Ferry -Picton to Wellington

So we checked our DOC campground map ( available in any I site for free) and found a campground that said it was near the ferries. Then we drove through Picton and around the back to the area where the map said the site was located. After around 20 minutes of driving, we eventually found the site which was huge, no hookups just camp and sleep but had toilets and a changing area. We arrived late so the woman who lives on site tapped on our camper door at 7am to get the $12 from us. Unfortunatley we went back to sleep after this and our alarm woke us up at 8.30am for us to be ready for the ferry ,however once we were ready we reread the ferry ticket and found we had to be at the dock at 930am and it was already 920am now.

So we got in the camper and drove as fast as was able and managed to end up at the wrong end of the dock to get the Interislander ferry at 935am so we felt sure that we had missed the ferry. ( This is really simple to buy online and even have student discount for ISIC card holders- but no one checked) When we got to the correct area at 945am, we were lucky and it was still open, but only just and we were the 2nd to last car on. The ferry set off at 10.15 once all the vehicles had been loaded. It cost us $222 for both of us and the car and took around 3 hours. It was a smooth ride and had tvs and a brilliant cafe , not that expensive to eat. It also had a cinema room which was playing postman pat. A bacon sandwich cost $7 with a lot of bacon inside and Luke's fish , chips and gravy cost $8 with a drink. So not too bad at all.

Once we got to Wellington we drove around looking for places to park and eventually found some street parking that is free for 2 hours on a Sunday then you just move it somewhere else to get another 2. Once we had parked up, we went to Mcdonalds for their free wifi and had two hot chocolates.However, their internet wasn't fab so we walked slightly further down the road and found an internet cafe that was $3 for an hour so i managed to transfer our pictures and Luke looked at his all important football score.

We then had a walk down to the harbour which is lovely , lots to see.

We then took a drive up the tram stop at the top if the hill. There is plenty of paid parking there but we parked on road parking for free. NZ is very good for having blue signs that tell you how long you can park there for free - going up to two hours.

The tram is really cute and only costs $7 return and $2 return for students of Wellington uni. The shop/museum wasn't open on a sunday so we walked around the botantical gardens next door instead, which had lovely views and also had the observatory, also not open on a sunday. However there is still enough to read and see.

That night we drove west of Marsterton to a DOC campsite just before Riccarton , the weather had gotten really bad and was blowing 120kmph winds at us and rain. The campsite was 7km down a gravel road into what seemed like the middle of nowhere. We decided to park behind the toilet block to try to shelter from the elements. It was a rough night and didn't seem to let up much by the morning. The stream that was a small quiet little trickle of water was now a gushing river. So by round 9am , we set off up to Napier.


Thanks for reading, S&L xx