Cruisin' Down the Highway

Two too many nights in Wellington left only three days for Fabes and me to travel down the south island to pick Ben up at the airport in Dunedin. The marathon began in Picton. It's considered the gateway to the south, the first town travelers see after arriving on the ferry from Wellington. It's not much of a town, really, just a road and some hostels. We stayed at The Villa, definitely the nicest hostel we've stayed in, and got free apple crumble with ice cream after dinner.

The following day we took a tour of the Marlborough wine region, famous for Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Kevin the Wine Tour Man drove us and an awesome Aussie couple to three different wineries in drop-dead gorgeous weather. We all laughed and drank and made friends with the wineries' staff.

After the tour and some sobering Indian food, we sped towards the Lazy Shag Hostel in Kaikoura (a shag is a bird, get your mind out of the gutter). We only had one roommate, David the German, with whom we definitely bonded. He even came on a hike with us the next day around the Kaikoura peninsula, complete with lots of seals and stunning views.

Snoozing under the sidewalk

Our beloved German

Just discovered the panorama feature on my phone :)

From Kaikoura to Christchurch we charged, only spending enough time in Christchurch to sleep before the 6 hour drive to Dunedin. Dunedin proved to be fairly lame after we got over the free wifi in the city center, though. The coolest part was Hogwartz, the Harry Potter-themed hostel in which we stayed in room 9 3/4. Most importantly, we successfully collected Ben from the airport bright and early the next morning and got to spend the day catching up with our dear friend.