Tues 9 August day 46 Goodbye South Island - Hello North Isalnd

Today we leave the South Island and head to Picton to catch the Interislander Ferry across the Cook Strait to North Island. The journey from Kaikoura takes a little over an hour and we pass through the heart of NZ wine country and the Marlborough region. There are fields and fields of vineyards and wineries along the way offering free tastings and wine tours. Sadly we dont have the time to stop and explore further, or room to store any purchases!

We arrive at the ferry terminal to find boarding closed and the place deserted. David has a minor panic about ferry times before we realise that  we are over 2 hours early and have a long wait ahead. The barrier lifts after half an hour or so and we are checked in and allowed to drive around to the holding area. This is a roadway in the ferry terminal where we must sit and wait it out - not the best of locations as there are no loos, not much to look at and the vending machine is not working - atleast the sun is shining and we are the first car to eventually drive on to the boat though. The girls spend the time completing the free children's activity booklet which we were given at check in and we have a little time to start the usual phoning around for a place to stay.

 

Wierdly we have to sail south to get to North Island and the 3 hour crossing takes about 3 and a half hours. Our ferry is an ex cross channel ferry and all the signage on board is in English and French! There is a restaurant, cafe, gift shop and information centre as well as a family room with kids and adults TV and a cinema. We arrive in Wellingtonand hit the rush hour - although our drive is not very far. It feels strangely odd but a little refreshing to be in a big city again and the hustle and bustle of traffic and people rushing about their business.

We find our backpackers -Base - a chain hostel squarely aimed at the younger market, but also one of the cheapest and newest in town. It is ideally located in the "restaurant" partof the city and also for the museums and some of the sights we plan to visit. It is HUGE though- our room is on the 6th floor (of 7) and the kitchen on the 1st floor is equally enormous. There are several industrial size fridges, all full of blue, padlocked "cool bags" from "Countdown" - our supermarket of choice. Evidently in such a large and "young" backpackers there is a risk that ones supplies may disappear into the stomach of another guest - a reminder that we are once again in annoymous surroundings where not everyone is as honest as we have been used to. Fortunately we have padlocks and a blue bag!
We decide to treat the girls and head out for only our second meal out in NZ - we head for Cuba Street and a delicious, if pricey, pizza. Worryingly on our return there is a toga party in full swing in the bar below the accomodation floors!