Wed, Dec 11 - Crossing the Cook Strait to the South Island

We got up early and Jane cooked us another good breakfast and then a taxi pulled up at 7:45.  We loaded in and he drove us the short ten minute ride to the north side of the city and the Inter Islander Ferry terminal.  We were told to be there one hour before the ferry left which seemed excessive until we saw the size of the ferry and the long line of huge trucks waiting to board.  This ferry holds 1600 passengers with a variety of seating, cafes, bars, live bands, movie theatre, and sleeping cabins!  More like an ocean liner than a ferry!  We were able to get seats in front of a large window on deck 8 overlooking the bow.  

The ferry backed out from the dock and turned around amazingly nimbly and headed down the long channel to the Strait.  The weather was overcast and windy, but the ride was very smooth.  Hil and I went up to deck 10 where we could go outside and get a better view although we were almost blown over.  

Port of Picton

After an hour we headed out into the open ocean and the weather improved.  Bob managed to identify a few sea birds.  After another hour we approached the South Island and entered the narrow channel passing through islands.  The steep green hillsides were covered with native brush and Monterey Pines and there were a few isolated sheep farms and farmed salmon operations.  The vegetation came right down to the water with no rocky ocast.

We wound along the channel and reached the little village of Picton with its very large piers a little after noon.  Our ferry turned around and backed into the dock which was pretty amazing and soon we on shore and at Budget to pick up our Rav 4.  We drove a short distance to the Echo Lodge B&B and settled into our spacious rooms, met Chloe, the cat, and Russell and Sharon, the owners.  We changed into shorts as it was warm and sunny and walked downtown for lunch.  Hil and Bob split a chicken Panini and I had a  quinoa salad.  We explored the entire town, returned to the B&B for naps, and then drove 30 mniutes to the town of Blenheim and the Marlborough wine district.  This must be a much drier area than the rest of NZ that we’ve explored so far as the mountain slopes were golden in color just like California rather than emerald green!

Echo Lodge B&B

Cheese Tart

We couldn’t find an open winery at that late hour and so stopped for dinner at Raupo Café in Blenheim.  We split a starter of potato and corn fritters with mint yogurt, followed by a bowl of mussels for me, cheese tart for Hil and seafood pasta for Bob.  We shared “Eton Mess“:  meringue, mascarpone cheese and strawberries for dessert.