Kia Ora everyone! I apologize in advance for any grammar or spelling errors. I used to proofread with my phone, but now she is gone and I am on my own. I recently had a conversation with a fellow traveler and I said I could get by just fine if I had lost all the contents of my bag except my phone and a credit card. Now I have a credit card and everything else. I can get into details of how I became separated from my phone later, but first Wellington. I did a LOTR tour through the Hobbiton woods and went to the Te Papa museum and the Weta Workshop. All were fantastic. The Weta workshop is a movie studio where special effects are made, and the Te Papa museum is all about the history of New Zealand. I didn’t realize how much they were involved in the first World War. I only spent one day in Wellington and then took the ferry across the cook straight to Picton and then Nelson. I am now on the south island. Here on the south Island the roads are windier, the mountains are bigger and the wifi is terrible. Luckily my bus provides wifi. Nelson is the sunny capital of New Zealand. However it was supposed to be cloudy and rainy the days I was there. There is a National Park about an hour from Nelson called Abel Tasman. It is beautiful. Sitting on the beach I tried to take a picture so I could share its majestic beauty with everyone else, but no picture could do the beach justice. That is how I feel about most of my pictures in New Zealand. No picture can truly capture the essence of what I am experiencing with my two eyes. The way the sun makes the sand glisten, or the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. Today I drove in the rain through a gorge and it was amazing. And no picture could have portrayed what I felt driving through it. I decided to take the track through Abel Tasman on Wednesday before the weather got worse. The day started out sunny and warm, but that did not last long. By the time we hit the beach for lunch it was cloudy, cold and windy. So much for swimming. We finished the trek and made it to our final destination. We sat on the beach waiting for our water taxi to take us back to the bus. I can’t explain what was going through my head at the moment, but I watched my water taxi pull up to shore and leave. And I was not on it, There were still tons of people on the beach, including some workers and she said another taxi would be back at 5:15. My bus was leaving at 4:30. At this point I was glad I was not alone. A girl from my hostel I had met on the hike was with me. We both watched the boat leave. We both felt like idiots. Obviously I made it out okay. I am writing you today. We met three British girls on the beach who were going back to Nelson and had room in their car for two more. Crisis adverted. Nelson is the craft beer capital of NZ. So the next day my new friend and I decided to go beer tasting. All was grand. We went into town and browsed through the shops and made a pit stop at Starbucks. I  never feel like I have to use the restroom, but as soon as I near a toilet its as if its a dire emergency. I heard a plop, and it was my phone. I pulled it out. It was on. Proceeded to dry it. And then it shut off. Gone forever. RIP Siri #1. I still have my kindle, but is it not  the same. I am a domesticated cat who has been thrown outside in the cold. To make matters worse I became so preoccupied with my lack of phone I forgot to pre-arrange how to get my key deposit back. I would be leaving Nelson long before reception opened. Good riddance Nelson and all your bad omens. On a positive note I am currently experiencing the most scenic drive of my time in NZ so far. I am travelling from Nelson to Greymouth, and tomorrow I will take the train over Arthur’s Pass. I still have my digital camera to take some pictures, but luckily my memories will last forever.