Crossing the cook strait

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After my short visit to Wellington (the last stop in the North island before heading south), I was eager to get to the ferry terminal and cross over to the south. The actual ferry ride was very calm and the scenery as we got into the Marlborough sounds was extremely picturesque. On the ferry, I met a few really cool people- a guy from Uruguay, two guys from Norway and a lady from the UK. Funny story about the lady- she was "in NZ to come after a boy" (her words, not mine). Basically, she was here to surprise some lad and it was supposed to be all romantic and spontaneous. She told me the entire story and for a second there, I was pretty sure it was the plot to some romantic comedy or teen fiction novel. Entertaining at best! Once I got to Picton (where the ferry docks), I could literally feel how much fresher and cleaner the air was. Picton is a really really small town ("town" is about 2 streets). I spent the day in picton hiking to a lookout point (beautiful view of Marlborough sounds and queen Charlotte sound plus a view of the entire town) and meeting some really cool people at the hostel I was staying at. They gave me some good tips as my next stop the following day was Nelson!

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