Day 14 - Nelson to Wellington

Woke up this morning feeling a little stiff and sore after our kayaking excursion yesterday. If we were to go kayaking a few more days we would all develop abs of steel!. Checked out of our accommodation in Nelson and began the drive to Picton, where the Inter-Island ferry departs for Wellington. The drive was fairly slow as we had to cross a mountain range - left turn, right turn, left turn right turn, the drive was very windy, both up and down the mountain – In NZ they probably only call this a hill, but in Australia, I think its high enough to be called a mountain!. The view was spectacular, especially as we were getting closer to Picton. Picton is located beside Queen Charlotte Sound, a large fjord? Surrounded by mountains that slide into the water.

We reached Picton at around 12:00pm, about 90 minutes before the ferry left. We returned the car to the Avis rental desk, picked up our boarding passes and checked our luggage in. Still having an hour to go before boarding, we ventured outside into the drizzle and walked into town, browsing in a few souvenir shops before walking into the bakery to grab a baguette for lunch. We made our way back to the terminal and ate our lunch, and soon enough it was time for boarding.

The ferry was very large, with multiple decks cafes and seating areas. We found some seats towards the rear of the ferry where we could see the back of the boat (with all the campervans parked on the deck) and could also see all around – Well, we could if the drizzle would clear! The strait between the South Island and the North Island is called Cook straight, and the crossing took just over three hours. The sea was relatively calm, however the drizzle and low cloud continued the whole trip, which was a pity as the crossing would have been very picturesque, as the route passes through the Sounds and around the Islands.

We arrived in Wellington around 5:00pm, collected our luggage and picked up our rental car – a RAV4 again, but this time a blue one. We drove to our hotel, checked in and after driving around town for 20 minutes eventually found the hotel car park. There are a lot of one way streets in Wellington, so as soon as you miss your turn, you are suddenly a long way from where you need to be, and not sure how to get back. We made ourselves comfortable in the Hotel, and then headed into town to find some dinner.