God I had a crap nights sleep! Wellington is noisy and I think subconsciously I was worried about getting up on time this morning! But I got up just after 6am as planned. It was dark and raining. I was also worried about waking everyone else in the room up, although I don't know why, it's not like I'll ever see them again! I'd left my bags on the bed post and my clothes and shoes ready to go at the end of my bed. I was very burglar-esque in my movements and managed to get out without waking anyone. Definitely harder than it looks though - hanging off the ladder trying to find floor space to stand on and not someone's bag etc. I took all my stuff to the bathrooms to get ready and then went down to check out. That wasn't so bad I guess. I had a bit of a chat with one girl who came in not long after I'd gone to bed, she was Argentinian and quite nice.
So I left to go to my car in the rain, on a mission to find the ferry terminal. It was shortly after leaving, that I really realised I don't like Wellington. I got lost, again. Thankfully, at 6.30am on a Saturday morning, there wasn't much traffic so I could undertake my u-turns at my leisure. A 2 minute journey took me 15. Don't ask me how but I was done with Wellington! I was at the ferry terminal to check in 15 minutes early but the time went pretty quick waiting in the car. We'd boarded by about 7.50 and on the way by 8. It's a shame the weather is so s*** as you can't really see anything. It gave me a chance to re-organise my plans though to see if I could fit in with Shane and Krish. That's the beauty of having no plans set in stone for New Zealand and I'm so glad I did it this way. Plus you have a bit of excitement in not knowing where you will be each day. Shane and Krish have booked their route as they needed to book on the bus their on so I know where they're going to be, so just need to fit in if I can. I came up with an ingenious plan too which should accommodate everything!
The ferry trip was nice once it stopped raining. I went up to the observation deck and sat outside. When we were called down to our cars, the gay colour of mine made it easy to spot! We drove off and once again, I was on my way! Had another incident at a petrol station too - I didn't realise they have people to fill up your car - by the time I got out the car a guy had the pump in and ready to go. I gave him a wtf look and he explained! We had a chat and I went in a paid! Very bizarre!
So on I drove to Christchurch. The coastal road was beautiful, as we're the mountains through Marlborough. The leaves are just turning as its autumn, really pretty in places. I was staying with Gareth tonight and he told me to stop and look for seals of the way down. So I stopped once or twice and yes, there were the seals on the rocks! Just there right by the road. The drive along the coast was amazing but once I got in land a bit I started to get really tired. But the roads were so windy that I had to concentrate! Gareth was at footy so I waited in a town nearby, Paiahoi, by some lakes. These were beautiful but it didn't stop me having a sleep in a lay by! Power naps are the way forward! I had about half an hour before Gareth was ready and I met him in a pub before heading back to his. His girlfriend was there and we had barbecued steak for dinner and etched a DVD and chilled. We were gonna be going out but I was tired from driving and he was tired from football. So we were all happy to chill! Then it was one more sleep before I get to see my favourite little Kiwi, Jade, on her farm! So excited!!.....