Ferry Ride from North to South Island

We woke up to a beautiful day in Wellington and headed for the ferry that would take us to Picton on the South Island for the second part of our adventure.  The scenery was beautiful enhanced by the fact that it was peak color as it is autumn here.  There are enough deciduous trees among all those palms to make a lot of the trip even more beautiful.  The water is sooo blue everywhere.  We noticed that even when the sun wasn't out and there were no reflections from the blue skies.

There are small islands along most of the coasts and the ride across Cook Straits was no exception.  The ferry ride takes about three hours and we had decided to take the car with us rather than hassle with unpacking, trading in and getting another car.  It wasn't cheap but was worth it.

Just more scenery!

And more...

Loved the hole in the rock!!

My first sighting of an albatross although I am not sure which variety.  I also took some pictures of some other gulls or gull like birds but have not identified them all yet.  May have a blog at the end of all my NZ birds as I averaged about two new birds a day!!

The ride from Picton to Nelson was about the most hairy of all!!!  It was the shortest route but was narrow and nothing but switchbacks.  Of course my poor husband was nursing a pretty nasty cold by then as well.  We spent the next two nights in Nelson and I got to visit the Abel Tasman which I toured by boat.