Day 56 – Kaikoura to Wellington. NORTH ISLAND.

We left Kaikoura around 9am and stopped along the coast at Ohau Point to see some seals. From here our only stop was in Blenheim for breakfast and toilets. We arrived at Picton ferry port just after midday but out ferry didn’t leave until 2pm. The journey across was very rough and not as pleasant as the one on the way over to the South island. Not long after boarding the boat we were told at about 3.30pm the captain and the staff would be taking part in an evacuation drill, this was to make everyone aware so no one would panic. It was rather amusing to see people who had fallen asleep, wake up and be confused to hear the captain saying ‘ABANDON SHIP, ABANDON SHIP!’

Finally off the boat we made our way to Base hostel. This is the first of a few places we are no revisiting heading back north with the Kiwi bus. Rach and Charli have a friend who moved to Wellington about 2 years ago and he was having a party so we were invited to stay with him to save on a night’s accommodation. Kelly was leaving on the bus the following morning so she decided to stay at Base, which worked perfectly for us. We left our big bags in a locker and sorted out tomorrow night’s stay. We quickly grabbed some food, got ready and headed over to Dan’s house for the night.

Day 40 – Wellington to Kaiteriteri, SOUTH ISLAND!

We needed to be at the bus stop just down the road by 7am… why do all these buses mean I have to be awake from 6?! After stopping at a few hostels to pick up the rest of the coach we made our way to the ferry terminal, as today is the day we leave the north island and make our way over to the south island!

The ferry was supposed to leave at 9am but didn’t start moving until 9.45, the journey took just over 3 hours meaning we arrived in Picton just before 1pm. This ferry was like a plane as you checked in your luggage and had to collect it at a conveyer belt at the other end, which was chaos! The journey across wasn’t too bad and some of the views were stunning.

We didn’t have a driver come over with us so we were meeting a new one on the other side. Our new driver is called Gary who so far has been the best one yet. The bus is also the best one we’ve been on, so far so good for the south island.

From Picton we drove down the road to a fudge shop and a winery. Some people got the chance to go wine tasting whilst the rest of us chilled out in the sun, as lets be honest, there wasn’t really a lot of it in the North, apart from in Auckland.

We slowly made our way through the forest and mountains and eventually arrived in Kaiteriteri. To make the small amount of time there worthwhile Kirsty, Francesca and I decided to go on the short beach walk to check out some viewing platforms and golden sands. Slightly gutted the ferry was delayed and we arrived late, as it would have been really nice to relax on one of the beaches.

For dinner I ate my leftovers from the night before and then we all caught an early night, as I have to be up for something VERY exciting in the morning!!!