Off To The South Island!

620am came way too soon today. I sprung up got my things packed up and off I went. I took the bus from Chris' house to the ferry terminal. The bus driver was very kind and helped me find my stop. After checking in and I went to the washroom to freshen up and as I walked out I spotted Maria once again so I sat down with her and we caught up on our weekend shenanigans.

On the ferry we took a few pictures. I wanted it to look like the cloud was coming out of my hand but instead it turned out looking more like I was a model on the price is right and today we would be bidding on this beautiful thin cloud haha. It was quite funny. Maria and I chatted about the political issues that Germany is once again facing which was quite interesting to me. She told me how there is quite the controversy over the refugees in Germany and how a new Nazi type party is taking over the government once again because the citizens are afraid. The new party is called AFD (alternative for Germany I think). She seemed quite worried about it so I think I should stay up to date with the news. To be honest it all just reminded me of Donald Trump and how the results would probably be very similar for America if he is elected.

After we went downstairs because it was getting quite windy on deck. I got sleepy so I found a decent little piece of carpet and just zonked out for about half hour. When I woke up I went to the cafe and had fish and chips for under $7 which I thought was quite a steal! For the latter part of the journey I sat in front of the TV and watched rugby highlights. Now that I actually understand the game I'm quite interested in it!

After the ferry arrived in Picton (which is where i tagged this post because i spent most of the day on the toad) I caught a bus to Nelson. Within a few minutes of sitting down the girl sitting in the adjacent seat from me asked where in Canada I was from (because I have a sticker on my backpack) and after that we couldn't stop talking. Kiara and I spent the next two hours of the bus ride completely lost in each other's travel stories not only on the adventures themselves but the lessons and the growth that we had experienced through our journeys. She was pretty great and even complimented my mindset and the way I thought about life and and such, which was quite lovely to hear.

Upon arrival into Nelson it was an absolutely beautiful sunny day. I took the quick 10 minute walk to the hostel and checked in. Olly at the front desk was more than inviting and helpful. I got settled and try to have a nap but no such luck. Had a quick call with home which was nice. Then I met Leona who was from the Netherlands travelling with stray bus. She spent the last month in the north island and was going to spend a whole year travelling around the world which was pretty cool. I went downstairs and quickly started chatting with Jody. Jody was from North West England close ish to Manchester. She'd been working in Queenstown for the last year and a half and was just about to head out to Europe for her next adventure. I admired her positive attitude to life. She was also a photographer and quite a good one from what I could tell but she didn't have have a blog so I introduced her to travel pod (the app I used for europe) last summer. If she starts a blog now because of me I will be quite pleased.

After our conversation I headed out to find something to eat. The hostel was about 15 minutes walk to the food street and that's pretty much where I wrote this blog entry.

Eventually I decided to have some asian food so I stopped and had a cashew nut chicken stir fry with mushrooms carrots sweet potato broccoli and cauliflower. It was quite a nice little joint and the meal was absolutely delicious. On the way home this old homeless man gave me the sweetest smile with the most nonchalant little wink. It was actually quite cute. I spent the rest of my walk home literally dancing as my ear buds sprinkled music into my heart. Such a lovely day.

Then at eight the hostel offered free chocolate pudding (not actually pudding but like a hot cake type dessert) with ice cream. This is a nightly thing and I was quite pleased with it. It also created quite a social atmosphere around the kitchen and dining area. I met two Canadians one from Quebec named Amy, and one from Ontario named Alyssa. Also met a guy named Robin from Germany and a girl named Selena from Switzerland. She was my favourite because she reminded me (more physically than anything) of the character Sadness from the movie inside out. It was absolutely hilarious! By about 1030 I got tired and decided to call it a night. This hostel is pretty dang great. They even have little cartoons on the bathroom walls to read while you're doing your business haha. Anyways, nothing is really planned for tomorrow. Gonna just sleep in and then go with the flow! Nighty night everyone!

-Terrence outRead more