One and only south island post
Hey all,
I'm currently in an internet cafe in Nelson, so just wanted to post and make it official. I'm still writing long missives about each day, but on my laptop. I'll get them up via key drive on Thursday night when I get back to Wellington. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll be able to get any more pictures up. I just can't manage to get my own laptop online.
The biggest news is my luggage finally caught up with me. HOORAY! It came about five minutes before i left for the ferry yesterday. Then I had to check it at the ferry. As they loaded it onto the belt, I said, "Don't lose this one. I just got it back." But it made it to Picton with me.
I had my first few "whoops; didn't plan that well at all" moments yesterday and this morning. Yesterday's happened when I got off the ferry and realized I had no idea how to get to Nelson, where my B&B was, two hours away. The InterCity bus window was closed. "How am I supposed to get to Nelson?" I asked one of the ferry ticket clerks. She didn't know. I then asked a random cleaning guy walking past, and he said there was "a little bus with a K on it" right outside that was leaving for Nelson. I ran to it, and found the driver in discussion with a guy and girl. Apparently, there was only one spare seat. They looked at me. "I'm a single!" I said, threw my stuff in the back and hopped on. It was an interesting ride with beautiful scenery, high cliffs, and hairpin turns, reminiscent of La Palma. And occasionally careening the other way were double tractor trailers. Fun stuff. The driver let off everybody at the Nelson info kiosk. I asked if she could point me toward Kawai Street, where my B&B was. She rolled her eyes. "That's miles away," she said. Then she offered to drive me there. I didn't ask twice; just put my stuff back on the bus and grabbed a seat. As I walked up to the door of the B&B, I thought about how lucky I was to have managed to get on that bus. It would have been a mighty expensive taxi ride!
The B&B I'm at is giving me much more privacy than I'm used to. I have seen the innkeeper for a total of maybe 5 minutes, and the same with her daughter (late 20s). Other than that, I'm left totally on my own. Breakfast appears in the dining room. I eat it slowly, thumbing through my guidebooks. No one disturbs me. It's very peaceful, but a little disconcerting after everything being very social for the past few weeks.
This morning, I realized that I wasn't going to get help with my Abel Tasman-ing, so I called and booked myself on a tour for tomorrow. Kayaking and out to seal colony. Cool, huh?
Hopefully I'll be feeling up to it. Today I'm finally feeling a bit better after getting on a combination of drugs (doctor recommended).
Okay; my time's about to run out! Catch you again back in Wellington!
I'm currently in an internet cafe in Nelson, so just wanted to post and make it official. I'm still writing long missives about each day, but on my laptop. I'll get them up via key drive on Thursday night when I get back to Wellington. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll be able to get any more pictures up. I just can't manage to get my own laptop online.
The biggest news is my luggage finally caught up with me. HOORAY! It came about five minutes before i left for the ferry yesterday. Then I had to check it at the ferry. As they loaded it onto the belt, I said, "Don't lose this one. I just got it back." But it made it to Picton with me.
I had my first few "whoops; didn't plan that well at all" moments yesterday and this morning. Yesterday's happened when I got off the ferry and realized I had no idea how to get to Nelson, where my B&B was, two hours away. The InterCity bus window was closed. "How am I supposed to get to Nelson?" I asked one of the ferry ticket clerks. She didn't know. I then asked a random cleaning guy walking past, and he said there was "a little bus with a K on it" right outside that was leaving for Nelson. I ran to it, and found the driver in discussion with a guy and girl. Apparently, there was only one spare seat. They looked at me. "I'm a single!" I said, threw my stuff in the back and hopped on. It was an interesting ride with beautiful scenery, high cliffs, and hairpin turns, reminiscent of La Palma. And occasionally careening the other way were double tractor trailers. Fun stuff. The driver let off everybody at the Nelson info kiosk. I asked if she could point me toward Kawai Street, where my B&B was. She rolled her eyes. "That's miles away," she said. Then she offered to drive me there. I didn't ask twice; just put my stuff back on the bus and grabbed a seat. As I walked up to the door of the B&B, I thought about how lucky I was to have managed to get on that bus. It would have been a mighty expensive taxi ride!
The B&B I'm at is giving me much more privacy than I'm used to. I have seen the innkeeper for a total of maybe 5 minutes, and the same with her daughter (late 20s). Other than that, I'm left totally on my own. Breakfast appears in the dining room. I eat it slowly, thumbing through my guidebooks. No one disturbs me. It's very peaceful, but a little disconcerting after everything being very social for the past few weeks.
This morning, I realized that I wasn't going to get help with my Abel Tasman-ing, so I called and booked myself on a tour for tomorrow. Kayaking and out to seal colony. Cool, huh?
Hopefully I'll be feeling up to it. Today I'm finally feeling a bit better after getting on a combination of drugs (doctor recommended).
Okay; my time's about to run out! Catch you again back in Wellington!
posted by Jen at 2:52 PM
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