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1. Nostalgia! 2. Blech! 3. Yummmm!
[Answers at bottom.]
So after a low-key day and afternoon filled with wine on Wednesday, we awoke on Thursday morning ready to make our way to Napier, on the North Island. This trip required two parts. Part I: Riding the Interislander Ferry to the North Island. Our route basically looked like this (zoom in to see all the little islands we passed on the way out):
Can I start by saying how incredibly small it makes me feel to drive a CAR onto a BOAT?? I have vague memories of doing this with my family when I was quite young (in the NYC area), but still: WOW. Seeing how many cars they manage to pack on really emphasizes how enormous the ferry is.
We arrived at the terminal about 15 minutes before the boarding began and joined a looooong queue. When the cars were allowed on, we drove onto the boat, were directed around a half-circle (driving! on a ship!), and stopped...inches centimeters from the bumper of the car ahead of us. We didn't have much more space laterally, either. I had to do a special little shimmy-dance to get in and out of the car - that's how tightly we (Mr. Blue and everyone else) were parked. It was pretty much impossible to walk between the cars length-wise because their side view mirrors were practically touching. Any efficiency expert would approve of the ferry crew's packing job, that's for sure.
We put on the emergency brake (or forgot, but were driving an automatic so all was well) and turned off the car alarm (Car alarm??? Ha. Did you SEE the picture of Mr. Blue?), then headed up to secure seats on the top (outer) deck. Some of us stuck our noses into Terry Pratchett books, while others enjoyed the scenery.
Things were sunny at the port in Picton as we cruised out through the Queen Charlotte Sound. As we neared the more open water of the Cook Straight, things got a bit breezy and we actually hit some low clouds, as well. Here, the clouds are covering the mountain top:
Cook Straight has a reputation for being a rough and dangerous area - wind gets funneled into the straight between the two mountainous islands, resulting in swiftly changing wind directions and sudden swells. But back when we boarded, a sign informed us that the crossing should be a "2 out of 5" (1 is very calm, 5 is very rough). I was relieved at the prediction of 1-2 meter swells, although Kee-Min had perhaps been hoping for a 3 or a 4.
I'm rather glad that I didn't do too much pre-departure research - I recently learned that, in 1968, a ferry to Wellington sank during a severe storm (it should be noted that there are now at least 6 ferry crossings per day, and it's been at least 40 years since this disaster - the odds are in our - and your -favor). But we were fortunate, and the prediction for calm was correct. We passed an enjoyable 3.5 hours on the breezy deck (and earned ourselves some knee-top sunburn for our efforts). View as we entered Wellington Harbour:
We stayed here with the rest of my family that was in New Zealand for the wedding, and they had all arrived the previous day. So we spent the remainder of the evening drinking wine, catching up, and relaxing with them. It was actually kind of strange to see people that we knew - other people we knew - after traveling for 2 weeks with only each other as company. But strange in a good way, and before we knew it, we were falling into bed, lulled by the sound of crashing ocean waves.
So after a low-key day and afternoon filled with wine on Wednesday, we awoke on Thursday morning ready to make our way to Napier, on the North Island. This trip required two parts. Part I: Riding the Interislander Ferry to the North Island. Our route basically looked like this (zoom in to see all the little islands we passed on the way out):
Can I start by saying how incredibly small it makes me feel to drive a CAR onto a BOAT?? I have vague memories of doing this with my family when I was quite young (in the NYC area), but still: WOW. Seeing how many cars they manage to pack on really emphasizes how enormous the ferry is.
We arrived at the terminal about 15 minutes before the boarding began and joined a looooong queue. When the cars were allowed on, we drove onto the boat, were directed around a half-circle (driving! on a ship!), and stopped...
We put on the emergency brake (or forgot, but were driving an automatic so all was well) and turned off the car alarm (Car alarm??? Ha. Did you SEE the picture of Mr. Blue?), then headed up to secure seats on the top (outer) deck. Some of us stuck our noses into Terry Pratchett books, while others enjoyed the scenery.
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| OK, OK - maybe it was actually an ebook. |
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| Another miserable view from New Zealand. |
Things were sunny at the port in Picton as we cruised out through the Queen Charlotte Sound. As we neared the more open water of the Cook Straight, things got a bit breezy and we actually hit some low clouds, as well. Here, the clouds are covering the mountain top:
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I'm rather glad that I didn't do too much pre-departure research - I recently learned that, in 1968, a ferry to Wellington sank during a severe storm (it should be noted that there are now at least 6 ferry crossings per day, and it's been at least 40 years since this disaster - the odds are in our - and your -favor). But we were fortunate, and the prediction for calm was correct. We passed an enjoyable 3.5 hours on the breezy deck (and earned ourselves some knee-top sunburn for our efforts). View as we entered Wellington Harbour:
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| That small island behind me is NOT Wellington. |
We wiggled our way back to our car, speculated about what would happen if someone didn't come down to their car (the whole line of cars would be stuck; we were packed too tightly to pull out to the side), and after a few minutes, were routed around another half circle and off the ship (we were DRIVING. ALL OVER A BOAT.). The thing didn't rock one bit, even as the 18-wheelers were disembarking. Craziness.
We then began Part II: the ~4 hour drive up to Napier.
It was already about 5 PM, so we didn't dilly-dally or even stop for a snack. [See? I CAN write a post without food or food photos!] We pretty much drove straight through, but did take the time to:
1. Wave hello to Palmerston North ("Palmy" to the locals), where my cousin & her new husband actually live.
2. Gave a shout out to Massey (where she went to school).
3. Take a well-marked detour over the only twisty-windy-mountain road we drove during the whole 4 hr trip (after so many on the South Island, I was actually somewhat relieved).
4. Gawk at a tour-bus that had driven its left wheels well into the ditch off the side of the road and was canted at a, shall we say, jaunty, angle.
5. Give thanks that we'd rented a car.
6. Slow down briefly to snap a few photos (note how the landscape is changing; this almost looks Sussex County-ish to me):
The time passed quickly, we kept the gas tank full, and before we knew it, we were pulling up in front of The Beach Retreat. See?
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| It was dark when we arrived. This was taken the next day. [If I'd turned around and taken a picture, it would be the ocean.] |
We stayed here with the rest of my family that was in New Zealand for the wedding, and they had all arrived the previous day. So we spent the remainder of the evening drinking wine, catching up, and relaxing with them. It was actually kind of strange to see people that we knew - other people we knew - after traveling for 2 weeks with only each other as company. But strange in a good way, and before we knew it, we were falling into bed, lulled by the sound of crashing ocean waves.
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