No matter how many times I did it, I could never get used to waking up at 7am, and this day was no exception. Another great feature of the YHA Wellington is that they have a daily food special throughout the week. And Monday just happened to be free bagel breakfast day (with spreads) - yay free breakfast! I was in the middle of my 2nd bagel when I realized I should probably head outside to see if the shuttle bus to the ferry port had arrived yet, only to find out they were almost done loading(!), so I was quite lucky.
The ferry ride ain't short either; about 3 hours. After checking in my bag (sort of like at an airport) and finally getting on the boat, I was glad to grab a quick nap (they had a room with very comfy recliners)...of course, not without taking a some photos first during the "scenic" portion of the trip (a large portion of the trip across the Cook Strait, which runs between the 2 islands, is obviously just water). It was surprisingly really windy at the upper outdoor deck; some people even had trouble walking against the wind. And it was really cloudy too - I've adjusted the photos so it's not as grey and dark as it actually was. It was interesting to see that there were these small fisheries in seemingly random, isolated locations along the route.
Now in Picton, a bunch of us that had been travelling on the same bus together in the North Island sat around waiting for the Magic Bus to pick us up, not really knowing what to expect next. It didn't get off to the best start either: the bus was a little late, then after the people getting off at Picton were dropped off, the driver took the bus back somewhere into town to get another bus from the bus depot (as we just continued to sit there haha). And when it finally returned, it turned out there were more of us on the bus that day than it could accommodate, leaving a few having to volunteer to ride the Intercity bus to Nelson (one of several regular bus companies in NZ), which sucked for them because they'd miss out on the stops the Magic Bus makes along the way to Nelson. But after the little hiccup (and a couple of us commenting how much comfier and roomier - there's more people travelling around in the South Island than the North...for a reason - the bus was in the North Island), I could tell things would get better soon. I got lucky again and could tell I got a pretty cool driver, Richie, who seemed entertaining and pretty laid back too.
Along the way to Nelson, we made a stop first at a winery (as the area around Nelson is one of a few spots in NZ known for wine), where we did some wine tasting - 4 different wines for $1 NZD! Wasn't bad, probably about half a cup of wine in total, but it was only a buck. The wine was okay, but I ended up stopping by the neighbouring fudge store, which I enjoyed a lot more hahaha.
Passing by the vineyards. I apologize for the colouring in the first photo being really off, I had to edit it because it was actually really dark and grey outside and it's the best I could do with a quick edit.
Wine tasting.
Outside the wine shop.
Fudge! It was a bit expensive, but how often do I get to eat homemade fudge? (Rarely) The one on the left is ginger (I wanted to try something different) and I don't remember what the one on the right is, but I think it had something to do with white chocolate. What I do remember is they were both really good, especially the one on the right (and yet I can't remember its flavour!) - it was actually the last piece of that flavour when I bought it.
When we got into Nelson, the weather was a lot better. I chose to stay at another hostel not on the Magic Bus list, Accents on the Park, which I think was a great choice (even though I was the only one on the bus that stayed there). It was a really nice hostel (nice decor, clean, and surprisingly no bugs inside!), not crowded, and yet another surprising freebie, 1 hour of free wifi per day (I know it's not much but it's something!). After getting settled, I headed out to have a look around. Unfortunately, just another small town. I couldn't find a place to eat (that I wanted to eat at), so I ended up just dropping by the supermarket to pick up a few things, and then I found a Chinese restaurant where I picked up some take-out (which actually wasn't too bad). I don't know why, but I didn't expect to find a Chinese restaurant here.
The hostel, and the view from the balcony on the 2nd floor. The hostel felt very homey.
A former masonic temple near the hostel...how often do you see one of those?
Then I got another pleasant surprise that night. It was a 6-bed dorm, but no one else showed up in my room as night approached. So I ended up getting a private room for the price of a 6-bed dorm! A little privacy is never a bad thing! So it wasn't the most exciting day, mostly just a day of travel, but I had a feeling it'd get a lot better soon.
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