Leslie and David's Wanderings: 6 February 2024 Ferry from Wellington North Island to Picton South Island NZ

Monday, February 5, 2024

6 February 2024 Ferry from Wellington North Island to Picton South Island NZ

We were up at 5am to get on the road to the ferry terminal. We were early enough that we did not have any of the traffic the front desk had warned us about. We arrived at the Interislander terminal at 06:35, 5 minutes after they started check-ins, to find a long line of motor homes in front of us. After they checked us in, we were lined up in a big parking lot with all the motor homes grouped together. When they loaded the ship, the motor homes were the last ones to be loaded. Which sucked because all the good seats in the passenger area were already taken by the time we got up there. The passage to the South Island took about 3.5 hours. The wind was blowing pretty hard and they closed the outdoor observation deck as it got rough. The ship was very stable and there was just a slight rolling sensation as we hit the open ocean. Once we arrived at Picton, we got back in our motor home and then had to wait while they unloaded just about everyone else before we could roll off the ship. Once back on terra firma, we punched in the address for one of the better vineyards in the Blenheim. The area around Blenheim is called the Marlborough District, the largest concentration of vineyards in the country. They're version of Napa Valley. First stop was Withers Hills Winery. We arrived only to find out that their wine tastings and lunches were fully book because it was a national holiday. Waitangi Day celebrates the signing of the Waitangi treaty between the heads of the Mãori tribes and the Queen of England in 1840. The treaty firmed up New Zealand as a colony of Britain, under the sovereignty of the Queen, but granted New Zealand a certain amount of self-governess. So, a lot of people had the day off, and a number of the wineries were closed for the holiday. We settled for a glass of wine and a table in the shade with the temperatures hovering around 90F. We then headed over to Nautilus where we did a full wine tasting and enjoyed a cheese plate for a late lunch. Final stop was Alan Scott for a self-serve style wine tasting. Of course, we took a couple of bottles home with us for later in the trip! We made a quick grocery store stop before heading for the Blenheim TOP 10 Holiday Park for the night. We broke out the supplied folding chairs and sat outside in the shade until the evening cooled off.