Traveling

So, I went to Wellington for the weekend. It was great, and the traveling itself was adventurous. At the Christchurch airport, I was staggered to realise I'd booked my flight from Wellington to Christchurch, instead of vice versa. Drats. I just tried to focus on how good the weekend would be. It was really good.
The return trip had me walking to the train station at 7am. I caught a shuttle to the ferry terminal, and hoped on the Interislander. I bumped in to one of my best friends Simon, who has just moved to Chch. I was taking the train down, and he was driving. The train had broken down, and Simon's completely packed car meant that I was catching a bus instead. The bus took passengers to Seddon, where we waited an hour and a half. I'd previously spent a night in Seddon on my cycle trip.
Once finally on board the train, it was really nice. I sat opposite a retired French couple, Jean-Marie, and his 'swapped over' wife, Marie-Jean. They were traveling the country painting water colours. The train was amazingly scenic, and as tired as I was, I didn't want to miss anything.
I popped down to the observation carriage, and ended up spending an hour there. I just couldn't leave - it was so captivating. The air was so warm, and the scenery ever-changing. Thistle seeds (fairies) swirled around endlessly in the open air carriage, and traveling through tunnels felt like a blast from hell, with screaming wraiths as the train sounds echoed infinitely.