The inter-islander ferry was a big deal big boat. There were a hundred cars and a dozen or so semi tractor trailers onboard. This was the majority of the passengers as the walk on folks were less plentiful. We were the first to board so we had our choice of seats. The other walk on passengers filled in here and there but it was not crowded at all. That is until the folks from the cars arrived and then every seat was taken! We had our window to look out of and we could watch the land. We masked up to defend ourselves from the sick small children. The ride was 3.5 hours and smooth for the majority of the trip. There was some rocking and swaying when we left Wellington bay and entered the current that flows through the straight. We wore our scopolamine patches as a sea sickness precaution. It was not needed on this day but the large amounts of seasickness bags all around the ferry was a good indicator that some days the crossing is much more intense. There were some cool seabirds that I was lucky in getting a few good pictures of. We saw a single seal in the straights closer to Picton. The wind off of the water was cold and nothing to play around with. I wore my jacket every time I went outside and the folks who were in shorts and short sleeve shirts did not last long in the outside air. We arrived in Picton and got our bags quickly. No Uber or cabs were at the terminal and the two car services I called were unavailable. So we rolled them bags to the Hotel
A new bird, the New Zealand Great Shag
Nice birdsong
Sitting around waiting for the boarding
Our ferry to the South Island
Smelly cattle cars
The gangway
A long line of cars waiting to onload
Off in the distance we saw some folks digging for shjellfish
Folks were happy to be outside on this nice day
Snaking our way through the ferry
The last busy part of Wellington
Our ferry to Day's Island seemed tiny
Maybe the sailboats were tiny or the hill is very tall
A regatta in Wellington Harbor
The southern tip of the North Island
The rocks stick up higher than the lighthouse
Navigation hazard averted!
A huge earthen works but for unknown reasons, is it a road?
This looks like a road for sure
The lonely leaning lighthouse
This southern coast of the northern Island seemed desolate but there are roads
If you look closely, there is a car here.
In the straight, the water would shoot out from the side of the ship
And keep on shooting out
The big boil of water
Shearwaters diving for fish
We have sighted the South Island
Fairy Prion
I did not even know that a Prion was a type of bird
Getting close to the South island
There is a long trip through a series of archipelagos
Basalt
Some hills were forested and some were not
Some contraption on a hill
Lots of tiny inlets with houses and boats
Wow how some good looking water
Some wild road building
A tug boat is attached to the fish farm so they may be movable
The life boats were not needed
All the blues!
Another ferry boat passes us going the other way
Lobster pots?
A very narrow passage
An extensive fish farm
A seal that would peek his head up out of the water
Mysterious bouys
A race between this boat ands the jet ski
All sweet on the ferry
The passageway has opened up
Hello Picton
A cool town and harbor
There is the ferry!
