We were early, probably the earliest departure so far on the trip. We had to catch the ferry for the south island. It was a very uneventful trip south. The ferry was huge with 10 levels, and lots of things to do and places to sit. Spent part of the time on the top deck with the wind blowing me around. It was great seeing the spectacular southern Alps in the distance. The sound we sailed into reminded me a lot of the inland passage on our trips to Alaska.
We picked up a new bus and new bus driver for the south island. The bus is smaller so now we need to share seats.
The exciting activities for today was a visit to the World of Wearable Arts (WOW) and a wine tour/tasting. The WOW was very different with mannequins covered in absurd outfits. It was like moveable art. It has become a really big thing in the past 20 years drawing artists/designers from all over the world. They have 10 days of shows in September with sell-out crowds of 1500 people per performance.
The wine tour was actually just a tasting. They gave everyone (but me) real glasses, talked about each wine, let them taste, pour and spit if they didn't like it, and water to cleanse their palates for the next one. To say the least this was not my favorite activity of the trip. I did find out why they tie their grapes vertically rather than horizontally -- why do you think they do it?
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