Day 3: Wellington to Picton

We woke around 6:30 and started to pack up. It had rained all night, so Andy carefully packed up the tent into a trash bag to keep the rest of our stuff dry.  We hit the road around 7:30 with Anthony behind the wheel while the girls napped in back.  We stopped at a cafe about an hour later for some coffee and some kind of egg and bacon puff pastry.  With warmth and full stomachs we got back on the road.  Brit drove the second half of our four hour ride while Anthony and Andy played cards in back. Our goal was to reach Wellington around noon so that we could get a ferry ticket for the evening and have time to get lunch and check out the town before departing.

The ride to Wellington was pretty, we went from mountains to the ocean and back to the mountains again. We arrived in Wellington around 12:30, we stopped by the ferry terminal to buy tickets for the 5pm ferry and then we set off to explore the city. We found a brewery that was recommended to us, and we were able to sit outside and enjoy beer and good food. We had access to wifi for the first time in awhile and we were a bit distracted by it at the start. After our meal Kendra, Anthony and Andy got up to check out a piano and Brit was left sitting at the table alone with all of the plates. No sooner had they left when seagulls saw a chance to get some food….Brit flew from the table faster than the birds attacked, as Andy turned quickly with the GoPro to capture the action.  We howled with laughter as the waitstaff hustled out with a squirt gun and fired on the flock.  Although Brit was once again scarred by an interaction with birds, the rest of us really enjoyed the moment.  After our meal we explored a playground that was people powered and carnivalesque.  Kids were riding bikes hard in order to make the rides run, and it was clear they didn't fully grasp the energy and work it took to make the playground fun.  Perhaps we should bring it back to the states!  We then went to the Te Papa Museum which had amazing giant-sized sculptures that appeared lifelike. They were 2.4 times the human scale, and they were crazy good.  We gave ourselves an hour after to stock up on groceries and then made our way back to get in line for the ferry.

The ferry ride to Picton and the South Island lasted about 3.5 hours.  The entire ride our view was incredible.  We went back and forth between looking at the view in the cold wind outside and sitting inside watching Friends on the tv provided.  Our hostel was located right off the dock, and so it was easy to find at the end of the ride. We made some sandwiches and had a late dinner, we are playing a little cards and then heading to bed.

Tomorrow we are hiking the Queen Charlotte Track. This hike, along with our hike in Sweden, is listed as one of the 10 most beautiful hikes in the world.