Ferries, Trains and a New City

March 28

So, within a month we had visited the top two windy harbors in the world: Hilo, Hawaii and Wellington, NZ. Luckily, by morning, when time for our ferry to Picton, the wind had settled down considerably. The ferry Kaitaki was enormous—10 decks and capacity for nearly a thousand passengers, plus vehicles. The crossing of Cook Strait to Queen Charlotte Sound, Shakespeare Bay, and the port of Picton took about 3 hours. We spent almost that entire time on the open deck 10 so we could enjoy the scenery. Once we entered the Cook Strait the wind drove the more rational passengers below. We took a few short breaks from the wind, but no apologies for our choice. It was a very pleasant ride despite the wind, and a highly detailed map of the passage was mounted outside so we could watch for the landforms. After disembarking in Picton we made our way to the train station.

After checking in we enjoyed a pint at a neighboring bar, then picked up sandwiches at the adjoining Subway, which was the only provider near enough to assure we made the train. We try to avoid US franchise eateries if we can, but were pleasantly surprised to find grilled lamb as one of the meat choices, and that made ours.

The TrasNZ Coastal runs for about 200 miles along South Island’s east coast between Blenheim and Christchurch and took us past many large vineyards outside of both cities. The train included an open observation car—roof and railings only—where Patti spent about half the trip taking pictures of the beautiful coastline and mountains. For a brief section we skirted evaporation ponds for the production of sea salt. Several of these had a magenta coloring which the conductor announced was due to the same algae which give the Red Sea its color.

A young mother set about fixing lunch for her 3-year old across the aisle. She pulled a liter jar from her bag, explaining that she had just visited friends who aqua-farm fish and mussels in the Marlborough Sounds near Picton. It was a jar of fresh but clearly unrefrigerated Sound mussels, shells removed. Tom passed on this generous offer.

We arrived on time in Christchurch at about 6:20 pm. We had a fashionably late dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. It was made very romantic without our even asking – it was Earth Hour, a city-wide (world wide?) agreement to turn off all the lights in a place of business for an hour and function only by candle light. As it happened, it was the hour we sat down to dinner. Everything was bathed in a soft glow (the kitchen continued in full light and power) and everyone seemed to get into the spirit of the evening.