The bus ride was 2 hours to Picton where we catch the ferry to the North Island. The bus driver was informative about the areas we were passing through. They do a lot of logging and they would replant the trees. He could tell which hill was planted when and with what. A good part of the timber is exported to Japan. I have mentioned that they have a lot of fruit orchards. I don't know if I mentioned what. They grow kiwi, apples, olives, passion fruit, and I know there is a lot more. The number of vineyards in NewZealand have increased in the last few years. Grapes and hops are grown for wine and beer. One of thetowns we went through, which I can't remember the name, was listed in the Guiness World Book of Records as having made the largest loaf of bread which was 27 feet long.
We got to the ferry terminal and checked our bags in. I sat and ate my breakfast of hard boiled eggs, that I made before we left the hostel, waiting for the ferry. As I was getting on the ferry security stopped me. He told me I couldn't bring my hiking poles on. So I had to go check them in. It made me wonder if people could bring umbrellas on because I have seem some large umbrellas that could be used as a weapon as much as my hiking poles.
When the baggage attendant asked me if I was on the Lynx I said no. The Lynx was the high speed catamaran. The lynx saves almost an hour but is more expensive. Since it was more money I certainly didn't think we were on it, but it was the one. It was quite large and luxurious. Comfy seats, lounges, gift shops, and eating areas. I was waiting for the movie screen to appear. I don't know how we got that ferry at the lower rate. All I can think of is that the other one was full. Monica, a friend of mine from my hiking club, has relatives in the North Island and and one of her cousins was suppose to meet us at the ferry. I told him that we would be on the "slow" ferry and would be getting there at 1:45. We didn't get in until 2:00 because we had a late start. I was afraid that they would miss us because we were late and at the wrong ferry terminal. So once Laurie and I got off the ferry we beelined to the phone so I could let him know where I was. As soon as I started to dial someone asked me if I was Shari. It was Murray and his wife, Mary Ann. They realized that we weren't on the other ferry so they came over to the other one. He recognized me from my website.
Murray and Mary Ann gave us a tour of Wellington. Wellinton is the capitol of New Zealand. We parked the car and got out by the Botanic Gardens and took a walk through there and up to the top of where the cable car is. We got views of the harbor and surrounding towns. We took the cable car down into the downtown area and walked around and stopped at Starbucks. They all got coffee. We walked back to the cable car and took a ride back up to the top. Murray pointed out some of the buildings to us. We made our way back to the car through the Botanic Gardens on a bunch of different paths. Mary Ann informed me that his short cuts are usually long cuts, but we made it back to the car without a problem.
From there we went over to Mt. Victoria lookout, which is suppose to give us the best views of the city. Unfortunately it was not the clearest day to see too far. At the parking lot for the lookout there is a memorial for Admiral Byrd and his contributions on the Antactica exploration. There is so much to learn. I think I must have been asleep in school!
We headed to Lower Hutt which is where Murray and Mary Ann live. It is about a half hour drive from Wellington. As we drove by the ocean we could see a bunch of people wind surfing, but it was with parachutes for a sail. They looked like they were going pretty fast. It was pretty with all the bright colors of the parachutes. We stopped at the high point there to see the harbor and town from the other side.
Murray and Mary Ann have a lovely house. From the outside it looked small, but it was quite large and spacious. It was originally a lot smaller, but Murray added on the upstairs and changed the layout of the first floor. It was really nice. Their backyard has a built in pool, greenhouse, and patio. We went to the greenhouse where they had all kinds of pepper plants and tomatoes. One of their sons planted the peppers, but he moved to Christ Church. Mary Ann picked the ripe ones and she was going to mail them to him.
Mary Ann and Murray have four children; three boys and one girl. We met two of their sons. One lives at home while going to the university studying music and plays in a jazz band. The other son that we met stopped by. He goes to Culinary School and also has musical talent. Very nice kids.
Mary Ann made us a great dinner of lasagna, salad, beets, and bread with fruit and ice cream for dessert. The lasagna had still beet in it, which is a leafy vegetable like spinach, and it was very good. They grow it in their backyard. We had a very pleasant day and evening with them.
April 7, 2003
I got up early so I could say goodbye to Murray as he was off to work. He is an engineer. Mary Ann, who is a nurse, was on holiday for three weeks. She job shares with her sister-in-law, at her sister-in-law's husband doctor's office, who is a GP. She was telling me that the doctor also does obstetrics and she takes in maternity cases. She actually makes house calls. I was surprised at that.
We used the internet while there and then we packed up and Mary Ann dropped us off at the train station. We were going to take it back to Wellington. While at the bus station there was a couple that asked us where we were going. I told her that we were traveling for a year. They asked me if we were going to some town, because if we were, we could stay at their place. People are so friendly and helpful.
Once we got into Wellington we stored our bags in a luggage locker so we could walk around without them. We are meeting Leslie there tonight when she gets out of work. Lesley is the one we met on the Milford Track.
So Laurie and I walked around, had lunch, and went into the local bookstore to read up on England and Scotland. We spend about two or more hours there.
Right now we are in Starbucks writing our journals. You may think we spend a lot of time in Starbucks, but it is a great place to sit and write.
We need to leave now to go met Lesley. I shall return.
