our transfer to the north island started somewhat hectically:
we were woken up 15 minutes before the ferry was supposed to depart, had to leave behind a wonderful breakfast that was prepared for us by the friendly hosts of forget me not b&b, and rushed over to the ferry area — where we waited in line for just as long as the breakfast might have taken…
the ferry took us through part of the marlborough sounds, turned back south, and continued on its s-shaped route to wellington [G].
we spent most of the day in wellington itself, and then drove to palmerston for the night.
[view photos: picton to wellington]
our next stop was taupo, right in the center of new zealand’s north island [G]. a lot of people say that lake taupo (the giant volcanic crater lake) is best viewed from above… so of course we wanted to see for ourselves. :-)
there was only one question i had to ask before booking our skydive with freefall:
- me: if my parachute doesn’t inflate, will i get my money back?
ticketing lady: don’t worry - you’re paying afterwards.
from her reaction, i’d guess that she gets that question about 15 times a day…
i didn’t tell my family about it until i got home, then just told them i wanted to show them something, and played the video. the looks on their faces were priceless!
