Nov 18 - Ferry and Highlander

7 AM is when we had to be outside to be picked up by the shuttle bus that took people to the interislander ferry. So well before 8 AM we were checked in and seated aboard the massive ferry ship that departed the Wellington port at 8:30 AM. The ride was relatively smooth, at least as compared to the sailboat in the Whitsundays and the ferry to Magnetic Island. We had 2 options of tv channels in our seating area, one of which played infomercials and the other had shows for children. So after a good while of mindless kids shows, we switched to channel 2, which had finished its infomercial run and we now got to enjoy the wonderful programming that is Dr. Oz. The ferry took about 3 hours to get across to the south island of New Zealand and we got off at the port of Picton. We had to wait for our luggage just like a flight and then we tossed it on the Magic bus that was waiting for us and off we went, southwards to Nelson.

Along the way, the bus stopped at a winery where a bunch of passengers did a wine tasting (including B) but I'm not much for wine, so I opted for fudge tasting at the chocolate factory next door and then bought a nice square of rolo fudge. Back on the bus and our driver (who looked eerily like Joel Samoleski but about 50 pounds heavier) took us into Nelson and off we got at the YHA. Checking in here, we were displeased to find out our previous Magic driver had booked us to arrive a day later, and the 7 bed dorm at $22/night applies to the one room they have with 7 beds in it. So we had to take a 5 bed dorm at $28/night (and that's after our 10% YHA member discount). Scams. A little city with not much to do and we have to pay more than Wellington or Auckland, where there actually were tourist attractions. Alas, we tossed our stuff in the room and joined up with our traveling buddies to go grocery shopping. As soon as we got back we ate dinner, as traveling all day had made us all quite hungry. B and myself enjoyed a hot BBQ chicken, fresh buns, corn on the cob (that was individually vacuum-packed and pre-cooked), Uncle Ben's rice, chocolate milk, and Teddy Graham type cookies for dessert. It was like a real meal at home. It's usually so much work to put together a real meal (with limited time in each place and thus limited groceries and small kitchens usually without ovens, etc.) so this hit the spot without being overly difficult. Hung out for awhile after in the lounge area that had a piano, which Dan could play surprisingly well. Then we picked out a movie to view in the mini cinema. The screening tonight was Highlander. What a weird, awful, bizarre, yet entertaining movie. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!! Oh, and we booked a bus up to Abel Tasman National Park for tomorrow, where we'll do a 1/2 day hike through forest and lots of nice beaches. The weather is supposed to be sunny and relatively hot, so might get to test out the NZ ocean water for the first time!