Across Cook Strait - Night 83

I awoke sharply at 6:30 full of piss and vinegar,

ready to meet the new year head on - regardless of the fact that I finally crawled into bed around 3am without a modicum of sobriety. My body’s internal clock functions precisely in spite of imbibation and/or exhaustion…or maybe because of it. I finished packing, cleaned my room and headed up the stairs of Kowhai House one last time. Jake, Shirley and I were all booked on the 1pm ferry to Picton, so I had some time to kill, wisely enjoying the last few hours of free internet I’ll likely see on this trip. Around 10 with stuffed rucksacks in tow, our triad slowly descended the Normadale grade for the last time. Surely life in general has its first and last times for everything, however, sometimes it seems as if travels is nothing but.

The Marlborough Sound

We arrived at the Bluebridge Ferry terminal plenty early, even in spite of the strange “who’s on first” encounter between an elderly asian female and the bus driver at one of the stops. Frustrated, he finally just charged her two dollars and agreed to drop her off wherever she wanted, provided it was along his route. Boarding for foot passengers began at 12:30, however vehicles were let on earlier, so by the time we got up to the deck all the outside seating had been taken, which was a real shame considering it was a perfectly sunny day with temperatures around 80 and little to no wind. As such the crossing was very smooth and quite scenic once we entered the Marlborough Sound.

The City of Picton is located at the terminus

The City of Picton

of one of the long arms of the Marlborough Sound. Surrounded on all sides by towering green mountains that plunge directly into the sea, Picton is blessed with natural beauty that rivals its strategic economic position as the main entry point to the South Island. A nice little downtown area surrounded by hostels, hotels, and a large marina make it a pleasant place to spend a lovely summer day.

Being a public holiday, the bay was filled with sailboats, kayakers, and the occasional jet ski. Think a slightly toned down Lake Union or Shawano Lake on any given summer weekend. I checked into The Villa, a quirky little hostel around 5 pm. The place had been highly recommended on Hostelworld and didn’t disappoint. A large backyard complete with tree house-like lounge, a hot tub, and a clean kitchen. One of the best places I’ve stayed here in the South Pacific.

I had enough daylight for a hike, so I took off down the Snout Trail which runs along the bay for a few miles then heads down into the neighboring town of Waikiau and loops back to Picton. I returned around 7:30 and on my way to the grocery store ran into Jake and Shirley. They were staying at the YHA just down the street, however, unfortunately they will be doing the South Island in a clockwise direction in two weeks, while I’m taking a month in the opposite direction. That is the great part about the South Island, with the Alps running down the spine, there are essentially on two ways to see the place, clockwise or counterclockwise. We bid adieu and will hopefully cross paths again in Greymouth on the 9th. After some dinner and reading in the tree house, it was an early night as I was running on just over 3 hours of sleep from the night before.

What I Learned Today: Along with being New Year’s Day today is also the first day of the second, more exciting portion of my travels, as well as the half way point of my whole trip. Though I’ve learned through time that resolutions and other large life changes generally do not work for me, (slow, gradual alterations are superior in both short and long term results) today has offered me a completely clean slate with which to pursue life. A bright blue sky, a new island to explore, nothing at all that I ‘must’ do, a perfect empty space of life that I can fill with whatever I please.

written by

exumenius on January 1, 2008 from Havelock, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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