New Zealand > Ferry to South Island

Today we are leaving the North Island. At seven o’clock we check out of the hotel and walk with our luggage to the nearby parking garage. The hotel receptionist had warned us to take the Monday morning rush hour in the city into account. Luckily, it’s not too bad. At the check-in counter we receive a boarding pass and two blue wristbands. “You have to wear these,” the staff member tells us. He explains that the lounge-plus is on deck 7. It sounds like we have special lounge access? We thought we had just booked a regular crossing. Nothing extra is mentioned on our booking confirmation. We park the car on the car deck and head to deck 7. Here, with our boarding pass and wristbands, we can enter the lounge-plus area. Very nice. There’s a full breakfast buffet ready, comfortable armchairs, and free Wi-Fi.

New Zealand - The ferry between Wellington and Picton

We look at our ticket again, puzzled. Did we get a free upgrade, or did the guy at check-in make a mistake? When we check the ferry prices online, we see that we didn’t pay any more than the normal crossing. We’ll never know the answer, but for now we’re certainly not complaining. Meanwhile, the ferry sails out of Wellington Harbour. The North Island and South Island are only 24 kilometers apart, but because Picton lies deep inside a fjord, the travel distance is 90 kilometers. The sailing time is three and a half hours. The clouds and light rain this morning in Wellington give way to a bit of sunshine. Further south I can even see blue skies. A good sign for this afternoon’s whale-watching trip. From Picton it’s just over two hours’ drive to Kaikoura. We need to be there at four o’clock to spot whales, leaving us only about an hour of buffer time. We set off quickly. The road winds through the mountains and along the beautiful coastline. We even spot our first seals. As we drive further, the sky grows more overcast. It even starts to rain. An email comes in: this afternoon’s trip has been canceled due to bad weather—too much wind at sea. At the whale-watching office, we try to book a trip for tomorrow morning, but everything is already full. Everyone is trying to reschedule their trip to tomorrow. The only option is to show up at seven in the morning. If someone doesn’t show up, we can still join. Although this is by no means a guarantee, we decide to take the chance.

New Zealand - A seal on the rocks near Kaikoura

In the afternoon, we walk along the bay. Kaikoura doesn’t have much to offer. Just outside the center, many hotels and motels look run-down, and the black pebble beach is littered with washed-up debris and seaweed. At the tip of the bay, two seals are lying around. They look up briefly when I try to take a photo, then quickly lie down again. They seem more concerned about the seagulls coming too close. At the supermarket, we buy food for the coming days. At the lodge where we’ll stay tomorrow in the Marlborough Sounds, we need to bring our own food. We mostly buy bread, drinks, and sandwich fillings. For dinner there will be pizzas available, and a restaurant is within walking distance. We have dinner in the small center of Kaikoura. Hopefully tomorrow morning will be more promising.