Whew!

Left home a tad later than planned as I was sure I heard a bird in the fire just as I was about to leave.  I couldn't bear the  thought of it being stuck there so opted to check it out..........nothing!  Weird.

The group gathered as planned, loaded the bus then headed to town to meet up with another College we're doing this trip with.  A quick reorganisation of the buses then we were on the road and heading to Picton.  Were scheduled to be on the 12.30 feeerry but, having arrived early, we were offered the chance to go on the 10.45 ferry that was 'leaving now'.  Of course we grabbed the opportunity, raced around and ushered the students (all 70 of them!) along a bit and made it to the earlier sailing :)  

The part I was worried about - crossing Cook Strait on what had been described as gale-force winds - turned out to be no more than a gentle rolling, certainly not the 4 or 5m swells I was fearful of.  Actually, it was a very pleasant crossing indeed :)

Arrived in Wellington to ......rain!   Didn't last too long though which was good as, with an extra couple of hours up our sleeves we were able to give the students some early free time to explore and enjoy the buzz of Wellington.  

All in all a great start to what is going to be a great trip.  Tomorrow is the reason for the trip - a Philosophy Conference for these talented and motivated young men and women.  More on that tomorrow.  For now, bed calls.

G'night.