Hello All,
I glad to see you are reading these posts as the single story, hope you enjoy EventsHub road trip across New Zealand. The previous post ended in Pravda Restaurant in Wellington, so, today we will sail from Wellington to Picton, four adults and the Jag, all together on the same Interislander (https://www.interislander.co.nz/) ferry. The ferry loading process was relatively straightforward, final check in time was in an hour before the departure time, so we had plenty of time between check in and boarding.
At the check in, at least the driver must have a photo ID. The car could be boarded to the ferry with passengers in, however, if you are travelling with pets, there could be a different rules (refer to https://www.interislander.co.nz/ for more information). There are several sails per day, and it is better to book your tickets in advance. Well advance you may be able to add a cabin to relax during the trip, which usually takes approx. 3.5 hours.
We boarded the ferry and left the car on the lower deck with the other cars, and came upstairs to the passenger decks. There is no access to the car during the trip, so, we took the essentials with us. I am not prone to motion sickness, however, the boat was rocking a bit on the waves, so my brother felt a bit dizzy. Anyway, there were sickness bags around, so, we were not concerned about it too much.
There are some cafes on the ferry, so we had a light meal there. For night sailing, they have special seats with reclined backs, which are comfortable for sleeping. Window blinds make the deck very dark and quiet for passengers to be able to have a nap and some rest.
As long as I understood, Cook Strait is very windy place, as windy, as it was very difficult not to fly with the wind away from the ship, when we tried to walk through the viewing decks. Nevertheless, there were spectacular views around, I tried to take some pictures through, holding at the metal railing. The most windy and rocking area is when the boat is right in between two islands, then when we got closer to Picton port on the South Island, the wind and waves became calmer.
There are always some promotions at Interislander, if you are planning to sail with them, it is worth to check their website (https://www.interislander.co.nz/) for available options. For instance, we applied for a night sail promotions discount -30% when sailing from Picton to Wellington a time ago. There was a ‘musician promotion’, where musicians have a chance to sail free of charge if they will play onboard for the duration of travel, or something like this…
As soon, as the ferry docked to the port, we stated our way back to the cars to the lower deck. Marshalls were instructed us when to start the engine and start our drive. There is a rule, headlamps must be off when driving in and out of a ship, as it may blind marshals and create other hazards.
We arrived to Picton on schedule at around 5pm and had a beautiful dinner at Oxley Bar and Kitchen (https://www.oxleys.co.nz/). The next next accommodation is booked in Kaikoura at a stunning Ocean & Mountain Views holiday house, but a bridge in Blenheim was closed for roadworks, and we found ourselves on a tiny gravel road at night… But this is the story for the next post.
To be continued,
Many thanks for reading.
Alex, EventsHub team.