Thursday 17th February - Ferry to Picton
Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Wed 23 Mar 2011 09:19
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Our first motel stop was in the heart of Wellington, a
short walk from the harbour, but having arrived at 19.00 the day before and
catching the 10.30 ferry, there hasn't been much time to look around. We'll have
to do more on the way back. The ferry is a big ship - it carries
cars, big lorries and railway trucks, and has to cope with vicious seas
that the Cook Strait can throw up. Having a very uneven sea bed and with
both tide and wind funneling through, the Cook Strait can generate very big and
very steep seas, but fortunately not on our crossing. It was classified as
moderate and the 3 hour crossing was very smooth. The scenery once
inside Marlborough Sound - the last 20 or so miles are within
the Sounds, was, to use a word we often hear here, awesome, with high
rolling hills on either side. Picton is a lovely place, again very picturesque
nestling in the hills, and like all of New Zealand, spotlessly clean with
loads of tourist information well marked. The motel at Picton was a
little more modest compared to Wellington, but perfectly adequate and everyone
here is so friendly.
 Goodbye to North Island. The lorry and
trailer in the foreground was full of cows being transported to
South Island - so far in NZ we've seen far
more cows than
sheep.
 The final stage of the trip across the Cook Strait
goes though the Sounds - the Tory Channel and into
Queen Charlotte Sound to
Picton.
 This and the 3 below - views as the ferry
goes through the Sounds.
    Picton, nestling in the hills that surround
it.
 The gardens in Picton - not a blade of grass out
of place!
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