It was time to say goodbye to the North Island and say hello to the South Island today at 6am but I was awake well before that. Mike was on the top bunk bed with me on the bottom so he started freaking me out during the middle of the night with a spooky voice and flashing lights from his I pod near my face…will he ever grow up!!! .The North Island has definitely served us well during our time there. We got in a taxi and headed for the port. It was like looking at the Titanic herself (a film that Mike still has to see but refuses to watch it!!!!), It was a sight to behold and was structurally sound (I just want to sound like an engineer…it looked solid).
Mike and I were carrying around our dirty washing in a blue see through bag and it smelled horrific, we must have looked like two paupers but we couldn’t just leave them in the bag!!! One of the workers in the boat had a laugh with us about it so it was all good. We got a breakfast on the boat and it was rocky as hell!!! Walking up to pay for the breakfast was a challenge in itself; we were swaying from side to side. I bet everyone thought that the Irish were drunk again but truth be told we are finding it hard to drink with all this getting up early but we will make up for it! Tom said he would never work on a cruise boat after this and I don’t blame him!
The top of the boat was the place to be to get some fresh air as the boat hit top gear but unfortunately due to high winds the top deck was closed for most of the journey. This boat had everything from a cinema to a pub and with the film being a Nicholas Cage one, we decided to hit the pub where luckily there was a premier league match on to keep us occupied. The pub had a duo singing and playing the guitar and they were excellent. The female artist sounded like Norah Jones and had the voice of an angel….unfortunately her face didn’t match that description. The duo received a big round of applause and left the stage so we had a game of 110 which Tom won. Mike and I won some money on a pool games machine but we got greedy and lost it all again L
We arrived in Picton at around 11.45 and quickly had to catch our bus to Nelson which was going at 12.15. Some of us got Milkshakes which tasted like Angles Delight and we were on our way. Our hostel was called Hostel Paradisso and from our first impression of the place, we thought it was really cool. It had a swimming pool, sauna room and a volleyball court. Check in wasn’t until 3 so we had a game of tennis soccer (as Kieran Costello christened it). During check in, Tom couldn’t find his wallet and even after the customary checking of pockets with a disbelieving look in his eye, the wallet was no where to be seen. DISASTER!!!! Thomas Burke, the man who is usually ever reliable, had made a mistake. The word mistake usually isn’t in his vocabulary but it is now! To be fair to the woman in the hostel she was very helpful during Tom’s moment of need. She rang the bus company and said she would have the wallet back by 6 to us in exchange for a bottle of red wine. What was she hoping for? We no longer buy women drinks, although on our walk up town we did spot a $6 bottle of wine (not cheap enough in our opinion!!).
It was a miserable day and the rain didn’t help us form a positive opinion on the city of Nelson but we will reserve judgement for now until the sun shines again. After arriving back to the hostel (minus a red bottle of wine), Tom received his wallet and grabbed it for dear life. It was emotional to say the least, imagine if he lost the “rough guide to New Zealand” book! The people in the hostel were weird and a bit older than us. There is an abandoned bus is in the middle of the garden in the hostel where everyone smokes all sorts! To go on the internet, you have to go into the sitting room, where everyone is watching a film (these guys are always watching films…day and night!), and then climb up a little ladder. Once at the top you are basically looking down on them watching the film! We couldn’t help but laugh as this place has a very strange layout! Tomorrow we will venture around the city of Nelson.
Stay out of my booze,
Gary.
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