days eleven, twelve & thirteen (i think!)

• i'm totally losing track of time here - i think that's a good thing, so long as i don't miss my bus to the next town.
• so tuesday - day eleven - eilidh and i went to te papa, the national museum in wellington. they have exhibits on new zealand geology, wildlife, and natural distasters/events, including a simulated earthquake in a model house. my favorite parts were the exhibits on the maori people and also the more recent immigrants to the country. the maori exhibit is really cool - all kinds of things on the history of the maori in new zealand complete with canoes, an assortment of tools, and displays showing the routes through the pacific that these first settlers likely used. the section on more recent immigrants told a number of moving stories about all the reasons people have come to new zealand, among them chinese gold miners who left their families to try to work their way out of poverty and european jews fleeing the holocaust. i wish we'd had a couple of days to look around the museum - we only saw maybe a third of the exhibits, and i could have spent more time at most of what i did see.
• wednesday - day twelve - eilidh and i headed to town again so i could catch the ferry to picton (on the south island). the ferry hauls everything you can think of - trucks, cars, buses, even train cars - i've been on some big ferries in the seattle area, but i think this one has those ones beat. the trip is a little over three hours, most of which i spent out on the observation decks taking in the cook strait and marlborough sound. the last hour or so - through marlborough sound - was the best part. the sound is pretty narrow in places, with smaller green islands dotted all around and coves and bays tucked here and there - beautiful, like a little slice of paradise. we left wellington in the sun, but it was overcast and rainy by the time we reached the sound - the weather and the views reminded me of ferry trips in the san juan islands. of course, walking to my hostel in the rain wasn't ideal, but it wasn't too far, and if i'd been thinking, i could have called to have them pick me up . . .
• today, thursday - day thirteen - i've been taking it easy. i slept in a little, did some laundry, booked the next few legs of my trip, and walked around town for a while. picton is pretty cute, and as usual, the people are friendly and helpful. tonight i'm going to make some soup for dinner (there's cooking gear in the hostel kitchen) and repack my bags.
• tomorrow i'm planning to get up a little earlier and take a long walk around the outskirts of town before my bus ride to nelson. i hear this is the best way to find out about the heaphy track, which was my dad's favorite place in new zealand when he was here back in the seventies. i don't have time to walk it - five days! - but i'd like to see the trailhead, at least. maybe when i come back to new zealand, i'll make sure i have the time and equipment for that trek. yeah, i'm already thinking about how to get back here; there's so much to see and do that i just can't imagine feeling like i've finished with the place after three and a half weeks. i can see why people move here.