Many people said The Cook Strait ferry crossing between Wellington and Picton is known as one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world. On the first day of my arrival in NZ, I had thought of crossing the ferry as I bought some bus tickets and got a one-way free ferry ride. I promised myself to use that ticket for a well-deserved break after working on a blueberry farm for a couple of months. Unfortunately, I am not able to do so until 3 years later.
Ferry enters the Marlborough Sounds
We left on Friday dawn to catch the Bluebridge ferry from Wellington to Picton on the South Island. This was a three-and-a-half hours ride. From Wellington, the ferry went around Wellington Harbour before crossing the narrow route between New Zealand's north and south islands, which is named the Cook Strait after Captain Cook, the English explorer who first mapped it.
We boarded the ferry later than others so all the seats with the best views were taken. Together with the practice of social distancing during that time, we ended up sitting in a cafeteria area near the ferry restaurant.
Unfortunately, the wind came after we went out of the Wellington harbour which created a lot of small waves on the sea surface. I started to feel a bit dizzy and it got worse when I tried to go to the toilet. Even moving inside the hallway to go back to my seat was almost impossible so I had to stop in the movie theatre.
As we slowly moved into the magnificent Marlborough Sounds, the choppy sea was almost gone. I remember my friend's suggestion to go up to the deck of the ferry to enjoy the spectacular view of the beautiful Marlborough. And she is so right. It is this hour-long cruise through the Marlborough Sounds that makes the Cook Strait ferry a must-do experience.
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We disembarked around noon and proceeded to the car rental agency. From there we set off along the north coast of the South Island, along the path that overlooks the Queen Charlotte Channel. After a short lunch at a stop on the route, our first destination was Cullen Point, a bluff overlooking the town of Havelock. It was beautiful to stop there a bit and take pictures but we wasted an hour on a walk around it that was not remarkable. So if you are in a hurry, there is no need to do this walk as we will find many better ones on the way.
The first leg of the trip: Picton to Richmond
Our second stop for the day was at the Pelorus Bridge Reserve, which crosses the river of the same name. We sat down to rest by the shore and enjoy the calm of a beautiful and natural place outside of the tourist season. It was almost empty so we had the whole place for ourselves.
I asked my partner to spend more time there because I had an awe moment at this place. It is not absolutely stunning when you look at the photos but the sun came out after the rain lit up a warm and peaceful moment for my soul and my body. Everything around me seems to slow down, the water flowing gently in this river, there was no wind compared to my windy welly.
Finally, we ended the day by driving to Richmond, adjacent to the city of Nelson, the largest in this region. We just transit there one night before driving up to see the beautiful crystal clear springs the next day.
Visiting The world's clearest fresh water in Te Waikoropupu Springs
On the morning of our second day, we headed to the lively little town of Takaka, to visit one of the wonders of nature there - the Te Waikoropupu Springs, a sacred site for the Maori with crystal clear water. Yes, you heard me right - the term “crystal clear” is actual, not in imaginary.
At the entrance
A short walk to the Springs
Here we are...
The Te Waikoropupu Springs are the largest freshwater springs in New Zealand and the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere. Imagine the size of an underground reservoir large enough to have its own tides. And that's where the pure water come from
As a result of filtering through the surrounding rock for up to 10 years, the water that comes up out of the springs feeding the pools is so pure and clear that the only thing obscuring views of the variety of plant species carpeting the bottom, which is more than ten meters below, is the fabulous blue tint of the water. Src
As these springs are a sacred site for the Maori, the waters of Te Waikoropupū Springs are closed to all forms of contact. Contact includes fishing, swimming, diving, wading, boating and the filling of drinking water containers, or any other activity where parts of the body or equipment contact the water. Read more about it here
I had to admit that I was so tempted to touch the water and really like to fill my water bottle with the water from this Spring. I know I shouldn't have had that thought but you will understand me when you stand in front of these springs. I was obsessed with its beauty. The more you look at it, the clearer and purer it is.
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This post is so awesome. Love the views, felt like I was present
Thank you :)
amazing pictures
Thank you :)
Congratulations, your post has been curated by @r2cornell-curate.
Also, find us on Discord (https://discord.gg/BAn2amn)
Thank you so much for your support @r2cornell-curate. Really appreciate it. Cheers, Dora.
Đẹp quá bà đẹp muốn xĩu luôn á :) Ngày trước hái bluberries xong phải thưởng cho bản thân bằng những chuyến đi chơi thế này mới xứng công sức lao động bỏ ra haha
Giowf mà qua laị NZ tui sẽ làm chiếc xe đi vòng quanh hết NZ 😍🤩
uh, công nhận nhiều chỗ bên này đẹp muốn xỉu thật. Nhiều khi nó đơn giản ko tráng lệ với núi non biển cả gì đâu mà cũng đẹp hút hồn
Không cần tráng lệ, như thế này là như sống ở thiên đướng rồi :) Sáng làm việc tập thể dục chiều thể dục bơi lội yoga, tối về viết blog, rồi xem phim mần ly rượu vang ôm người iu ngủ, đời còn gì bằng nhể 😆😆😆
Chuẩn đét luôn nàng ơi, mình chỉ cần cs đơn giản vậy thôi
Very majestic, my friend. Excellent photography and description s as well!!
Thank you :)
Wow I am impressed! There is something about New Zealand which seems out of this world, I dream about vising one day. The clear water pictures were stunning, it is wonderful to see such pure water. Everytime I see pictures from NZ it looks like the land of the hobbits. In the most positive way. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. when I took that photo, The sun was shining creating magical reflection on the pure water. Just like something I would see in movies, so beautiful
Yes it gave me cinematic vibes too
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Que lugar mas hermoso, lleno de mucho encanto.
Bellas fotografías 😍
Gracias por visitar mi blog. Muy feliz que te gusten las fotografías 🙂
When was this? =) and WHY have you guys not visited me!
Omg Do you live close by? Meaning we have a NZ team here?
It was last Spring, sorry I should have put the year in the post.
HIVE people is spread across the hole world. Wherever you go, there is people. Just not everybody posts. But there is a great deal of people that have accounts or at least have done something in the past.
I know a couple of people here yes. Less than across the world LOL The beauty of the blockchain right?
Cheers
!BEER
!PIZZA
Absolutely. Since joining Hive 2 months ago, I am making new friends and broaden my knowledge about blockchains and cryptocurrency. Lots of things happened during the last two months in my life and all thanks to Hive - the first blockchain I know.
Great choice! =) Highly recommend twitting about your opinion LOL :P
Thanks, I already created a "Hi from Hive" post to talk about my experience and send it to my non-Hiver friends. Just had my twitter account with me recently and will tweet more often about it. Have a lovely Friday. Cheers, Dora
rừng thông lá kim à chị , ảnh chị bài nào cũng đẹp .
Rung nay no co la thong, roi la duong xi, nhieu lam em a. Cam on em 😍
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Đẹp quá @dora381 ơi. Biên bên đấy nhìn xanh ghê, nhìn là chỉ muốn nhảy xuống bơi liền luôn.
Á họ cấm ko đc chạm vào nước nữa cơ, lơ tơ mơ là mất vài triệu liền. Lúc t nhìn thấy cái hồ nước ngọt thiên nhiên này chỉ muốn chạm tay thôi mà cũng ko đc
Waooo nhìn mấy tấm hồ nước kìa !!!! 😍😍 Mê mẩn chị ơiii
2 vc dạo này hoạt động sôi nổi ghê hahah :)
Chắc là hội "yêu cái đẹp" á chị 🤣 🤣
phải nói là từ khi @daotam tham gia, @dodovietnam hoạt động sôi nổi hơn hẳn nhể, ng ta nói có vợ có chồng tát biển đông cũng cạn là chuẩn luôn đấy
Hey @dora381, ở Việt Nam mình nay có câu "nhà có nóc" đấy Dora. 😁
Giờ có con lớn rồi cho nó nhập hội lên Hive đi du lịch virtually nữa là cả nhà xôm xả nhỉ 😆😅
Quá hợp lí để chèo sup và lặn nếu chính quyền không cấm, cắm trại trên núi chắc không có gấu chị ha?
uh bên này họ cấm em ạ, cái hồ nước ngọt đó là ko được phép chạm tay vào nước. Còn cắm trại thì đa phần là phải cắm ở nơi quy định, ko phải chỗ nào cũng cắm được :(
Such a fantastic ride, @dora381!
I love wild nature!
Thank you. It is even more beautiful if we have good weather. The choppy sea made me unwell for a while.
Me too, I love to see wild flowers, wild mushroom and wild animals. I can spend hours just to admire their beauty
The view you get to enjoy from that ferry is pure awesomeness! I'm gealous now 😜
Thank you :) We spent 3.5 hours for the ride and luckily one hour was going around the bay. It was so beautiful. Part of that remind me about Ha Long Bay in Vietnam :)
Wow, the water is indeed very clear!!!! That place looks awesome!!!! Great post!
Thank you. The fact that water is filtering through rock up to 10 years make it one of the purest fresh water springs in the world.
is it potable water?
I think so but it is not allowed to take the water from the spring as it is a scared place to the local people here