MY AMAZING WEEKEND IN PICTON.

   It really was amazing. The ferry to the South Island, swimming with dolphins, tramping, oh my!

Hallie and I on the Interislander.

   Friday, Hallie and I caught the Interislander ferry to Picton, NZ, right at the tip of the South Island. It was HUGE. There were 5 different levels on the ferry, some for cars, some for trains, and some for people. We spent over an hour of the 3 hour journey exploring! The ferry had a bar, a food court, a movie theatre, and plenty of cozy seating areas. It was SO cool!
   We left Wellington at 2:30 Friday afternoon, and arrived in Picton at 5:45. From the ferry terminal, we walked straight to the hostel we had booked for the weekend. It was a short walk, and we got to see the little town of Picton.
   Once we got to Sequoia Lodge, we explored a little bit. The hostel had a TV room, a hot tub, free bikes to rent, and a full kitchen. It had everything you could ever need! Don't let me forget to mention the free pudding (cake) and ice cream every night at 8. After relaxing in the hot tub for a half hour, the pudding and ice cream was such a treat! I really liked our hostel. I met so many interesting people from all over the world.

Free pudding and ice cream!!

   Saturday morning was the big day for dolphin swimming! I woke up early to get to the harbour for 8 AM. At the dolphin headquarters, they briefed us on what to expect, and gave us our wetsuits and snorkels. Soon enough, we were on the boat, and we were off. The captain took us out into the Marlborough Sounds quite a ways to find the pod of dolphins that had been hanging around the area. Along the way, we saw blue penguins, seals, and tons of native bird species. Very neat!
   At last, we found the dolphins. We were ready to swim! There were about 15 of us on the boat, and the first swim was rather hectic. We all knew what to do, but I think the excitement took over. We climbed in the water and all started singing. The tour guides told us that singing attracted the dolphins, because they were such curious animals. It must have sounded so silly from the boat - 15 people singing underwater! I didn't see any dolphins on my first swim. I was still getting used to using the mask and snorkel, the cold water, and what to do when I got down there.

Beautiful!

   The group swam 4 times that day. We would follow the dolphins, and get out when they seemed to stay put. I saw dolphins all but the first time. It was amazing. I have no other way to describe it. So surreal! The 2nd swim, I saw two dolphins swim right under me. It was weird to have dolphins appear out of nowhere, and then be so close to you. The 3rd and 4th swims, there were dolphins everywhere. They were swimming beside me, under me, and all through our group. I looked up and saw fins coming towards me, and then I'd look down and dolphins would be whizzing by. I can't even explain what an amazing experience it was. Imagine being thisclose to wild dolphins!

We really were thatclose.

   At one point, a mama dolphin and her calf swam under me. It goes to show how curious and trusting they are. The crew that brought us out never pushed any limits with the dolphins - everything was on their terms. If they didn't want to interact with us, we wouldn't force them, or harass them. It was really cool that they swam all around us on their own.

Dolphins everywhere!
(I'm on the left with my head up)

   An interesting fact about dolphins: they really like the song The Final Countdown. I think that's what attracted them to me so much. I sang it on the last 2 swims and they were swarming!
   After our 4 swims, all 15 of us got back on the boat and enjoyed some biscuits (cookies) and hot cocoa. We cruised for a while before heading back, and spent some more time observing the dolphins. The pod we were following had about 70 dolphins in it. Some were far away, but some were swimming right under our boat and right beside us. I still can't get over how marvelous the whole experience was!
   On our way back to the harbour, I made a new best friend. The captain's daughter, 4 year-old Sophia, braided my hair the whole way home. She was so sweet, and so cute with her accent!

My hair stylist, Sophia.

   Hallie and I were back on land by 12:30. What could we do for the rest of the day that wouldn't seem lame after swimming with freakin' dolphins?! We walked around town on our way back to the hostel. There were tons of little shops and cafes to stop at, and we took our time walking back. Once we made it to the hostel, we rented out the bikes, and biked around Picton. We really explored that town!
   After biking for a while, we decided to go for a short tramp (hike) on Tirohanga Track, up to a nearby lookout. It took us about 2 hours, and it was so worth it. The view was breathtaking! At the hostel that night, we took advantage of the free pudding and the free hot tub again. What a wonderful day we had!

The view of Picton from the top of the Tirohanga Track. Look at the size of the ferry!

   Sunday was St. Patrick's Day. What better way to start out our day than go to an Irish bar? I was tempted to get a Guinness, but since I would be tramping all day, I thought better of it. Plus, it was 9 AM! Instead, Hallie and I got coffee and a Guinness pot pie. So I guess we did have our morning Guinness after all. Happy St. Patty's Day to us!

Picton from above. That green peninsula is the Snout Trail. Yes, it is as long as it looks.

   The Marlborough Sounds are comprised of hundreds of peninsulas, islands, and other cool stuff, at the top of the South island. Right off of Picton is a trail called the Snout. I knew it would take most of the day to complete it, but I had no idea how intense it would be! Hallie and I were carrying all of our stuff, since we checked out of the hostel that morning in preparation to leave in the evening. Luckily, we packed light! The Snout Trail took us at least 4 hours in total. At some spots it was nice, flat terrain, but it was mostly steep uphills or downhills. It was an incredible workout, an incredible experience, and an incredible view from the top! It sprinkled for most of the day, but the rain was never hard enough to ruin our adventure. I'm so glad we did it, even though it was really hard!

We made it through the rain and mugginess to the top of the Snout Trail!

   While we were resting at the top, Hallie got a phone call from the ferry office saying that we were bumped from our 6:30 PM ferry back to a 10:30 PM departure. Ouch! I didn't want to get back to Wellington at 2 AM! There was nothing we could do about it, so we kept on tramping. When we finished our hike around 2:30, I was beat! Since Hallie and I still had 8 hours until our ferry left, we wandered around town again. What were we going to do for the rest of the day?!
   We must have good luck, because the ferry office called back that afternoon and we were back on the 6:30 ferry! I was so grateful. We scurried back to the terminal to catch our ride home.
   On the way home, Hallie and I took advantage of the on-board cinemas and watched a cool Welsh film called Hunky Dory. It was interesting, and it made our trip home fly by. We arrived back in Wellington at 10 PM, walked home, showered, and went right to bed. I was so exhausted after my big weekend! I am so lucky to be here, and to have the opportunity to experience such amazing things.

So exhausted after an eventful weekend.