Wellington to Picton

Left Wellington today. Had to take a ferry to cross the Cook Strait to the South Island. It was much easier to take the bike on the ferry than on the bus. I was loaded amongst the last cars, but then the ferry traffic controllers let me off a good five minutes before any of the cars started driving off, so I got a pretty good head start. The ferry is very large; the crossing from Wellington took three hours.

Picton is a very small town. The hostel I'm stating at is called the Juggler's Rest and is highly recommended in the New Zealand network of jugglers. Apparently the owners are semi-ardent juggler's themselves. There are all sorts of props to play with. It is a very nice place- very clean, not too big.

Dinner was a bit of a change from the norm. Six young Israelis showed up, all of whom had just finished their time in the army and were taking some time to travel before starting at university in the fall. I ended up having a big Friday night Shabbat dinner with them- homemade hallah, salmon, cauliflower, mashed potatoes- a veritable feast. First people I've met to have mixed feelings about Obama. They agree that he is probably better for the US economy than McCain would have been, but they feel that he (Obama) will be too soft towards Iran and think McCain's conservatism would have made him a safer president from Israel's perspective. But it was a good dinner. Shabbat shalom!