Thursday, April 7th, 2016, and we are crossing from South Island to North Island to start the last leg of our 90 day roadtrip that began with a week in Tahiti, then almost 2 months in Oz. It is sunny and 20 Celsius as we leave Picton, but clouds over as we cross Cook Strait, named, of course, after the ubiquitous Captain James Cook, who we seem to run into everywhere in New Zealand.
At the mouth of Marlborough Sound.
Thankfully there is not much wind and the open sea once we reach it only has moderate swells, because the strait on occasion has been known to have - in New Zealand English - very roughish weather. Dropping the car at the rental agency is slick, drop brightonbonnie with our luggage at the terminal entrance, move on about 50 meters to where all the rental kiosks are, drop the keys and confirm with the agent once again that another car will be waiting in Wellington. Oh, and check the odometer: we have driven about 1,350 kilometers on South Island, which isn't a lot considering all we have seen! By the time I get to the terminal brightonbonnie using her initiative has already checked our two large rolling duffles and I only have to confirm our tickets.
Leaving Picton.
A sister ship, inbound from Wellington, seen through the lounge window.
We are using Interislander, one of two lines that crosses the strait, because it seems to offer the best service both in terms of schedule and the ships themselves. Our ferry Aratere ('quick path' in Maori) ironically arrives late, so departure is delayed about 20 minutes until 11:10. We start with about an hour of easy cruising down Marlborough Sound, surprisingly narrow in spots, including at its mouth.
There are several fish farms along the way...
...and other farms in small bays, but it's difficult to imagine how vehicles get up and down the steep tracks, and what they could be farming, though I think I see some sheep and cattle on some flatter patches.
Approaching the mouth of Marlborough Sound. I'm not a sailor, but I assume the narrow passage...
...tides, and the small eddies you can just make out in this shot, pose quite a challenge for the captain.
Due to our caravan park loyalty card discount we upgraded to Aratere Plus and in the small lounge we have a nice buffet lunch, butter chicken and my favourite dessert brownies for me, and sandwiches followed by a scone with clotted cream for brightonbonnie, all low-cal of course, accompanied by a nice NZ Sauvignon Blanc.
Into the open sea...
...and once past the lights marking the sound entrance you can see the swells starting to pick up.
In Cook Strait the wind picks up causing a moderate swell. There have been lots of picture-taking opportunities on the upper deck but as we approach North Island the wind starts to pick up even more so I only stay a few minutes longer; there is one other passenger up there, a woman, who shelters behind part of the superstructure out of the wind.
First look at North Island...
...the area we will stay for a few days...
...and Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.
After a 3 hour crossing we arrive at Wellington at 2:05, but what we find there is for the next post!
PS - if you've enjoyed this post please check out my first 12 New Zealand posts, the previous 19 posts in my Australia series, and the 3 before that as we started our 90 day roadtrip in Tahiti!
And please join us in my next post as we explore a bit of Wellington on the North Island.
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I always enjoyed ferry rides, especially if they aren't stuffy and we can get on the upper deck for some fresh air! This reminds me so much of all the ferry rides I've had... :) Looking forward to North Island... :)
Thanks for all your feedback on recent NZ posts. Spoiler alert - there are some nice spots on North Island but overall not as spectacularly impressive as the South!
You're most welcome!
I suspected as much... lol... no worries - you can't keep me away! :)
I wish I was on board now to visit these beautiful places - @brightongreg
Thanks again for following our journey!
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Wow such a beautiful place!
Wow, I'm learning so much! I've been talking to my kids about it! Can't wait to get to NZ!