Picton to Wellington
Today I wound up my travels on the South Island and got on the ferry to Wellington in the North Island. My ferry was at 1:15 PM and we were instructed to get there at 12:15 PM. I decided to go a bit earlier and got there at 11:45 AM. This worked out well because I was at the front of the line in a big group of motorcyclists who were returning from a rally in Queenstown, and not so good because the ferry was running late and I had to stand there for almost an hour.
Waiting in the InterIslander queue.
Securing our bikes
All tied up.
When they signaled to us, we rode towards the ship and were guided to park in special motorcycle parking. This involved wedging the front tire into a triangular metal structure and using tie-downs to secure the bike on both sides. I didn’t have any but one of the riders lent me one of his, and the ferry provided another one.
Bike secured, I walked up to one of the decks and found a spot to sit down. Since securing the bike took so long, I wasn’t able to snag a window seat. I was also super hungry exhausted by this time so I missed most of the interesting part of the ferry crossing as it wound its way north through the Marlborough Sounds. By the time I felt well enough to go outside, we had already crossed into the ocean. In the distance I could see mountains with windmills on them.
Out on the deck.
About 3.5 hours later, we docked in Wellington. Then ensued a bit of a scramble to get to the bike.
I rode off and was met at the docks by my host Jeff Vickers who had come to pick me up on his wife’s GSXF. I followed him out of the docks and for a moment felt overcome by a pang of deja vu and homesickness as I felt like I was exiting the downtown Seattle ferry terminal but in reality I was in a totally strange city! They both looked so similar…
My hosts were lovely and I enjoyed my stay with them. Fortunately they lived in the heart of downtown so I was able to spend the next couple of days walking around. I got to see the beautiful harbor, some street art, the amazing modern Te Papa Museum, and the house of parliament (I even got to see the congress in session!).
Wellington Harbor
On my last evening, Jeff took me for a ride around the harbor, to the top of Mount Victoria for a fabulous view, and to the Weta Cave and Wellington Airport where I saw some awesome LOTR art. The geek in me was happy!
LOTR geekery
Troll alert!
Smeagol!