Day 22: Ferry to Picton

An early morning in Wellington.  We have an 8AM ferry to catch, so we got up at 6:00 so that we could make it to the terminal by 7.  

It's not actually misty, I just had some trouble focusing.

There, that's better.

Molly, all dressed up with lots of places to go.  We stayed up on a mountain side that night, so had a nice little trek down a bush trail to get to the bottom.

Tada!  The sun.

We have decided to save money, and try our hand in hitch hiking around New Zealand for the time being.  It's only a 10 minute, $5.50 train ride to the terminal, but there's no time like the present to start practicing.

The day before, we had purchased a white board.  (I didn't get a picture until later).  As mentioned, our friend Todd told us that a whiteboard is a highly effective way to get picked up while hitching.  He said that his average wait time went from 45 minutes to 20 after he acquired one.  Something about looking like you know where an Office Depot is makes you look less sketchy.

As it turns out, we waited less than 3 minutes before Shay, a laborer on his way to work, picked us up and dropped us right at the ferry terminal.  So far, awesome.

And there's our boat.

With Te Papa right in front of us.

And off into the harbor.  The ferry holds around 200 people or so, but is mainly a car and truck ferry, with the vast majority of the boat dedicated to semi trucks.

Yep, New Zealand is still gorgeous.  The close mountain is Mt. Victoria.

Good bye, downtown Wellington!

Good bye, Mt Victoria!

Hark!  Another vessel!  It was a cargo ship bound for the open ocean.  We got to watch the pilot cruiser dock beside it just outside the harbor, and watch the pilot climb a tiny ladder down to his boat.  Evidently, this is pretty common practice in most harbors;  The Captain of larger ships turns over control to a harbor pilot right before entering major harbors, and gets it back once the ship leaves.

In which I try some artsy photos of rope.

With only some success.

The dining area of the ship.  It had a cafe bar, and a cafeteria, as well.

Wait, what's that?

I hope this video works out (someone let me know if it doesn't), because we were escorted from the harbor by a massive pod of dolphins.  Molly saw even more than I did, but these are the photos and video I got.

Across the Cook Strait, and around the West Head, and we are in the protected Queen Charlotte Sound, and pass many many inlets and bays.

The views brought virtually everyone to the deck at some point, even though the wind (which was pretty intense) drove everyone back in after not too long.

Us, plus some of the views.

I'm still stunned by how pretty it is.

A coast guard vessel of some sort.

After a three hour tour (really, more of a three and a half hour ferry ride), we arrived in Picton.  We easily picked up our backpacks, and prepared to find our way to Nelson, and from there, to Takaka.  And by find our way, I mean stick out a thumb and hope for the best.