Still catching up! Morning of the 4th, woke about 8am for a 9am pickup. At 8.45, went back to the room and found Rob still asleep. Woke him, and nipped across the road to grab a Kiwi-theme tshirt. Said bye to Gea, who was red-eyed (more because she was leaving Michelle than me) and on to the ferry. Grabbed lunch in the Villa (cheeky!) in Picton, where I also managed to exchange Shantaram again - back where it came from! Things have come full circle. Similar sensation when we passed through Christchurch - myself and Michelle on the bus, passing the spot where we first met.
Couple of new people have joined us - German Irish. Introduced myself to Scottish Karyn as well, ended up chatting on the ferry for a bit, and played Uno together with Katie and Julia.
When we dock in Wellington, there are costumes everywhere! Reminds me a lot of Fastnacht in Mainz - people here are all out! Not just slutty nurses, but cows, sperm (who did the haka!), American footballers, native American Indians, bears, nuns...
Checked in to Nomads and took advantage of their free dinner. Karyn shared some cider with me, nice sweet stuff. We're all in one room, the Strays, and we set to work devising costumes while playing drinking games. I default to my usual priest outfit. Myself and Karyn have no drink, so halve a bottle of wine between us. We head out toward the street party, with Brazilian Natalia carrying a bottle of wine. We realise there's a no alcohol policy in place, so dispose of it quickly between us. Head to Kitty O'Shea's Irish bar (got IDed) and the Guinness is good. After some general craic in the street, we go into another bar, where there's a bit of a queue. When we get to the door, there's a $5 cover charge, which we end up haggling over. End up paying $30 the lot. Bar's not even that good, so after a drink there, we end up just dancing on the street outside the Grand. Dubstep in the rain, quality way to end the night, and start my stay in Wellington.
Most of the room depart early the next morning. When I'm fully awake, I'm completely parched - the room is incredibly hot and stuffy. Only Gearóid and Caoimhe, and Niyanta and Karyn remain. The room looks like a bomb hit it, with bottles and bits of costume littering the floor. Grab a shower and some fresh air, and take the cable car up to the botanic gardens. Look around the charming cable car museum, then have a coffee and a pie on a bench, looking out across the city. End up sitting and chatting for about two hours, maybe more. Karyn was in the cadets - the army version of the scouts - and plays flute and sax.
Walk down past the 'Beehive' (gov't buildings) to the waterfront. We both need to change hostels, so we split - she to meet her sister (they had been to Dan Deacon the night prior) and I to meet Scott and Ali. They pick me up from the hostel, and take me to the Mt Victoria lookout. Great to see them again, though getting back to normality after travelling has been a bit tough for them.
We meet some of their friends for fish and chips - Hailey, Rob, Jeff, Keb and... Chelsea? I think. Two couples and Hailey, whose partner arrives later to try fishing. We sit on some rocks on a point sticking out into the bay, with a view toward Wellington across the harbour. Fish and chips, cider, good company, all by the sea - blissful. Scott lights a small campfire, but eventually we return to the city for a couple of pints in the Grand.
Afterwards, everyone heads home. They give me affectionate hugs and handshakes as they leave, which is lovely, and S&A make plans to meet me late tomorrow. I go back to my hostel to sober up a bit - last entry to watch the Ireland-Wales match in the Welsh bar is at 2am.
I read, drink water and eat crisps. A gang of Chileans arrive in, and decide I am absolutely wasted. I'm only a little tipsy, if even, but they enjoy themselves making fun of me, and I leave them to it. In the Welsh Dragon, I start chatting to an Irish group - Elaine, Karen, Claire and Paul - mostly from Leixlip. The Welsh regulars are given the choice of seats, which is fair enough really, and we stake out a little room at the front. The pub used to be a public toilet - wonder if this is the men's?
The first score is Sexton from a penalty, but Wales dominate the first half, getting one try, and another potential one being disallowed. There's not much hope among the Irish at half time, but we manage to scrape a lead. At 75mins we're a point ahead, but Ferris spear-tackles a player, and Halfpenny gets the penalty easily. It's all over.
Manage 4hrs sleep back at the hostel - my dorm is full now.
Couple of new people have joined us - German Irish. Introduced myself to Scottish Karyn as well, ended up chatting on the ferry for a bit, and played Uno together with Katie and Julia.
When we dock in Wellington, there are costumes everywhere! Reminds me a lot of Fastnacht in Mainz - people here are all out! Not just slutty nurses, but cows, sperm (who did the haka!), American footballers, native American Indians, bears, nuns...
Checked in to Nomads and took advantage of their free dinner. Karyn shared some cider with me, nice sweet stuff. We're all in one room, the Strays, and we set to work devising costumes while playing drinking games. I default to my usual priest outfit. Myself and Karyn have no drink, so halve a bottle of wine between us. We head out toward the street party, with Brazilian Natalia carrying a bottle of wine. We realise there's a no alcohol policy in place, so dispose of it quickly between us. Head to Kitty O'Shea's Irish bar (got IDed) and the Guinness is good. After some general craic in the street, we go into another bar, where there's a bit of a queue. When we get to the door, there's a $5 cover charge, which we end up haggling over. End up paying $30 the lot. Bar's not even that good, so after a drink there, we end up just dancing on the street outside the Grand. Dubstep in the rain, quality way to end the night, and start my stay in Wellington.
***
Most of the room depart early the next morning. When I'm fully awake, I'm completely parched - the room is incredibly hot and stuffy. Only Gearóid and Caoimhe, and Niyanta and Karyn remain. The room looks like a bomb hit it, with bottles and bits of costume littering the floor. Grab a shower and some fresh air, and take the cable car up to the botanic gardens. Look around the charming cable car museum, then have a coffee and a pie on a bench, looking out across the city. End up sitting and chatting for about two hours, maybe more. Karyn was in the cadets - the army version of the scouts - and plays flute and sax.
Walk down past the 'Beehive' (gov't buildings) to the waterfront. We both need to change hostels, so we split - she to meet her sister (they had been to Dan Deacon the night prior) and I to meet Scott and Ali. They pick me up from the hostel, and take me to the Mt Victoria lookout. Great to see them again, though getting back to normality after travelling has been a bit tough for them.
We meet some of their friends for fish and chips - Hailey, Rob, Jeff, Keb and... Chelsea? I think. Two couples and Hailey, whose partner arrives later to try fishing. We sit on some rocks on a point sticking out into the bay, with a view toward Wellington across the harbour. Fish and chips, cider, good company, all by the sea - blissful. Scott lights a small campfire, but eventually we return to the city for a couple of pints in the Grand.
Afterwards, everyone heads home. They give me affectionate hugs and handshakes as they leave, which is lovely, and S&A make plans to meet me late tomorrow. I go back to my hostel to sober up a bit - last entry to watch the Ireland-Wales match in the Welsh bar is at 2am.
I read, drink water and eat crisps. A gang of Chileans arrive in, and decide I am absolutely wasted. I'm only a little tipsy, if even, but they enjoy themselves making fun of me, and I leave them to it. In the Welsh Dragon, I start chatting to an Irish group - Elaine, Karen, Claire and Paul - mostly from Leixlip. The Welsh regulars are given the choice of seats, which is fair enough really, and we stake out a little room at the front. The pub used to be a public toilet - wonder if this is the men's?
The first score is Sexton from a penalty, but Wales dominate the first half, getting one try, and another potential one being disallowed. There's not much hope among the Irish at half time, but we manage to scrape a lead. At 75mins we're a point ahead, but Ferris spear-tackles a player, and Halfpenny gets the penalty easily. It's all over.
Manage 4hrs sleep back at the hostel - my dorm is full now.
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