From North Island to South Island

This morning it was an early start as we had to be at Wellington Interislander Terminal by 7.30am to check in for the ferry to Picton, which departed at 8.45am. Our ship was the Kaiarahi. I had been a bit concerned about this sea crossing as there have been some problems  with some of the ships recently breaking down. Also, I am not a great seafarer and the Cook Strait can be  rough. However, today the sun shone, there was barely a breeze and  the sea was as calm as it's ever likely to be there. When  protected by land it was as still as a mill pond, as shown in my blip,  taken as we sailed through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds to the small port of Picton. We had  upgraded to the Premium Lounge (no children, unlimited cooked breakfast,and "scone o'clock" half way through the 3 1/2 hour crossing!) which was very comfortable . However, as weather conditions were perfect we spent much of the voyage out on deck. Some times penguins are spotted. We didn't see any, but there were Shearwaters and gulls flying past. 
In Picton, we had to wait an hour for our Intercity coach to Christchurch. We had hoped to travel by train as the railway runs beside the coast, but  they haven't started running yet, this season. However, the coach was fine. There were few passengers so we  were all able to sit on the left hand side for views of the coast and, as the road runs close  to the railway line for much of the journey, it was a similar experience to travelling by train.After leaving Picton we drove through large vineyards before following the coastline where we enjoyed great sea views and  glimpses of fur seals hauled up on the rocks.We stopped at Kaikoura for a short break, and  an opportunity to see the  snow-capped peaks of the  Seaward Kaikoura Range rising behind the town. As the journey continued the road took us inland on a winding, hilly route, expertly negotiated by our patient coach driver.Then, gradually, the terrain became flatter and greener as we entered the pastoral country of  the Canterbury Plains, where we caught  tantalising  views of the Southern Alps much further inland. Eventually, at 7.30pm as the sun was setting, and after 6 hours on the road from Picton, we arrived at  Christchurch bus interchange. We were very glad to find our driver there, who took us to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza, in the centre of Christchurch.      

Very late blipping! SO hard to  choose just one picture for the day,too.