Week 5 - Wellington + Picton

The drive from Taupo to Wellington took six hours and was scenic! Driving here is super pleasant, the drivers are so nice and relaxed, at the beginning all the pee breaks are always announced and a few jokes are made and, like when sightseeing, there is often some information about the places you are driving through.

Wellington is the capital of NZ and is located in the very south of the North Island. From there you can take the ferry to the South Island (which I was able to easily book with my bus pass). But the city itself is also totally convincing! It is essentially located in a huge bay and there is a beautiful beach in the middle of the city, lots of water sports activities and lots of second hand shops. There are a lot of students here and the atmosphere is great. I first took a short hike along the hills on the outskirts of town to Mount Victoria:

I was also lucky with the weather and was able to have my first full day at the beach the next day. There were a lot of starfish in the water and every now and then a scream came from the water when the crabs nibbled on the toes. And the water was icy. Maybe that's why I caught a cold🥲 I then went to the national museum 'Te Papa', which is firstly free and secondly really well set up.

Then I had to take the ferry the next morning. I booked the 8:45 a.m. ferry without considering that I would have to get up at the crack of dawn with an airport-like shuttle and check-in🙄 Well, when I arrived at the gate, I immediately recognized 10 people from all the previous hostels because everyone was here travel in the same direction and sooner or later you'll see each other again anyway. That's why I had a few people sitting next to me on the top deck, where the sun was shining and I had of course forgotten my cap. But I had to go in anyway and sleep first because two missing hours of sleep throws me off course, as if I hadn't slept for three days. The entrance to Picton was extremely worth seeing. There you drive through the 'Queen Charlotte Sound' (sound=fjord (?)), i.e. green hills and light blue water. Of course I didn't see any dolphins again😑

Picton is the town where you get thrown off the ferry and where most people continue straight on. Of course I booked 3 nights there in 'the Villa'. What a good decision!! After five nights in my terribly dirty and uncomfortable hostel in Wellington, it felt like an oasis (blue houses with a garden, hammock and birdsong greeted us here and my room number 7 'the Swamp' was also great. Even the lower bed I got it, which is always a win among backpackers. Then you don't have to constantly climb up and down):

I then hiked to a lookout point with a British woman for this view:

In the evening we watched the sunset (a travel must-do), made burgers and jumped into the hostel's hot tub🧘🏼‍♀️

The next day I did a four hour hike to the top of a headland in the fjord, which was really beautiful. 'The Snout Track' was the name of the path, like the snout. These names mostly come from old Maori legends which are always explained on information boards.

The next day was my first completely rainy day, which was very comfortable thanks to the villa and was used for making phone calls and reading🥰

Next we head to Nelson and prepare for my 5 day hike 🤩🤩