Picton and Wellington

Oh the rain.  It has been following us for what feels like forever.  We arrived into Picton later than desired because we decided to take the scenic route at dusk, which meant that most of the drive was in the dark.  And it was a treacherous windy road through the mountains.  In the rain.  Not a good idea.
While at the hostel making dinner (leftover stir fry and peanut butter toast) we met a couple from the UK.  They have been in NZ for months now.  For the first 6 weeks they bicycled around the North Island with bikes they brought over on the plane.  Then they hired a car on the South Island and did the touristy things.  Next they are heading onto Southeast Asia for a little bit before getting married in Ireland in September.  It was fun talking with them.

The morning brought high winds and lots of rain.  Not a great day for sailing.  We hung out in the hostel until it was time to return our rental car and board the ferry (there isn't much to do in Picton on a good day and we didn't want to be cold and wet for the ferry).  The ship was like a mini cruise ship with a cafeteria, bar, family area, and reclining chair lounges.  Better than any "ferry" I've taken in the US, but also more expensive than any ferry in the US.  It took about 3 hours to get across the strait.

Once in Wellington we took a shuttle to the train station and a bus to the hostel.  A short trip to the grocery store and an hour later we were making spinach raviolis and chicken tortellinis in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce.  In our room we chatted with Kelly, a U of Tenn  graduate who spent the last 3 months working in Australia.  She is traveling around NZ for a few weeks before heading to Thailand and then back home.

Wednesday morning brought more rain.  Ugh will it ever stop raining?  That's okay cause today we are going to see Te Papa, the amazing free museum just up the road from us.  It not only is free, but it has free luggage storage, free wifi, an earthquake house which really shakes, and tons of technology to complement the exhibits.  It definitely lived up to the hype we've heard about it from the people we've met on our travels.

Lunch was leftover pasta and then we hired a car and headed to Napier.
And remember: