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Published: August 28th 2009
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Sunday morning turned into a bit of a scramble for getting the ferry. It seems that since I have arrived in New Zealand I have taken on a much more relaxed attitude to travelling, I think it is mainly down to everything being so much more like home and therefore easy over here. Anyway I was still sat having my breakfast at 9am which was fine apart from we had to be at the ferry terminal for 9.25am.....
Anyway I left my bags with Steve in the hostel dining room as I went to collect the Starlet from her parking spot. It was only on my way to the car that I remembered how far (and I mean far!) we had parked her away on the Friday afternoon. So a 15 minute jog later and I was in the car speeding her down the road to the hostel. The car packed up and it was another dash to the ferry terminal. Thankfully we made it on to the ferry and it wasn't too much of a trauma. We ended up parking next to Katie, the American girl from the rugby match nicknamed Yankee Doodle by Steve, both of us tried
to keep our heads down as we didn't want to get entagled up with her for the three hour crossing. Thankfully whilst she did see us she steered clear of us - she probably thought of highly of us as we did of her. She had complained earlier that morning when having her breakfast that someone had come into our room at 3am and made a lot of noise. When I said it was probably me at 12.30am she looked at me but when I apologised and said I made a lot of noise because someone had turned my bedside light off and placed a chair in the middle of the room that I walked into in the dark she became sheepish and confessed it was her that had turned my light off because it was shining into her eyes (her bed was set back behind a wall and at a right angle to my bed!!!).
The ferry crossing was uneventful (so much so that I slept for an hour of it). Thankfully the weather held off and we were able to get some good photos. On arriving in Picton we stopped at the car rental shop and I
arranged for Steve to drive the car meaning it gave me a break and saved him from too much boredom as a passenger. This done and we headed towards Westport via Havelock. I have to admit that the views along the drive from Picton to Havelock were amazing at times.
The rest of the drive was along various long and very straight roads through the vineyards. Unfortunately this was the start of the rain and in future blogs you will see a pattern occurring in this vein! We booked into our hostel and then ventured to the local supermarket for dinner. After a long debate of what to have I stumbled across a pre-cooked chicken which made my mind up for me it was time to have my first roast dinner since leaving home in May. Steve jumped in on the idea and in all honesty it is one of the nicest meals I have had in a long time and both of us enjoyed the chicken both that night and for Monday lunch (even the thought of it has got me dreaming for another one)!
On checking into the hostel we were warned by the owner that
she was strict about the 10 o'clock check out so duly warned I headed off to bed early and set my alarm so I would be awake in time to be up and out......
As an aside and to stop all future speculation and questioning e:mails I want to confirm that there is nothing going on between Steve and I - we are just two friends travelling in a car together. He is 22 and has a girlfriend, Katie, at home. If this isn't reason enough then all I am going to say is he is tall, ginger and called Steve!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (even Mum when I initially told her I had a new travel companion and described him said I have been there, done that and got the t-shirt so to steer clear and given she is desperate to get rid of me that says something - although she has had second thoughts since but is under now illusions as to the situation!!)
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