To the North Island

Today we left the sunny skies of Picton to venture on the Interislander ferry, Aratere, to the capitol city of Wellington.  The ship is massive and even transports KiwiRail railcars, along with the trucks, busses, cars, and passengers.

The voyage was quite breezy but the seas were calm and the trip was uneventful.

Wellington is a quirky, funky city with plenty of history which has undergone quite a bit of renewal following the success of the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies of local legend, Peter Jackson. We learned the city is great for getting yourself fit as it is pretty much all hills. It also has loads of ethnic restaurants from Lebanese to Turkish to Mexican to Italian to Chinese. We enjoyed dinner at a nice northern Indian restaurant and then came back to our room at he Quest. Tomorrow the museums and art galleries call. It should be fun!

Old Shops on Cuba Street

Art Deco Wellington

Nearly the end of the South Island

Old and new architecture

Marlborough Sounds Sailboat

Maori Carving

Sailboat

The other ferry

View from Picton Wharf

Colors of the South Island