Day 16 Ferry Wellington to Picton. Drive to Nelson

So much for a 5:45 alarm, the only one who was still asleep at that time was of course Paul !!! Everyone else had had a bad night… very little sleep between all of them !! Eventually Paul woke up and the day could begin !! Those left to shower did so, a little breakfast where necessary and bags packed yet again !! No idea as to whether it was light or dark outside as no windows !! The plan had been to leave at 7 but we were ready to go at about 6:45 !! This time we left the room as a group to ensure we could all get sorted at the lift !! John, Trev & Paul took the bigger bags up first while the "girls" stayed outside the lift….. Big bags taken to the van, John and Trev loading, Paul went back with all the keys to get the "girls" up the lift… Absolutely stupid way of doing things !!! Everyone at the car, packing done very quickly, as it should be now, all in and away we go !! Trev was despatched with the two key fobs while Paul drove up to the security gate !! As it opened Trev popped the keys into the night safe and ran back to the car as quickly as possible. Jumped in and through we went before the gate came back down !! Only the exit ramps to overcome !! We took it really slowly and thought we had got away without Bang, scrape, grind !! No chance, the very last exit ramp out onto the main road caught us !! This was quite a bad one though as we felt the van lift and the noises were worse !! No matter, nothing appeared to have dropped off in the mirror and we had a ferry to catch !! Trev navigating with the ipad, got us around the streets which were fairly empty at that time in the morning and we headed to the ferry… Follow the turn off for the Inter-Islander was the shout and we did so !! Very easy to find and we did the whole trip in about 15 mins !! As we neared the check-in gate we managed to jump the line slightly as an old man in front did not realise the kiosk was open on both sides. "Good morning Sir, how many in your today ?" "6" we said, "Thank you, into lane 2 please, have a nice trip !" Brilliant straight in and not many waiting !! From this point it started to go downhill a bit…. Loading was due to start at about 8:00 for a 9 o'clock departure time.. When they did start loading lanes 3 & 4 went through, then some of lane 1.. After this lanes 3 & 4 (which were full up again) went forward once more!! Car after car after car went past and we waited and waited and waited !! We did eventually move forward about 50 yards then stopped again !! More lorries were then allowed on, followed by caravan after caravan after caravan then went on, more lorries, a couple of coaches, cars with trailers, and all manner of others !!!! FINALLY…. We were allowed to move onto the ferry.. As we went up the ramp we were hoping the van wouldn't bottom out embarrass us in front of everyone !! Luckily it didn't and we went up onto the upper level. Forward to the stern end of the ship, then turn round and head towards the bow again going against the flow of traffic.. We got pointed over towards the far side of the deck by the ramp that we had just driven up.. We were looking over and down onto the lower deck… Out of the car, up to the passenger deck and try to find a seat.. Fortunately we found some but were miles away from the food, screens on all the windows and a "singer/guitarist" doing his bit… No way could we put up with this for long…. At about 9:05 (a little later than planned) we set sail on our way to Picton… time for breakfast !! Two by two we went off in search of the restaurant for breakfast.. found it.. returned with trays .. and ate the offerings… as quickly as we had finished the boats crew were around clearing - efficient or what ?? Dee & Pat then wandered off to see if there were any better seating positions and Dee came back having found some wonderful ones in a "1st class" sort of area.. No one minded when we all charged in and sat down so now we had a window view, comfy chairs, large table and access to toilets nearby ….. Brilliant.. The day was looking up perhaps…. Another coffee, Paul desperately trying to catch up on the Blog, others finding their "sea-legs" and others wandering all over the ship to get the best advantage point for photos !!! Very smooth sailing in calm seas, little winds, bright skies and no rain !! Picton here we come.

On the way over which takes just over 3 hours sailing time, we managed a great look around the islands as the ship wound its way through them. People milling about on all decks, available to the public and catching whatever sights they could. Some catching up sleep in the passageways (being trodden on ). Others, however, being violently ill in the toilets, which is highly surprising as it is so calm the ship might as well be tied up against the wall !! This is a very large ferry which is well stabilised and steams along as if it is the rock of Gibraltar, and still they are being ill !! There is not much to say about the crossing as it passes without incident but it was noticed that the lifeboats were registered in Portsmouth (we laughed, but took this to be Portsmouth in NZ ! ) As the ship neared Picton the call came for all passengers with vehicles on 3 & 5 decks to return to their vehicles ! The ship does a complete turn and reverses back into the off loading dock !! Paul, Pat, Dee & John manage to get back to the car quite quickly but Trev & Lis are nowhere to be seen on the car deck !! Where could they have gone ?? We notice that the bow gates have opened and the ramp has been lowered and cars are moving off and still no sign of them !! Fortunately the suddenly appear at the other end of our deck and manage to make their way back to us just in time for the crew member to move the cone in front of us !! Suddenly the long deck in front of us, which had been the "up" ramp, starts to drop away at the far end. As the end reaches the bottom we are asked to start and directed to go down the ramp and leave the ship !! BONUS !! From having the long wait to get on and being one of the last to load, which aggravated us immensely, not getting a good seat to start with and last for breakfast, we were now just about first off and would have no traffic to deal with. What a laugh we had when we saw some of the cars that had arrived late, been loaded straight on and were now going to have a long wait to get off and be stuck in the obvious queues of traffic trailing away from the ferry !! YiPPeeeee!!!

Which way to go ?? There were two routes to Nelson, one goes quite a long way round but is mainly motorways and could be steady progress, the second was a scenic coast road (one we had been advised to take) but could take longer !! As we came to the roundabout which would lead us onto one road or the other to dictate the direction we took Dee suddenly said it's a long way round on the motorway ! Paul immediately heaved the steering wheel around as Trev tried desperately to point the way. Pat & Lis, in the rear seat lurched to one side, heavy bags shifted but we got round and started the scenic route !! Very quickly we hit road works with traffic lights on the mountain pass.. Once past these it was really very twisty and windy and then suddenly straight again but very swiftly changed back to winding roads. Paul was having great fun, as if he was driving the coach in the original film of The Italian Job, swinging the van around bends, picking up speed, having to slow down again, more bends, uphill, downhill, fast, slow, more bends, near the rocky overhangs, swinging out over the edge near the railings on the other side , crossing the centre where it was obviously safe to do so, being egged on by co-pilot Trev. Up, up, up we went nearing the summit. As we got there we spotted a parking place which would afford brilliant photos of the bay etc. So we pulled in to have a look. Unfortunately, the trip up the mountain had had an adverse effect on John. He had had very little sleep (if any) the night before in the torture cell with no windows. He was not feeling too good as we were all rising in the morning, nor did he feel much better on the ferry (although not feeling worse either) but the adventure roller coaster ride was the last straw.. Lis was also feeling a bit queasy but not quite so bad !! As we were parked at the stop they climbed out of the van and went near to the railing to catch a little fresh air with the breeze. After a few minutes John said he felt ready to continue and we set off again.. Downhill this time, had to be a little slower as some of the bends were even sharper than on the way up and needed a little more care. At the bottom the roads opened up again and all was well ! We managed to get going now and made Nelson quite quickly… Once there we came across the Motel right along the main road that we were on !! Brilliant, straight in, get checked in. Dee & Trev went into reception and there was a great guffaw from the desk ??? Trev came out holding a photo of himself, that had been made to look like a wanted poster of an extremely dangerous villain (which of course he is) by Dickie who had left it at reception to warn them about the impending arrival of a certain guest !! The motel staff recognised Trev immediately and we all burst into fits of laughter.. Well done Dickie, very appropriate !!! Bags unloaded, John (still feeling a bit poorly) went straight to bed and had a few hours sleep.. Trev and Dee took the van to drive to his friends d*** (Richard) Sweet house to say hello and get a plan for this evenings get together and meal !! Paul started on the blog catch-up again while Pat went off to do the Laundry run with Lis..

About 2 hours later John rose from the dead looking much more like himself, the snooze had worked, Pat & Lis had the washing done and on the line, Paul had posted the blog for the day before and Trev & Dee had returned from the Sweet household !! Plan now was to get a quick wash, shower, change and brush up. d*** would call for us at about 6:15 and we would then follow him to the restaurant (Harbour Lights Bistro) on the waterfront as he said he knew where to park !! He duly arrived, we followed, nowhere to park !! We both turned round and headed back the way we had come. A little further along he slowed and motioned for us to pull into a space, which we did, he drove on a little further and parked. As we were all about to walk away we spotted a sign that said "Residents Parking Only" not a good idea to park here so we popped the van up where Dickie had parked !! In we all trooped, went upstairs and got ourselves seated. Started a great banter with the waitress , who took a couple of photos for us, made our orders for wine, women and song ( sorry food and drink ) and set about more catch up and greetings conversations.. The evening rolled along swimmingly well, the food was really good, with the slight exception of John's meal which was not quite right, Paul & Pat had a pint of Cider (actually Paul had more than one) the wine was flowing, Ginger beer was cold, the sun was setting across the bay, a cool breeze coming through the windows, life was good, except for Dickie - who may end up dead having decided that poor Pru (his good lady) would be driving home !!!

Main meal done, more drinks, desserts ordered, this is the life !!! With the flow of alcohol the conversations got more raucous and made their way down to the gutter (what more can you expect from two ex-firemen ?) and we were getting strange looks from the other patrons.. This was mainly to do with our accents rather than anything we were doing… Red watch, white watch, blue watch, grey watch, Seiko watch were all mentioned.. Some nice comments some not so nice but generally a funny conversation… The staff seemed run off their feet as there were only 3 of them trying to service the whole room, this made delivery of meals a little slow, but made for more drinking and banter time… no bad thing, so no problem !!! Puddings delivered, Dee was having cheese platter, she decided that she needed a glass of red wine to compliment the cheeses. The waitress obviously misunderstood the intention and persuaded Dee to have a rather thick, deep red, that was actually more like Port.. well with cheese you would, wouldn't you ?? Unfortunately this was not what Dee had intended and did not suit her palate at all, so as not to waste it the glass of red was given to the 'euro-6' human dustbin (Paul) who drank it with relish !! Job done….. bill please…. All paid, time to leave…. Giving the staff peace at last…. We all wandered down the road, more joking and laughter, goodbyes and pleasantries passed and off to bed for all..

We had a great evening with Dickie & Pru, again people whom most of us had never met but took to us all with open arms and welcome !! Yet another great evening on our adventure…

Tomorrow is a fairly short drive to Westport on the way to Hokitika where some of us will be taking a plane over the glaciers and others jewellery making !! But that's another story……