We have managed to squeeze a bit of culture into our trip, at last, by going around an art exhibition - oooh, lovey! Actually, it was really interesting - and free! We also took the funicular railway up the very steep hill to the top of the botanic gardens - an amazing bit of engineering considering when it was built. Apparently quite a few of the wealthy landowners who built homes up the hills in Wellington originally built their own cable railcars - some of the pictures looked pretty hairy (and no, that wasn't the hobbits) - but considering the steepness of that hillside, can't really blame them. It was very pleasant to be able to get away from all the high rises in the city centre. It wasn't really the weather for wandering around gardens though, so we decided to leave that for tomorrow.
A return visit to the purveyors of (relatively) cheap beer was called for, and we felt sooo touristy as we watched the bars fill up with folk coming out for Friday night drinks after work - with us in our tourist-shorts-and-tshirts. It was quite wierd to watch the after work crowds after so long.
The next morning dawned much clearer, so after a walk around the museum, we headed back up the botanics again and meandered slowly down through them this time, enjoying the peace and quiet.
The next morning we left early for the ferry across to the south island. Unfortunately the rain started, so we didn't get to appreciate the Marlborough Sounds in all their glory as we approached, but the views were still incredible. We had booked one night in Picton, the town where the ferry terminal is situated, with the hope of enjoying some walks around the edges of the sounds, but it was absolutely pouring with rain by this point. Rather than be hemmed in at the hostel, we decided to don the waterproofs and at least venture into the town. Waterproof-shmaterproof. We were both drenched. A girl staying in the hostel had recommended a cafe that does excellent cakes, so we tracked that down and sploshed our way in. The coffee and cake were, indeed, fabulous, and hopefully they didn't mind the puddles/ponds of water forming under our table as we dripped quietly in the corner.
After a while we braved the elements again, but only as far as a bar called the Flying Haggis! After chatting to the Aberdeen-born owner for a while, we then met a very drunk, but very nice, chap originally from Leith. What, a drunken Leith-man? Surely not! We then splashed our way back to the hostel to dry out.
The next morning Chris woke early and found the sun was shining, so went out for a run, leaving Andy in bed to contemplate the weather. Unfortunately the weather did close in again, so again we didn't get to appreciate the full views of our scenic trip east towards the wine region of Blenheim and Renwick.
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