Interisland ferry and more...

Well the VERY windy weather on our last day in Wellington did not die down as expected. The idea of the ferry crossing with the strong winds (and possibly an angry ocean!!) was making us pale and squeamish.

We woke early (6am) to be ready at the docks for the 7:30 boarding of our ferry. While waiting for the taxi I was seriously considering & asking Mark, if it was a sensible idea to just forget the ferry and the north part of the south island and fly straight down to Queenstown.

With that the taxi arrived and our bags were in the boot before we knew it... and we were off to the dock. Check in was quick and it was with MUCH trepidation that we boarded. The waves in the bay in Wellington were choppy with lots of white caps. We even were very tentative of what we ate, in case it was going to come back but also didn’t want to feel hungry either. It was not encouraging to see stands of ‘bags’ for passengers to help themselves to, should they feel unwell.

We took a table at the front of the boat and had a great lookout. Gratefully the couple who took the table next to us were chatty and informative and gave us lots of ideas of which were the best roads to take or avoid when travelling south. They were a great distraction.

So it was out the heads of the north island and on entering the straight it actually seemed to get better rather than worse. Even our local neighbours said it was much better than they were expecting. It wasn’t the 4m waves they thought it may be and that they had previously experienced in bad weather. So at this point we thought it safe to order a coffee and scone. In the end it was an easy crossing and smooth indeed with very little movement of the ferry.

Entering and cruising up the Queen Charlotte sound was just beautiful. Again our neighbours pointed out things of interest, salmon farms, mussel farms, timber station, old whaling station etc.

Arriving into Picton, there was already a cruise ship docked as well as another interisland ferry. Picton also has a large marina which is where our neighbours were headed for a week of R&R on their boat. This was their version of a ‘weekender’ and they didn’t even need to take a car from the north island.

We picked up our car and were on the road to Nelson. We took the scenic Queen Charlotte Pass. Just amazing scenery of deep ravines and waterways, steep mountains covered with pine plantations which seem improbable to plant and harvest.

Not sure how they do it but its BIG business here.
Nelson was a surprising big town. Lots of microbreweries - of which we tried one. It’s also quite an arty town.

Next day was off to Greymouth. Again, through amazing mountainous region with tight windy roads and lots of river crossings.

We stopped and checked out the pancake rocks and blow holes at Punakaiki. Greymouth is a port city and the largest on the west coast. The beaches along this coast are rugged looking with lots of driftwood on them. (a bit like Crescent City, Barkers) If you have ever seen ‘The Piano’, I believe this is the area it was filmed. Greymouth is also home to Monteith brewery and cidery. I know their cider has become very popular in Australia in the last year or two.

This final picture is for Johnny Barker from Mark... these were on the wall of our hotel room in Greymouth. ...... I hope you sleep well!!!