Still felling jet lagged, I woke up at 5:20, but I didn’t use the time productively. It wasn’t until 8 that I finally got out of the hotel. The first stop was Zumo Coffeehouse for a flat white. After drinking the coffee, I made my way back to the waterfront and down to Clyde Quay to shoot some photos.

After a little walk, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to the meeting point for the food tour we were taking. We informed our guide that we had to leave a little early and she said no problem. The first stop on the food tour was the Mojo coffee roaster. I got my second coffee of the day while learning about their roasting process.

The next stop on the tour was gelatissimo; a gelato shop on the waterfront. A little early for ice cream but it was so delicious I did not complain. After eating the ice cream, we head to a grocery specializing in local goods for a cheese plate. It was pretty tasty.

The final stop on the tour was a chocolate factory. This part of the tour was a little rushed as we had to leave to catch our ferry, but the guide was very accommodating. We called an Uber, went back to the hotel to pick up our bags and then got dropped at the ferry terminal.

The ferry ride was stunning. Once out of Wellington, the skies cleared up and it was a beautiful day. Though sunny, the winds in the strait did force us inside for 45 minutes, but it was really hot when we went back out in the fjords. After 3.5 hours, we landed in Picton. Disembarking was a little disorganized. We had to take a bus to pick up our bags and then get back on the bus to go back to the ferry terminal to pick up the rental car.

After getting the car, we began our driving on the left hand side! Dennis drove the two hours to Nelson. We got in just in time for golden hour. We dropped our stuff at the Airbnb and walked into town for our reservation at Hopgoods. Dinner was phenomenal. We ate beef tartare, lamb and pork belly. All cooked perfectly. After dinner we walked around the town and then walked back so we could get up early for our kayaking trip.