The Ferry ride to the South Island

I took the InterIslander Ferry on a Sunday morning from Wellington to Picton (this link is to a Google Map and you can see how amazing the route is!)  Picton is a teeny tiny town that for whatever reason is the place the ferries land.  It must be the first safe harbor you get to on the Southern Island.  The route there is across the Cook Strait (links the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean) and then through a really beautiful fjord.  Here are a few pics of the trip through the fjord.

That's the Pacific Ocean right on the other side of the rocks!

A rainbow just behind the boat as we sailed into a sunny patch while it rained behind us.

Here are a few almost black-and-white photos of the distance mountains as we sailed toward Picton.  They remind me a bit of the photos and scenery on the River Li in China when I visited Mom and Dad - two years ago?  Three years ago?

This was looking down at the water as we docked.  I thought it looked pretty cool, and I might even use it as the wallpaper on my computer at some point.

I walked about 5 minutes down the way to the train station.  The trip to Christchurch on the train is really amazing.  It's called the TranzCoastal.  I highly recommend it.  I sat on the left side as we travelled and the train went right along the edge of the sea for at least half the time.  I had really spectacular views over the Pacific - the crashing waves, the headlands, seal on the shore, clouds stretching out lit by the setting sun.  And then we traveled through mountain passes, across rivers, along valleys filled with changing leaves.  

Sadly, the double-glazed windows on both sides of the train meant that all the pictures I took turned out to be of me taking a picture of me.  So there aren't any.  You'll all just have to come/go to New Zealand and take this train!

Tomorrow I take the TranzAlpine up into the NZ Alps.  I discovered too late there is a carriage on the back of the train with no windows so I'll be wandering back there now and then to take pictures of the Alps if we can see them!  I'll just take my hat and scarf and hunker down for a few good photos.

I'll try to get those up before I head back to London on Thursday.  Oh, and it's FREEZING here in Christchurch!  I knew I would be traveling here in late fall (it's weird to think of late May as late Fall!), but I wasn't really prepared AT ALL!  So while I've been having a great time down here I'm looking forward to getting along to Istanbul where it will be nice and warm.  (And I'll probably be complaining of the heat before too long!)