A Cook Strait crossing

I’d like to say we bounced out of bed today to check out of our motel in Feilding, but that would be a lie. An overnight change came through and today was much cooler. I’d devised a plan to take some drone photos from a lookout on the hill overlooking the town, but was definitely in two minds given the stiff breeze that had come in. After much deliberation, I decided that as long as the drone didn’t blow over on its side during takeoff, it would probably be OK. I took it up to about 40 metres and took the shot below.

 With the last photo of Feilding taken for this trip, we had agreed to have a farewell lunch at the Woolshed Cafe at Sanson, about 10 minutes down the road to Wellington. Deb’s Niece Grace works at the cafe, and as the name suggests it sports a sheep theme. The food was good and the service excellent and to make me feel at home it has a statue of a giant emu. The kids tried to tell it was a Moa, but I know an emu when I see one!

From there we said goodbye to everyone and headed down the highway to Wellington. We were glad we were’t heading north…  the traffic was backed up for 10 km or more heading into Otaki. All these coastal towns will eventually be bypassed for this very reason.

Once in Wellington we headed for the ferry terminal. We were a bit early so had a coffee at the waterfront, prior to checking in. The wind had picked up even more and ‘Windy Wellington’ was living up to it’s name. We boarded our ferry at 6PM for a 6:30 departure which became a 7:40 departure as it had arrived late. The ferry has a capacity of 22,000 tones including 1300 passengers, so it takes quite some time to load.  The ferry trip takes about 3 hours and offers some great views of Wellington Harbour, however photos were difficult with the wind gusting to ‘lose your balance’… and a 3 metre swell in the open waters of Cook Strait.

This one is the last look we got of the North Island through the window as I had given up the battle with the elements on the outside deck.

Due to the late start, it was dark by the time we entered the sound it was dark, so that was yet another reason for the failure of my plan for twilight photos. I did get this one, however.

 By the time we arrived in Picton the temperature was down to about 10 degrees, so we had a chilly walk to the hotel and have settled in for the night.

Until tomorrow!