K and I woke up at 6am today, and started loading our luggage in the car. It was still dark, and we had to re-experience the whole lugging bags in the dark up the stairs and slopes process.
We reached the ferry terminal at 7am, checked in our car and ourselves, then went inside the ferry terminal center and got ourselves a cup of disgusting hot chocolate.
About 15 minutes later, the gates opened, and we were the first car to drive and park inside the ferry. The whole journey to the South Island took about 3 hours. On board the ferry, we had our peanut butter sandwiches, read through some tourist brochures on Christchurch and Queenstown, and watched "The Golden Compass" on the big screen TV. We also had brunch at the cafe around 10am: Baked beans, eggs, hash browns, bacon and sausage. With free bread and coffee. It was delicious. K and I also went outside to the deck for a while just to enjoy the breeze and beautiful scenery. I was half hoping to see some whales or dolphins though, but didn't..
Shortly after our brunch, we reached Picton, and everyone got off the ferry. This ferry is really just a cargo ferry, with no proper passageway for passengers to alight. So cars and passengers on foot got off the same exit. So funny..
We drove around Picton and explored a bit since it was still early. Then we headed to Nelson and the towns nearby. We visited the Christchurch Cathedral, which was really nice, and walked along the shops in the streets. Then we had a late lunch at around 3pm at Subway. Lunch was a foot long meatball sandwich with 2 soft cookies and a cup of coke. After lunch, we walked around for a bit more. We went into a shop that makes and sells glass ware, and to a ring shopr that claims its ring makers made the rings for the movie "Lord of the Rings". We saw the original "One Ring" used in the movie, and other rings worn by the other characters like Aragon and Legolas.
We arrived at our host's house before the sun set around 5pm. Ayelet and Brett were our hosts for the next 3 days. Ayelet had given me very detailed directions to get to their house, but no address. And we understood why. Cause their house was up on the hill (again!) and very difficult to find. We couldn't even see the street name or house number. So having the address wouldn't have helped. K complained and asked me why I had to find all "ulu" and deserted houses on top of mountains. We had drive to uphill and then up a narrow slope before we reached the house.
But when we stepped into the house, it was a whole different story. K and i totally fell in love with it. Ayelet is Israeli and Brett Kiwi, and they both traveled a lot, backpacking around the world. So their house is full of interesting paintings and decorations. Plus it has an amazing view of the sea. And it's warm and cosy. And we had a cosy bedroom with a very comfortable bed and a view of the sea as well. In fact, the bed is so comfortable i didn't have backaches any more when i wake up in the morning. And because we are around the same age (they are in their early or mid thirties), we had plenty talk about. And so far, out of all the hosts we have stayed with, they are the most easy going. And very casual. Can joke with them and talk cok. Brett and K talked so much about cars and photography and business. Brett is so much into photography. And he is an amazing and talented photography. Check out his website: http://www.brettfleming.com/home.html
Ayelet works from home for an MLM company selling vitamins and supplements. And she is very into subjects like running businesses and financial freedom etc. Which is K's kind of stuff too. So we basically talked ALOT..
That night, Brett made dinner for us: Fried udon with lotsa ingredients. It was delicious. He's a good cook too apparently!
We went to bed pretty late that night. K turned in early, whilst i surfed the net until about 1am in the morning.. Last 3 days of free internet before we moved to Christchurch!
We reached the ferry terminal at 7am, checked in our car and ourselves, then went inside the ferry terminal center and got ourselves a cup of disgusting hot chocolate.
About 15 minutes later, the gates opened, and we were the first car to drive and park inside the ferry. The whole journey to the South Island took about 3 hours. On board the ferry, we had our peanut butter sandwiches, read through some tourist brochures on Christchurch and Queenstown, and watched "The Golden Compass" on the big screen TV. We also had brunch at the cafe around 10am: Baked beans, eggs, hash browns, bacon and sausage. With free bread and coffee. It was delicious. K and I also went outside to the deck for a while just to enjoy the breeze and beautiful scenery. I was half hoping to see some whales or dolphins though, but didn't..
Shortly after our brunch, we reached Picton, and everyone got off the ferry. This ferry is really just a cargo ferry, with no proper passageway for passengers to alight. So cars and passengers on foot got off the same exit. So funny..
We drove around Picton and explored a bit since it was still early. Then we headed to Nelson and the towns nearby. We visited the Christchurch Cathedral, which was really nice, and walked along the shops in the streets. Then we had a late lunch at around 3pm at Subway. Lunch was a foot long meatball sandwich with 2 soft cookies and a cup of coke. After lunch, we walked around for a bit more. We went into a shop that makes and sells glass ware, and to a ring shopr that claims its ring makers made the rings for the movie "Lord of the Rings". We saw the original "One Ring" used in the movie, and other rings worn by the other characters like Aragon and Legolas.
We arrived at our host's house before the sun set around 5pm. Ayelet and Brett were our hosts for the next 3 days. Ayelet had given me very detailed directions to get to their house, but no address. And we understood why. Cause their house was up on the hill (again!) and very difficult to find. We couldn't even see the street name or house number. So having the address wouldn't have helped. K complained and asked me why I had to find all "ulu" and deserted houses on top of mountains. We had drive to uphill and then up a narrow slope before we reached the house.
But when we stepped into the house, it was a whole different story. K and i totally fell in love with it. Ayelet is Israeli and Brett Kiwi, and they both traveled a lot, backpacking around the world. So their house is full of interesting paintings and decorations. Plus it has an amazing view of the sea. And it's warm and cosy. And we had a cosy bedroom with a very comfortable bed and a view of the sea as well. In fact, the bed is so comfortable i didn't have backaches any more when i wake up in the morning. And because we are around the same age (they are in their early or mid thirties), we had plenty talk about. And so far, out of all the hosts we have stayed with, they are the most easy going. And very casual. Can joke with them and talk cok. Brett and K talked so much about cars and photography and business. Brett is so much into photography. And he is an amazing and talented photography. Check out his website: http://www.brettfleming.com/home.html
Ayelet works from home for an MLM company selling vitamins and supplements. And she is very into subjects like running businesses and financial freedom etc. Which is K's kind of stuff too. So we basically talked ALOT..
That night, Brett made dinner for us: Fried udon with lotsa ingredients. It was delicious. He's a good cook too apparently!
We went to bed pretty late that night. K turned in early, whilst i surfed the net until about 1am in the morning.. Last 3 days of free internet before we moved to Christchurch!
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