As we were waking up at the Blue Seas Motel this morning we first heard the news about the capture of Saddam Hussein. It was interesting to see the locals take on the news. It managed a front-page blurb in one of the newspapers, but just barely. It was a short, single column on the bottom of the page.

We made our way up to the port city of Nelson, our final stop on the south island. Another long drive on twisted, narrow mountain roads. We enjoyed the scenery of the ocean along the way. I even spotted two seals sunbathing.

Once we checked in to our rooms in Nelson, we took a walk to the city centre and took a look around. Some of us went off to check email while others, including myself, just looked for a place to eat. Nelson seems to have less of a touristy feel to it than other cities here. Maybe I’m spoiled by how open everything was in Queenstown, but it seemed like most shops in Nelson shut down around five in the evening.

We ended up at an Italian bar/grill place named after some kind of scooter. Afterwards we headed back to the motel, played with the resident cat (some strange mix of Siamese and something that sounded like cougar) and watched Pirates of the Caribbean on the Powerbook. Excitement abound.