Westport (April 22)

We got another morning to sleep in which was very nice. We woke up to a beautiful day so after breakfast and checking out we headed to the beach to enjoy the amazing weather we have been blessed with so far.
We went on a little hike to some lookouts over the beach. I could not get over the views, colors of the water, and the weather. Wish I had another day there but it was nice to be able to have a relaxing mornig in the sun.

Next we were off to Westport which was a long drive. Before we got to Westport we stopped at Cape Foulwind to do the walk to the Tauranga Bay Seal Colony. I loved this walk because we did it right at sunset. With the clouds weather and the walk it couldn't have been more perfect or beautiful. At this stage I feel like I could easily move to New Zealand with how much amazing and spectacular coastline it has to offer.

Love how the Kiwi Bus made it into this photo

Could not get enough of this walk

After a perfect walk we headed to another favorite hostel of mine called Basils Hostel. We got put into the 'lounge' room with our own tv fireplace and kitchen. There were hammocks and gardens all over the property. It was very laid back and homey. The grocery store was close enough to walk to so we went and grabbed some dinner and since we were in New Zealand we felt it to be appropriate to watch Lord of the Rings. (they had a huge selection of movies to choose from which was really nice but the weird thing was thy were all VHS. Just goes to show you how far behind New Zealand is).

Our room with 5 bunks in it

the cute little fire place (we actually used it, it was freezing)

Our own kitchen!! such a treat : ) 

all the hammocks

the garden

where our room was 

Picton and Kaiteriteri (April 21)

We started early this morning to catch the ferry departing Wellington to Picton. The cook crossing took a little over 3 hours. We passed through the Queen Charlotte Sound where there were some dolphins. Once we finally arrived in Picton we got our luggage and loaded onto another bus. It was a beautiful ride over on the ferry. It was lunch time when we got there so we stopped at a cute little bakery. The drive was gorgeous. There were secluded picturesque coves and beaches beautiful native bush and amazing weather.

Someone was a little tired . . . Tash slept almost the whole ride

The 'ferry' we traveled over on was like a cruise ship

Driving down the Marlborough Valley we saw several vineyards. All the colors with it being fall made everything look so amazig. The Marlbough region is world famous for it's delicous Sauvignon Blanc variety of wines.
We stopped at Boulder Vines Vineyard for a wine tasting. The wine was amazing (especially after only drinkig goon for so long) that I ended up getting a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc.

Love the mountains in the background

Cheers!

Amanda, Sam, Natasha, Sorab, Elina, and Me

haha love the boys in the back

After a quick stop at the supermarket we finally arrived into Kaiteriteri. The lodge we stayed at was very cute and less than a minutes walk from a beautiful beach. It was rift near the Abel Tasman National Park. The place was surrounded by golden sand and blue water (I could not get over how pretty the colors of the water were). Kaiteriteri is known for having some of the best year-round weather New Zealand has to offer and that was so true.
Once we got settled into the lodge we had guacamole and chips with our wine then we made a delicious dinner.

Our tiny room, could barely fit our bags between the beds

Wellington Day 2 (April 20)

With today being a day we could sleep in we took full advantage of it. At 10 we had to change rooms but we got upgraded to the girls only floor known as the Sanctuary which is very clean and pretty. After we got into our new rooms we went back to sleep for a bit.

Once we finally started our day we got some gelato at this really good gelato place and headed to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. This museum was very interesting and free. You easily could spend a few days on that place. We walked around for about 3 hours and got hungry so we left.

Homes in the Hills

We went to the grocery store for dinner and then made dinner and went back to read and relax. We have an early morning tomorrow to catch the 3 and a half hour ferry to get to the other island. Can't believe I am already done in the North Island it went by so quickly and I have met so many amazing people. I am so glad I met Amanda and Elina on the first day it has been so nice to be traveling and cooking meals with them. Can't wait to see what's in store for the South Island.

Wellington (April 19)

This morning was early, but we were up to go white water rafting on the river outside the place we stayed. The water is so cold there so we had to put on all this gear before we left. We wore wetsuits with a thermal, a fleece, and a waterproof jacket on the top and booties, and a helmet.

We were on the water for 2 and a half hours. Tash and I ended up on a boat with a family but it was still a lot of fun. I optionally went into the water in the beginning. It was freezing but it helped wake you up. Our guide Brian was really nice as well. The rapids were so exciting and fun. It was a grade 5 river we were rafting on. There was a point where we could jump off a really high rock which I did twice. The rafting ended right at the end of where we stayed so we were able to take hot showers to warm up then grab some lunch before we were on the bus again. The drive to Wellington was really far but it was perfect because we were all exhausted so most of us slept.

The whole gang

We got into wellington around 7 so we checked into Base and then went to go get food for dinner and alcohol. Joe and Hugh ended up in our room so we hug out with them. Courtenay Place is the place to go on the weekends here and our hostel is right next to it which was very convinient.