Picton and the Interislander ferry Crossing to Wellington

20th & 21st Feb 2009

On arrival at Picton we made our way to our overnight accommodation (www.harbourviewmotel.co.nz). The owners kindly picked us up as the rain although now only drizzle was the kind that gets you wet through!! (Peter Kay fans will appreciate that little ditty).

Picton set in the upper reaches of Queen Charlotte Sound, Picton is the South Island terminus for the ferries that cross Cook Strait. It is a pretty town nestled between the sea and hills.

The weather on our first day/evening prevented photos and any exploration of the local vicinity however, day 2 the sun was shining again and the rain had stopped. We took full advantage of the calmer weather and had a stroll around the town, mingling with the passengers from a cruise ship which had come in earlier that day. We had a delicious brunch at waterfront café and read the local newspaper at leisure.

Our ferry, the Interislander, left for Wellington at 1.20pm and with the vast improvement in the weather we were lucky to enjoy a very pleasant cruise through the Marlborough Sounds before making our way out in to the Cook Strait.

Marlborough Sounds - the Sounds region appears as a series of ridges rising above the water but is, in fact, a series of valleys drowned by the ocean. A combination of changing sea levels, movement along faults in the region, and tilting of the land mass downwards and towards the North East, has caused inundation by the sea. The last significant surge in sea levels was at the end of an Ice Age about 12000 years ago, and gives the area its current sinuous coastline.

We were able to sit on the Observation Deck and enjoy the sunshine and surrounding views. We could see the coastline of North Island coming into view, and could see why the Maori, the first arrivals, called it Aotearoa, “the land of the long white cloud”, as this was the first indication to these canoe voyagers of the presence of the islands being the cloud lying above them. Nearer to Wellington the winds picked up and we sat indoors for the last 30 minutes of the sailing arriving in Wellington, late afternoon.

Our accommodation for the next 2 nights was the Novotel Capital in central Wellington (www.novotel.co.nz). After checking in we went in to town exploring the local streets - the café culture was clearly evident with lots of people enjoying a glass of wine or beer in the early evening sunshine.