Wellington and Picton, NZ

Boarding the bus in Auckland Having just recently sold our little red camper-home to some nice but possible naive German boys, we decided to head off to the South Island with a bang and purchased an economical bus trip from Auckland to NZ's capital, Wellington. We thought the eleven hour, overnight bus trip was going to be a breeze!  However, firstly finding the departure point was an adventure in itself but then we arrived into Wellington sleep deprived, hungry and all round grumpy at the world. With a combined total of 2 hours sleep we weren't off to the best start and the morning looked fairly grim (we hadn't considered the fact that the bus would stop every half an hour to pick people up, turning on the overhead lights and sending southerly winds blasting through the bus. But really, I mean who gets on a bus in the wop wops at 3am in the morning?).  Wellington and its harbour Wellington was as predicted, wild and windy! Sunny but oh so chilly! After an unavoidable pick-me-up at Macca’s central we slowly walked over to the city. Downtown Wellington Walking along the wharf Our first direction was towards the city waterfront were we sat on a bench, with our bags and watched buses of school children busy clambering over the park on a treasure hunt.  It's beautiful along the harbour and after a rest we strolled along the path towards Te Papa museum and the marina. Behind the railing, on the rocky coastline there were two seals basking in the sun and causing quite a stir with Japanese tourists. They were so friendly (the seals that is) and didn't seem at all bothered by the reaction they were causing, just happy to be catching the rays. Around 9am as the city was starting to hum with workday life we passed via the arts center and into the public library to check our emails.  Shopping area!  Small water displays What we liked about Wellington was the effort that has gone into making the city visually attractive. There are plenty of sculptures and monuments, we found quite an interesting and simple bucket fountain and loved the big fern ball hanging from the buildings by the Michael Fowler centre and town hall. Our last stop in Wellington was the ugly quake-proof parliament building on the corner of Molesworth street and Lambton Quay. Built in 1969 and then formally opened in 1977 by the then current Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, the "beehive" is a heritage NZ building. It's where we sat on the steps and ate our Subway lunch before boarding the Interislander ferry to Picton. Saw a strange 'hive' shaped building Impressive Cathedral By this time we were running through the motions and looked like a pair of washed out, dirty zombies. After boarding we wasted no time hastily pushing our way towards the indoor seats. With a silent mutual agreement that no further word shall be spoken until the boat bumped the shores of the South Island we took a hearty short nap. Boarding the interislander We weren’t actually overly excited about arriving at Picton but much to our surprise found it a very beautiful location.  Arriving into Picton Coastal and mountainous, just tucked in along the perfectly protected and sandy coast line. As our ferry motored through the Picton harbour the scenery was spectacular, forest green mountains rose out of the blue ocean. We even saw a school of dolphins and the water was a beautiful clear emerald colour. The sun, still undecided as to whether it should come out from behind the clouds shone single rays of light down onto the sea. From the ferry we walked through the town, which is made up of lots of small wooden buildings, to our accommodation.  Hostel bunkbeds Checking into the small hostel we then went on a hunt for dinner, something to cook in the hostel's kitchen. Picton was adorable, a small sea-side town with a population of no more than 4000 people.  The town was established by migrants in 1828 and bought from local Maori in 1850. It became a transport hub in the early 1900s when the Interislander ferry service begun. Early the following morning, while the calm ocean water lapped at the boats in the marina and the sky was still a purple blue we took a hike up the Tirohanga walking track, located behind the town. Good morning Picton! This little trail wound through the NZ bush and over carved hillside steps across a padlock of yellow gauze. Ending at the top of Mount Tirohanga we had a stunning birds-eye view of Picton. Mount Tirohanga trail A stunning morning Tirohanga walking trail Kiwi rail to Christchurch At 11am we checked out and caught the NZ coastal pacific rail to Christchurch.  Although it was a cloudy overcast day, we found the train ride educational and even enjoyed the historic commentary as we raced past salt lakes.  As the train passed through the Marlborough wine region the views were spectacular; we went through steep mountain passes and tunnels.  Beautiful rolling green hills Amazing Coastline Marlborough wine region Snow capped Mountains Small town of Kaikoura We chugged along the idilic coastline towards Kaikoura only the small rails separating us from the bush-clad mountains and roaring sea and then to Christchurch. It might not be the most efficient and fast way to travel but we were happy to sit back, relax and soak in some of New Zealand's best scenery. Tot siens, John and Kara