New Zealand

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We needed to be at the ferry port just before noon so we had a lazy morning and decided not to bother going into Wellington to look around as it was really cold and wet.

Both of us forgot Matt’s affinity to seasickness and I cooked up a feast for lunch while we waited in the queue to get on the ferry. It was only after he’d eaten that Matt remembered that eating could prove a mistake.

We got on board the ferry and went straight upstairs onto the outside deck. Matt debated whether he should try to stay outside for the whole three and a half hour journey so that he could be sick over the side (nothing like a positive mental attitude!) It was so bitter cold; I wished I’d brought the hat and gloves we’d bought to do the Tonagario Crossing. Quickly we realised it was too cold to stay outside so went inside to the café instead.

I got a coffee - everywhere here has soya milk, it’s such a novelty! - and we sat down so that I could do some more route planning. I kept checking Matt at intervals to see how he was doing - surprisingly for the first time ever he managed the whole journey without so much as a yawn! We’re going to buy masses of the ‘Sealegs’ tablets that he’s been taking out here as he hasn’t been sick on any boat trips since he started taking them!

The journey turned out to be more like four hours. Matt was convinced they added an extra twenty minutes so that they could finish showing the Oceans 13 movie in the lounge as if we’d got in on time we’d have missed the end.

It was already after 5pm when we disembarked, so we got stuck straight into the journey to Nelson. It actually only took about two and a half hours in the end and we cruised past some beautiful wineries on the way.

We arrived at the Lane’s house a bit later than expected so Clive and Abigail were already home (Abigail had been taking part in a mask parade as part of the arts festival). As none of us had eaten we nipped into town to get a take away and ended up at a Turkish kebab place which was one of their favourites. Clive kindly insisted on buying ours despite us arguing. Instead of a pitta, the kebabs came in tortillas and they were wrapped up with foil making them so much easier to eat than the kebabs back home, although eating a kebab is always a messy business.

As we were finishing our meals, Lynette and Isobel appeared. They’d been to a school fashion show and looked pleased to have finally escaped!

We all headed back to their house and spent the evening chatting about the differences between the UK and NZ. It was our first real insight into what life is like growing up in NZ and it was a really refreshing change to see young people who aren’t obsessed with tv, games consoles and brand names like in the UK. Clive and Lynette had had the family home built themselves on a plot of land on the side of a hill with an amazing panoramic view. There was plenty of space around it and even though there were neighbours dotted around, the spot was really secluded.

It was really nice to spend an evening with a family too as we’d become so used to it being just the two of us. While we are loving travelling in our camper, we’re also missing the interaction we had with other people in Fiji as we met so many people there while island hopping.

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