On my way out...

On my way out... had a great few days here.  Relaxed, got some good food in me, saw bits and pieces of the city, and pretty much just recharged and enjoyed not having to squirm and squeeze into that camper van.  I'm ready to hit the road again, and it looks like Picton will be my first stop.  Ferry leaves here around 5 pm and gets in around 8:15 or so, so I won't really be in the mood to do a lot of driving around the South Island the night I arrive.

On another positive note, I ran into a whole cluster of American girls doing a study abroad here in Wellington.  Hung out with them last night, which was a ton of fun, and I'll see if we can do it again on my way back after the South Island tour.  Always good to be making contacts (random shoutout to "Double Fleece", haha...) , even in random places like Wellington, New Zealand.

Made a brief pitstop in on the Jews here too.  The synagogue/community center is like a fortress, and they did the typical Kiwi Jewish "walk me around, answer a few questions briefly then show me out the door."  It's frustrating, but after the hero's welcome I got in Tahiti, I guess I'm just learning that some places will be more and some places will be less hospitable.  It's telling about the culture and circumstances.

So that's that.  Ended up really liking Wellington.  More to come from the South.  Later.