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Published: March 13th 2007
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South Island Forestry
A very large portion of the south island is covered in tree farms. This one just harvested. Right after our last entry we drove from Nelson to Picton to catch the 7pm ferry for the North Island (Wellington). After reaching Picton we were sad that we weren’t going to be staying around the region. We took the scenic route—driving along the northeast end of the south island. The area was full of beautiful inlets and steep, windy narrow roads. For a while it was hard to enjoy the scenery since we were in a rush to make the ferry on time; also, the fuel tank was hovering over empty (especially after accelerating uphill). Thankfully we made it to Picton without running out of gas and made the ferry.
If you have been reading our previous blogs… this Bluebird Ferry was not anything like the Spirit of Tasmania. It definitely did not cater for passengers and clearly was more of a truckers’ ferry (all of the cabins were trucker cabins and there was even a designated trucker area in the tiny cafeteria). The way they loaded us onto the ferry was bizarre and completely different from the ferries at home. At home you drive straight onto the ferry and park facing the way you entered. On this ferry
Goodbye South Island
Looking back to the south as the ferry is coming out of the passage in into the open sea on the crossing to Wellington. they actually had us drive up a ramp and turn around to face the same way we had entered. There was probably only room for only about 200 personal vehicles, as the rest of the deck was full of semis. The odd thing was that many were empty and just sitting on the ferry chained down to the car deck. While entering the deck we were greeted by the unpleasant odour of sheep and pig trucks. The most unpleasant thing about the ferry was yet to come (more about that later!)
The ferry route itself was stunning. Since we departed around 7pm for a 3 hour ride, we witnessed a sunset. The route towards Wellington is dotted with many islands, before going through an open straight between the two islands. The passage through the islands wasn’t too wide. It was roughly about three times the width of active pass. We spent our time on the ferry eating dinner (from the wide menu selection… fish and chips… or… fosh and chops), watching the scenery and watching some chick flicks in the lounge.
We arrived in the middle of the Wellington harbour around 10pm, so we got to see the
Mt Manganui 2
The lump in the background is the 'mountain' and up front is their surf beach. Maybe a competition on or something with all the tents? We wern't sure. city lights. It was a particularly warm night (for New Zealand!) with a nice breeze. We found our hostel, but unfortunately couldn’t find the keys that were supposed to be left out for us because of our late arrival. We felt a bit of déjà vu (I had visions of Hobart—full of closed hotels and inaudible, but friendly Tasmanians). Fortunately we caught a live-in employee. We settled in our rooms and we fell asleep, but apparently Mike’s stomach was unsettled. Alas, we come back to the most unpleasant experience of the ferry. Mike got food poisoning on the ferry and the window wasn’t close enough.
I’ve got to compliment Mike though--even though he was horribly sick the night before, the next day he made it to a few places in Wellington, including the amazing museum and Parliament Buildings. I then drove him the long way to Lake Taupo, tacking on an extra 2 hours (for a total of 6) to visit the city of Napier along the east coast of North Island. This city reminded me of the Santa Barbara area as the streets were lined with tall palm trees and had a laid back feel to it. Napier
Mt Manguanui
A look back towards town is particularly world-renowned for its Art Deco architecture and for the little time we spent there (probably only 45 minutes) it did not disappoint. It’s located on the south end of Hawke’s Bay (world famous winery area) along a black rock beach. Only having 21 days in New Zealand, Napier is another on a long list of places we wish we had more time to visit. We had a yummy Thai takeaway on the beach then took the Thermal Highway to Lake Taupo.
From Lake Taupo to Tauranga on the western end of the Bay of Plenty (located 2 hours south of Auckland along the north coast of the island) our trip was a blur. We passed Rotorua (known for it’s thermal hot springs, geysers, volcanic activity). Having travelled so far along the South Island we looked forward to making it quickly to the Bay of Plenty to relax. We ended up staying in a funky hostel in Mt. Manguani, which is just north of Tauranga. We had some tapas and walked around… fairly standard, but enjoyable.
The next morning we ate breakfast in Taruanga and made the drive to Auckland. Here, Mike’s distant relatives welcomed us after
Wellington
A view of the harbour from the top of Mt. Victoria. Random but interesting (kindof) is that apparently Mt. Victoria was the site of the shire road in Lord of the Rings. word got out to the Tattersfield family in Auckland that a Canadian version was coming. We settled at the family home on Seaview Road in Remura (close to downtown) after meeting with Sue’s brother Andrew. That night we went to bed in anticipation for our visit to Great Barrier Island…. and we wouldn’t be disappointed.
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