they'd let us drive onto the ferry.
Lots of people recommended taking the ferry over for scenic reasons. I'd have gone without a car as it's substantially cheaper that way, but I was relocating a car to the south island, so I didn't have a choice. I preferred having the car, though, and relocations are free.
Once I parked the car below, I went up to wait out the three hour tour... I mean, three hour trip on one of the passenger decks. The views were great and you could see the stadium where New Zealand was playing England in a Cricket World Cup match, a match New Zealand would completely dominate.
At the end of the trip, while standing in the front of the boat watching as we entered the harbor, I heard an American accent behind me. Having not heard that in person yet on the trip, I turned and asked the two girls about it. They were from Boston. It was a surprisingly welcome treat. We talked for about 20 minutes about what we were doing here, then parted ways. They are here as part of a university course.
Once we got off the boat, I rushed to check in at the campground, which I'm grateful to have done. The place was booking up quickly. I then walked to the awesome town of Picton to find food. It was while walking around that I found the two girls from the ferry looking for food options as well. I walked with them for a bit, then split off to cross the street and eat at a pizza place. They ended up coming over, eating there too, and inviting me to join them at their table. Jess, and Ellie had been on the ship before. Now their colleague Jenny was there and Olivia whom they’d just met at their hostel. So we ate, and then walked around town for a bit. It was great to hang out with people. Good times.
Finding the ferry proved to be difficult for some reason. I was watching for signs, but somehow drove past the exit. I gave myself plenty of time, so I still made it with time to spare. Actually, I had to wait for about 45 minutes before they'd let us drive onto the ferry.
Lots of people recommended taking the ferry over for scenic reasons. I'd have gone without a car as it's substantially cheaper that way, but I was relocating a car to the south island, so I didn't have a choice. I preferred having the car, though, and relocations are free.
Once I parked the car below, I went up to wait out the three hour tour... I mean, three hour trip on one of the passenger decks. The views were great and you could see the stadium where New Zealand was playing England in a Cricket World Cup match, a match New Zealand would completely dominate.
At the end of the trip, while standing in the front of the boat watching as we entered the harbor, I heard an American accent behind me. Having not heard that in person yet on the trip, I turned and asked the two girls about it. They were from Boston. It was a surprisingly welcome treat. We talked for about 20 minutes about what we were doing here, then parted ways. They are here as part of a university course.
Once we got off the boat, I rushed to check in at the campground, which I'm grateful to have done. The place was booking up quickly. I then walked to the awesome town of Picton to find food. It was while walking around that I found the two girls from the ferry looking for food options as well. I walked with them for a bit, then split off to cross the street and eat at a pizza place. They ended up coming over, eating there too, and inviting me to join them at their table. Jess, and Ellie had been on the ship before. Now their colleague Jenny was there and Olivia whom they’d just met at their hostel. So we ate, and then walked around town for a bit. It was great to hang out with people. Good times.