Wellington New Zealand in a gale!

Day 4 New Zealand
Wellington to Picton


5am, 6am, 6.30am... I was awake. The wind was 48 knots and had been howling for most of the night, breaking the continuity of sleep for much of the night.

We were due to sail on Arahura Interislander Ferry this morning from Wellington to Picton, that is from the bottom of the North Island to the tip of the South.



The early morning ferry had been cancelled due to bad weather and when I arrived at the Aotea quay, the sign on the checkin counter described sailing as "HEAVY" !!!!!!

Would we survive, which was something we pondered about as we loaded our bags? The weather looked ok for the minute, in the large expanse of harbour.... but the words of my cousin's husband Bill, rang in my ears, " You will be ok for the first hour!!!" Eek! It was a three hour journey.

We headed about and the happy mood of fellow passengers was infectious. None appeared overly worried about the weather. As I wandered around keen to find a good seat, I noted a bar, several in fact, ( did people really drink alcohol when the sea promised to get rough??) a large cafeteria style kiosk and souvenir shop, even a full scale cinema. The thought of watching a movie in the dark whilst the ship was tossed around in Neptune's domain like a top was more terrifying than being thrown overboard!!! So we settled down and found a window seat on the lower passenger deck after watching the cars and trucks drive up into the bowels of the ship.


The ferry had been made in Aalborg... Good danish design I was thinking...
let me check the state of the weather again... it looks like a storm was approaching.