From the North Island to the South via the Interislander ferry

I was booked on the Interislander Ferry which I thought was huge! Amazing how many cars, buses, trucks go on along with all the people. The ferry turned out to be just over an hour late leaving due to an issue with the ferries the night before. 

The weather was a bit wild and windy that morning and I was a little concerned about seasickness as I've had a few unfortunate experiences with it.  So I thought it may be wise to find a pharmacy to pick up some tablets before getting to the terminal. I was glad I did and although I only took the one tablet and was a little queasy early in the piece, it settled again and I was able to enjoy the ferry ride.  

I've not been on a larger ferry before, let alone a cruise ship so I was fascinated by all that was on offer. There's even a cinema on board, along with a gift shop, bar and a variety of food available so plenty to keep one occupied. Couldn't really go outside though due to the weather so I found myself a window seat right up the front instead, like the tourist I was!

Despite the weather, it was still picturesque and I imagine the scenery would be absolutely beautiful on a clear day. The waters became calm once we got into the Marlborough Sound area and I would love to be sailing on a fine day as I think there would be some stunning photo's to be taken. This next pic is one from Google, so I can't lay claim to having taken it but it gives you an idea of the ferry and the scenery on a sunny day.

Alas, I only have one decent pic that I took during the crossing and it was taken as we were docking in Picton.  It looks out over Marlborough Sound.

I had no end of mix up’s with my hire car booking on this trip mostly because of me wanting to go from the North to the South Island and thinking I could take the vehicle on the ferry. Of course, there was a little more waiting for me on arrival in Picton.  The manager there was very patient and managed to sort it all out, in between showing me video footage of the seal colony near Kaikoura that I'd be driving past.  

Once again, my vehicle had been upgraded and this time I had a Mitsubishi Pajero with only 22 km’s on the clock!  Both were diesel thankfully which has made a big difference with fuel as it’s almost half the price of petrol here.

Absolutely beautiful drive down to Christchurch as mentioned in a previous blog post.  The scenery is stunning.  In one section you have the ocean on one side of the road (right along-side the road) and on the other side, there is green meadows and hills, with snow-capped mountains beside them!  I managed to capture that in a pic although it didn't really do justice to seeing it with your own eyes.

I've mentioned in a previous post how much I loved the Kaikoura area and the seals. Sadly that coastline was badly affected by earthquakes just weeks after I drove those roads, so it is quite a different view now and there is no road for part of that section of highway.

The last part of the trip was tough as I started to get really tired. It had been a long day and I hadn't slept well the night before. Coming into Christchurch Airport at night time was nightmarish as there was an enormous amount of roadwork happening. 

There were no fuel stations on the main road heading into the airport anymore or if there are, they are impossible to find. I spent an hour looking for one and getting lost, before giving up and taking the car back without it being re-fueled. I was a little upset about it and the guy felt a bit sorry for me, acknowledged that it was hard at the moment with all the roadworks and said unfortunately, it will be a penalty for me from my bond. I was at the point where I really didn’t care anymore. 

I wandered back out to catch a cab feeling absolutely shattered and the cabbie was kind enough to tell me that the motel I'd booked have a shuttle service so he saved me a cab fare. 

The motel room was also upgraded to a ground floor room.  Obviously that exhausted I'm over it look helped and the fact I had two bags, so one of the motel people were going to have to cart it upstairs otherwise. The room I was given was much ritzier!!  

Because it was so late, I'd just missed their restaurant so dinner ended up being what was in the mini bar.  Ah well, it was enough to get by.

The motel also organised a cab for me for the next morning to get me to the train station on time as I was catching the Trans-Alpine train across to the West Coast.  I was relieved to find it didn't cost me my firstborn son and was a little closer to where I was staying than I thought. Next up, the Trans-alpine train!