At the centre

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I really do have some irrational fears...I'm happy to pack in my job in a recession to travel by myself around New Zealand and Australia, yet I'm terrified of, amongst other things, giant squid. Which live very, very deep at the bottom of the ocean. Anyway, at the National Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa in Wellington, last week I found myself at one of their temporary exhibitions: Colossal Squid. Which featured a dead giant squid on display. That I was fine with, but the exhibit also featured a 5 minute CGI film about the squid and its life. Which I had to walk out of, basically due to terror. An ANIMATED film. Too scary for me. Shocking, and yet I'll jump out of a plane.

Like I said last time, my initial impressions of Wellington were good, and I didn't change my opinion of it, though I did feel that perhaps they are toooo hard to be cool and trendy. Still, I expected a Canberra-type city, ie just government functions, but there is a lot more to it than that. The Botanic Gardens are very nice, and Te Papa can easily take up a day. Lots of good coffee places too, and unlike Auckland, it's actually possible to get a coffee into the evening.

I have now bid farewell to the North Island, and while I was not hugely tired after my journey from London to NZ, I felt like I'd crossed 9 time zones after arriving in Picton! I had a rather stressful journey to the port in Welly, thanks to my hotel-booked taxi not turning up, though I doubt that had anything to with it. But what I had heard was true, and it was very scenic crossing. I liked Picton too, despite the massive car ferries dominating the harbour.

I stayed in Blenheim for my first 2 nights on the South Island, in what has been (and I hope will be) the worst hostel I've experienced in NZ. I think in that area most hostels are for long-terms stayers working in the vineyards, so standards aren't too high. But the area was nice, and my wine bike by tour was a highlight, despite the behaviour of one vineyard owner. But I did manage to stay upright on the bike all day!

After Blenheim, I headed for Kaikoura to do the obligatory whale-watching trip, which became quite an adventure! On our way back to the marina, we got caught in a rather big storm, with massive hailstones and very big waves battering the boat! All a bit scary. Before then, we did get to see the sperm whales (well the top 10% of a whale anyway), though the whale in question let us all down by only diving back down in a shallow dive, so I missed the famous whale-fin picture so linked to Kaikoura. Still, the dolphins we also saw gave us plenty of entertainment.

I'm now in Nelson, and I'll fill in more in my next entry. What I will say for now is that my hostel here is possibly the best one I've ever stayed at. Very nice indeed- Accents on the Park. And free wi-fi too!

I'm now travelling with someone, a friend of my sister's from university, who's joining me for 3 weeks. After 4 weeks by myself, I found myself very adjusted to solo travel, and now sure I'm coping well with company. That, no doubt, will change.

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