Found Wellington to be quite like San Francisco, hillside homes, a cable car and a large free park that reminded me of what Golden Gate Park used to look like. Had lunch on the beach 20 minutes north of Wellington before we boarded the ferry. Ferry holds 1600 people and several hundred cars on three floors. I wanted so much for Nan to see the 360' sunset but just as the sun was going down the sky clouded up. The clouds also made the crossing through the Marlborough sound very gloomy so we did not take a lot of pictures. Speaking of which the last several places we have stayed had slow internet so we have not been able to upload pictures to the blog. Will get caught up when we find the right hook up and speed.
Stayed in a neat "Backpacker" where we had a two bedroom flat to ourselves. We met a young man who is heading to Mackinac Island to work as a chef at the Iroquois Hotel so we stayed up late talking about the Island.
Got a late start today but made it to Kiakoura and had hoped to take a whale watching tour but the weather was so bad no boats were going out. And tomorrow we head to Christ Church so we won't see the whales this time. Did get to see some seals.
It is a sigh of relief to know you have made it through your treacherous travels. I know you felt anxiety about driving New Zealand's winding mountain passes. The truth is, this danger paled in comparison to your nautical adventure you call “the ferry crossing.” While many people feel that ferries are a safe way of travel, they are in fact highly dangerous, and known to perish fathoms below the sea.
ReplyDeleteThe Ferry Sea Diamond!!! Does that ring a bell? How about The Ferry Queen Victoria, the Scandanavian Star, the Toya Maru, the Princess of Stars, the Salem Express, the Queen of the North, the WGA Superferry 14, the Ferry Le Joola, the Express Samina, the Maria Carmela, the Ferry Asia South Korea, the Princess of the Orient, the Ferry Estonia, the MV Cebu City, the Dona Marlyn, the Dona Paz, or the Herald of Free Enterprise? And who can forget the Superferry 9?.. A ferry carrying nearly 1,000 passengers which sank in the southern Phillipines leaving 10 dead and more than 30 missing!
So........... I'm sorry the clouds were blocking your 360 degree sunset (not sure how the sun is setting in all directions anyways? Even if it is low on the horizon). But at least you survived!! : )