1/23/02 Wellington to Kaikoura
We toured around the Te Papa Museum in Wellington this morning before
catching our 2:00pm ferry to the South Island. Learned much about
the fault line and tectonic plate that NZ sits on which causes the
volcanoes and earthquakes that NZ has experienced in its lifetime.
Then it went on about people that have migrated to NZ and the history
and stories behind it all. I didn't know, which wa soon learned, is
that NZ is made up of a fairly large Dutch population. After WWII
Holland was over populated and therefore didn't have enough work for
every one. NZ was desperate for labour workers so the two countries
make a deal for the Dutch to migrate and become permanent citizens of
NZ. This helped both countries in their needs.
We arrived at the ship dock about 1:40 for our 2:00 departure to the
South Island. We boarded what I thought looked like a miniture
cruise ship which became our home for the next 3 hours. What I found
to be really funny though is they brought on a mass load of sheep
that were visible to the passengers. Of course they were all pinned
up but they sure did bring a stinch to the air if you know what I
mean. We chilled out for the most part in the cabin sitting next to
a window playing scrabble and whist (a card game.) These games have
definitely become the favorite to pass time.
We arrived in a small town called Picton, picked up another rent car
and drove to Kaikoura for the night. We went out to a pub, met a few
of the locals that volunteered to take us over the mountains tommorow
morning. Supposedly no one ever goes because it's too difficult to
get to.