Hello everybody peeps! (Can't remember what show that expression's from - any ideas? answers on a postcard please - I'm pretty sure it's a guy with a Medeterrainean accent!) The first night in Kaikoura after the let down with the rain and lack of whales was pretty good - went down to the local and rather nice (but expensive!) bar with most of the Kiwi bus peeps and some others from the hostel that were from a Kiwi bus before us. I got on really well with the girls in my room - one from Ireland and 2 from Rochdale, and found out that the Rochdale girls would be in Melbourne for Xmas and New like me so we are gonna meet up! There was live music - a man and woman singing on accoustic guitars they were ace. Also made friends with Ben and Stu - Stu looks and sounds just like Vernon Kay - they were both so funny they acted like they had known each other for ages but they had only met 3 days ago on the Kiwi bus! Ben is in Melbourne for Xnas in new year too so we are all going to meet up how cool! We ate coco pops and had tea and played cards when we got back and put on the crackly record player in the hostel and I kept having a go at them because they were putting it up too loud and scratching the records - was very amusing though! Everyone from that crew left the next morning but I was booked to go see the whales again and it was a beautiful day so thought it would be fine. The new Kiwi bus arrived at lunch time and I met my new roomie called Lizzie from Cambridge who was lovely, and me and 2 girls from Shrewsbury went down for the whale watch to find out it was cancelled again because it was too windy! So gutted! Also it was too late to do most other things like quad biking and dolphin swimming but it wasn't too late for horse trekking! That's what me and Lizzie did - got picked up from the hostel and went out to a ranch at the foot of the mountains, an idyllic sort of place with dogs and chickens running around and sheep and horses in the fields! There were 2 other girls riding with us from Holland. It's been over 4 years since I have ridden a horse, but it's like riding a bike you don't forget luckily! It was so good, we rode through lots of scrub and a bit of forest and crossed through loads of rivers. I got to do a bit of trotting but not as much as I would have liked - will have to go again in Oz me thinks! When I got off the horse I needed the loo and the guy who drove us walked over to a field and I was like 'Are you winding me up?' as he opened the gate to a field full of horses with a concrete and corregated iron portaloo in! He was very serious, and I needed to go, so it was like the Routeburn toilets all over again, but even smellier with a horsey presence! These country folk! We got the guy to drop us off at the crazy golf which entertained us for the rest of the afternoon then walked back to the hostel for a BBQ that Dennis the manager cooked up for us which was nice! Met loads of people that night, some on Kiwi bus, some not, but had a funny night but went to bed earlyish as pretty tired. Left for Picton (the ferry port) that morning in pouring rain, therefore not regretting not staying another night to try and watch the whales! The others were going straight on to the north island but I got off in Picton as I read up it looked like a nice place to spend an afternoon and a morning! I was right too apart from the rain which put a bit of a downer on the afternoon! I checked in to the gorgeous, cosy, homely hostel to find Ben, Stu and Stu's girlfriend Laura there - didn't know they were going there! They had spent the whole day before in the free hot spa! My room was so spacious and the place so nice - defo the best place so far! They even had a lovely labrador and they gave out free apple crumble and ice cream at 8pm (which was fab!) and provided breakfast you could help yourself to in the morning! Excellent stuff! I got chatting to a guy at lunch time whilst watching 'Days of our lives' (as in the show Joey from friends is on but it's not about doctors in this one, it's just a really badly acted American soap!) who joined me for a walk along the peninsular there in the afternoon. It was only raining a little when we left then soon got pretty bad but for some reason we carried on anyway, and hardly saw any of the beautiful views of the sea and rainforest covered peninsulars we should have seen! Was nice though, and he was good company, it's nice to have random people to talk to! Got back thoroughly drenched even though I had waterproofs on so got in the spa which was boiling! Not surprisingly there was Stu, Laura and Ben in the spa! Made dinner but timed it quite badly so ended up having apple crumble before the dinner - oops! Oh well. Got chatting to a really nice couple from Manchester after dinner whilst watching desperate housewives - they have all the programs we get over here but at least 6 months later! I gave the storyline away by mistake as I thought it must be the new series by saying 'I thought he died!' They didn't seem too annoyed with me though - I would have been! We chatted for ages I should have got their emails as they were so nice, some of the nicest people I have met! Was going to go to the aquarium the next day but it was $12 and the people behind the desk reckoned you needed half and hour to get round - I thought not! Then I was going to go look inside a famous old ship called the Edwin Fox but you could see it from the outside good enough so I thought I would save myself some money! Even from seeing it from the outside I found out it was the 9th oldest ship in the world still in tact, is the only surviving boat to have carried prisoners over to Australia from the UK, and is the only ship still around to have carried soldiers to the Crimean war! Get me eh? Didn't think I was any good at remembering facts like that, and I promise I am not reading it off a leaflet and it was 3 days ago - I am well impressed! So I went back to the hostel as it was so windy and cold and I couldn't be bothered to go for a walk for an hour so joined Ben and co. watched them play monopoly! We all got a shuttle bus down to the ferry terminal but they were meeting people there to carry on to Nelson (on south island) but I waited for the bus coming from Kaikoura to join them on the ferry to the north island which I did easily enough. The 2 girls from Shrewsbury were there too that I met in Kaikoura - they were so quiet though and I just didn't really get them and most of the others were reading or asleep! So spent most of the ferry journey writing my hand written journal and reading the Davinci code that Ben gave me as he had finished reading it - seems good, will probably take me months to read I haven't read a book in ages!! I went up on the 'sun deck' which wasn't sunny and was very cold and windy to wave goodbye to the south island, and went back up as we approached the north island to see the views of Wellington and it was really sunny then! An ancient Kiwi bus took us to the hostels - all the others were staying the YHA but I was staying in the Cambridge Hotel which is a hostel as well, but a very posh one! (expect for the kitchen!) There were 3 randoms on the Kiwi bus too which weren't even on the tour they just managed to hop on for a free ride, and they were staying in the same place, so we got chatting for a few seconds as we checked in and agreed to meet for dinner later in the bar downstairs. It was really good - you got a decent burger and chips and a glass of wine for $10 (which is like 4 pounds!) We had a good laugh and got on really well and I also met Carole who was sharing a room with Lynette the girl of the 3 randoms! We went to another bar which was rubbish then went back to watch some TV then called it a night (what I party animal I am!) The next day I was meant to meet up with Lynette and Ross (one of the guys, Andy had gone back to Auckland as he's working there) but that never happened - can't be bothered to explain why! So went off I my own for the day which was probably best as I take so much longer looking at stuff than the average person! I got myself a free Wellington map which proved essetial in finding my way first to the cable car, which was fairly well hidden down an alleyway! The cable car goes up the really steep hill and there are brilliant views of the ciry from the top (see picture!) That was fun, then I went in the free cable car museum then the free botanic gardens, which I also couldn't have done without a map! (I was loving the freeness!) The gardens were really nice, a lot of it was just native bush but there were little landscaped bits here and there and a very interesting (free!) visitor centre. Felt like I learned quite a lot and pretty much saw all the gardens which were quite a walk! There were very exotic sounding birds in the trees all the way it was lovely and the weather was really sunny so I was happy as larry! Then I walked to the Karori wildlife reserve and I really needed the map for that as there were no signs for it until you actually got there! This one wasn't free but it wasn't expensive either so I couldn't complain! It was beautiful, it was basically just a nature reserve so all native trees but it was well interpreted with good signs and there were loads of extra things like a gold mine you could go in, birds sounds to press (I found out the names of the exotic sounding birds yay!) and a weta hotel (big scary looking native cricket type things) that you can see resting in these logs. The walk was alongside a lake or stream most of the time too and there were loads of bird feeding stations so I saw the common ones - no Kiwis though. I was very impressed with it - they had taken ages to design their fences so that none of the non-native mammals could get in like possums, rats and cats and loads more, and they had re-introduced loads of rare birds presumably from zoos. I didn't have as long there as I would have liked as I wasn't bargaining on them closing at 4! Just about managed to get a bus at the end of the road which only took me half of the way back then I walked the rest. I reckon I must have walked about 8 miles today, felt really tired when I got back! Really enjoyed it though, and chilled out watching a film when I got back. Saw Ross and we and the others met for a (free!) BBQ in the hotel bar which was great then we did a quiz which I was awful at as I knew I would be - it makes me realise I need to know more about the world! (must start watching the news!) I would think though that the amount of signs I read in visitor centres and what not it would be enough but no! I got one question which was about Savannahs (hardly surprising!) but we didn't do too badly (nothing to do with me though!) Was so tired so went to bed before the others. Said goodbye to Ross and Lynette this morning then spent the whole day (I'm not kidding!) looking round the National museum called Te Papa. And guess what it was free!! I am really reaping the free benefits of Wellington! It was really good so interesting, all about the history of New Zealand and where all the people came from and about the Mauri people (natives) and all sorts of other stuff it was quite interactive too but I think I read pretty much everything (go me!) Very impressed. Chatted to a few people at dinner time then came here! I have time this very well as I have 10 minutes remaining! Am going to get an early night as got to catch the bus at 8 tomorrow. I expect the 2 American girls in my room will be in bed though like they were the last 2 nights - I haven't really spoken to them but really havent been in my room at all! They work here and I have barely heard them leave in the morning! They must creep around in ths dark so quietly that would do my head in they have been doing that for 3 months! Will email people soon. Toodle pip!