Stranded in Seatoun....

Saturday was a rare instance when I didn't have to run experiments in the lab and Tim wasn't buried in marking (grading papers). So we decided to take the Dominion Post Ferry out to Somes Island (just outside Welly) to see the little blue penguins. This time of year they are expected to be on the island to nest. Upon arriving at the port we bought our tickets and decided to stop over in Seatoun (see-toon) to check out one of Welly's suburbs and grab brunch since we'd rushed out of the house without eating. Soon after the ferry whisked us away from the harbor. After twenty minutes we arrived in Seatoun, disembarked amongst the rolling waves and went in search of brunch. What we found was a suburb with genuinely cute houses but little else. Luckily there was a cafe where we shared delicious corn fritters with real bacon, avocado, sour cream and mango salsa. After we had our fill we went walking around to kill the remainder of the two hours we had to wait for the ferry to pick us up again to take us to Somes Island. The two hours came and went with no sign of the boat. Hmm. With a phone that was about to die we called back to the office and were told that the ferry had been cancelled because the waves were too big and that maybe they could come to get us in about two hours. We politely declined the offer and decided to take the bus back into Wellington. It was then we realized that our Snappers (bus passes) didn't have enough credit to get us from Seatoun to Wellington. Hopeful, we went to the one dairy in Seatoun and inquired if they 'topped up' Snapper, but alas, they did not. Thankfully, the guy told us there was a place to 'top up' about a kilometer away. With no other option we walked, arms around each other, to the other store. Indeed, we could 'top up' our Snappers and there was a bus stop right next to it with a bus arriving in two minutes. Contented, we rode the bus back into the city. So it wasn't the day we had planned but we still had a great time. We're hoping for good weather next weekend so we can travel to Somes Island and see the little blue penguins (that is their official name). :)