Last NZ Post

Giluy Na'ot - I am writing this last bit about NZ after I came back to Sydney. It's HOT (which is a change to the warm-ish weather I got used to in NZ), and Bondi Beach is beckoning... let's see how long I'll be able to resist.

Before we left Nelson, we drove off to WOW - World of Wearable Arts, which is a museum dedicated to the Wearable Arts show - a competition held every year, in which crazy clothes and art designs are mixed. Really spectacular. I had missed it the first time round, but I'm very happy we got there.

From Nelson we drove at a leisurely pace towards Picton, going through the scenic route, which included some great views of the Marlborough Sounds and a couple of nice beaches (we had to stop along the way for a bit of a dip, it was such a gorgeous day).

Eran and Ofer dropped me off in Picton - they were heading out towards Blenheim for their wedding. I stayed in Picton for a couple of nights, as I wanted to do a bit of walking in the Queen Charlotte track.
The next day, I took a boat ride down to Ship Cove, where Captain Cook visited several times in the 1770s. I met an English couple (Sam and Georgia, and - yes - they're Jewish. Go figure) and we walked together the part of the track up to Furneaux Lodge. The walk was great - beautiful weather, stunning views, and at the end - a dip in the freezing cold waters (and I didn't let the fact that I didn't bring swimming trunks stop me from getting in, if you know what I mean, nudge-nudge, wink-wink). All in all - a great day out.

The following morning, Ofer and Eran picked me up in Picton, all shiny and happy. We drove down through Blenheim, where I went on a wild, uninhibited shopping spree. We then spent some quality time hunting down the local Subway for lunch, and finally headed down towards Kaikoura. By the time we got to the hostel (the Dusky Lodge) the day had turned rainy and dismal, so I volunteered us for a game of Monopoly that was getting started in the dining room. Eran and I joined a guy and a girl, and - eventually - the Jewish genes kicked in. Eran won, in the end, but I will be bold enough to write that I pulled some pretty nice manoeuvres of my own.

Dolphins - Neither a doll nor a fin. Discuss.
The next day started rainy and windy (and cold), but we still got to go out to swim with dolphins. When we got to the place to register, the first thing the receptionist told us was that "there's a medium to high seasickness warning". Lovely. Of course, we all bought the ginger pills she offered us.
The dolphin swim is pretty cool - we got geared up for the cold waters with a full wet-suit, snorkel and flippers. Then we headed out on a boat south of Kaikoura. We spotted the dolphins pretty quickly - there were a lot of them swimming, and some were even in that playful, showoff mood of theirs - jumping out of the water, doing somersaults. It's a beautiful sight. Unfortunately, the water was still more than a bit choppy, so the ride was less than smooth. We spent - I guess - about an hour and a half chasing the dolphins: We'd spot them, go down for a swim, and - when they've swum by - we'd get back up on the ship and again go after them. we did this five times, which was fun but tiring.
Personal highlight: A mother dolphin and her cub swam directly under me.
Personal low: The ride back was so bad, I thought I was going to be sick.
There was another guy on the boat with us, and he looked like he was about to die. I guess the ginger biscuits helped him though - he looked much better on land, whereas I was still swaying for a good couple of hours.

From Kaikoura we continued down to Christchurch, for our last night together. I was still a bit woozy from the swim, but that didn't stop me from having a huge Indian dinner.

Last day - I went out to do some last-minute souvenir shopping. I wasn't planning on anything else, which is good, because - by a stroke of luck and great timing - I got to meet my friends Oded and Orit. I hadn't seen them since last June - they've been traveling in the East for several months now, and had just arrived in NZ for the final(?) leg of their journey. It was great to see them (although I think I may have given Orit a bit of a heart-attack when I leaped on her at the hostel).

We walked around a bit and talked (while they were desperately trying to find a place to stay in Christchurch). Then it was time for goodbyes. Eran and Ofer drove me down to the airport, and - after a few more dramatic scenes - we finally parted.

I guess I need to write some words to summarize the whole NZ experience, but I think for now I'll leave it at that.
Thanks all for the words of encouragement (and a special thanks to those who actually posted comments to the posts). More of my OZ adventures - TBD.