Day 11: 11/1/13
This morning was a very early start. We had to get a shuttle to the ferry at 6:45 so I was awake since about half five. When I got down to reception some of the people were there who had gone out last night. They didn't get back until 5 in the morning so they decided to just get their stuff and wait up incase they would sleep in! So some very tired and some still drunk heads!!
We had to get a shuttle to the ferry then and check in there. The ferry left at eight. I went out to watch us pulling off and you could see a lot of Wellington. Everyone stayed inside then sleeping and chatting and stuff. We got good photos of all the people asleep! For the last hour or so before we got to Picton there was lovely scenery- mountains and trees surrounding the water, some boats aswell!
We got onto our new bus, got lunch and then loads of people joined us! Some of our group have stayed in Wellington and now we have new people. Most of the people that I've been with are all still here which is nice!
We had a long bus journey today so there were a few stops. The first one was at a winery. We sampled Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. I liked the Riesling he best. I don't think I have ever had it before. There was fudge tasting there too and I got a little bit of baileys fudge!
The next stop was at a bridge - Pelorus bridge I think. There was a river there that some people were swimming in. I don't know if anyone on the bus did as we only had a few minutes. Some of the bridge was used in Lord of the Rings or something.
After that we went to Nelson. A lot more people were getting on the bus there. There was a lot of confusion as there were too many people for the bus. Some were on a waiting list and were hoping that some of us would have missed it or changed our plans or something, but we were all there so I think they were a bit annoyed. Some of the people that got on at Picton got off again at Nelson so it was all very confusing! I don't envy the bus driver!
We were just told today that there was a chance of doing a sky dive this afternoon. I wasn't interested but a lot of he people yet were out all night were considering it! Jenny, the girl I was sitting with was freaking out but she went for it anyway!
We went then to look at the handgliding equipment incase people were interested for tomorrow. We saw the skydiving plane taking off.
Then we went to the supermarket and did another dash around for food for the next few days!!
We had to call into the place they were going to do kayaking again so had to wait 20 minutes while they signed up for it! We're going to go walking and find some beaches aswell!
Finally we headed to the accommodation. We left the hostel at 6:45 this morning and finally got to the hostel at Marahau at about 7:40 pm- a very long day!!! There was a bit of confusion about who was staying with who as they had cabins and tents. The cabins only slept two and the tents slept 5 and were cheaper! Jenny and I ended up with a tent anyway sharing with three new girls. We had a look at the beds first and spread out the blankets so the others would know they were taken. We went to get some bags and a girl was on one of our beds when we came back. I told her that we had those beds. She didn't really say anything but she moved. We went to get the rest of our bags and I thought I had better apologise to the girl when I came back and ask if she really wanted the other bed. She just burst out crying because she was homesick. She's only 19 and she was travelling with friends before this. She couldn't get on the same bus as them now or something so she's on her own. I apologised loads of times and was extra nice but she said she just had a bad day and she was crying anyway. She picked the worst day to join us as we were on the bus most of the day and lots of them were hungover or still drunk! I think it was too much for her.
We were all having a barbecue later but she cooked her own food. I sat with her anyway and the other girls from our tent and tried to get them talking as much as possible. She seemed to cheer up then. We all sat around for a little while after the barbecue chatting and we watched one or two of the skydiving DVDs. None of them were that scared and they all loved it.
It was absolutely pitch dark in the tent. It's a big tent and we have camp beds and sheets and blankets so its fine. It's a pain in the ass trying to figure out where all your stuff is and where the toilet is with a torch!!