Traveling on the Inter-Islander

Our South Island adventure was just one sleep away.  And to celebrate, it seemed that Mother Nature put on a lovely sun set for us on our last night at Plimmerton.

Sun set at Plimmerton

Tuesday was a lovely day, nice and sunny, just right for a trip across Cook Strait.  But it wasn’t to be.  We left Plimmerton in good time for check in, and arrived at the terminal.  There the staff told us that the 1.00pm sailing was cancelled, due to Covid wrecking havoc on staff numbers, and it was unable to sail!  Damn and blast, what now?  Turn around and go home we were told, keep your phone turned on, and wait for an update.  Because we were there reasonably early, I felt a bit sorry for the young girl who would have to repeat this message time and time again as the vehicles started arriving, offering apologies, and placating any who were put out with the change of plans.

There was nothing for it but to turn our rig around, and head back to Plimmerton NZMCA Park.  “We thought you had gone”, our neighbors told us, as we returned.  Seems we weren't the only ones in the camp who were affected either.  As the day wore on, we were advised that we had been booked on the 2.00am sailing on Wednesday morning.  It was a long day waiting, and we sensibly indulged in a Nana nap in the afternoon.

Back to Wellington we drove at 11.30pm, lined up in the queue at the booking office.  Here we were given our boarding pass and various large coloured tags to display on the dashboard.  I thought the “old folks label” was very apt!  We also had to fill in a declaration for Muffy – she was taking her journey inside the caravan, with all the comforts of home, food, water and toilet facilities available or her.

Our assorted tags.

There was even more waiting in line, so it was a good opportunity to wander up and take a photo of the Kaiarahi, lights blazing brightly in the darkness.

The Kaiarahi

Eventually our line of vehicles was waved forward and we were parked up for the voyage.  My goodness, it seemed a bit of a squeeze to me, here we were surrounded by very large trucks and trailers.  It seems our Easy Access tags were not noticed by the parking staff.  As we made our way to the stairs, me with a walking stick and Robin with a crutch (just in case we tripped, there were hooks and chains all over the floor) another  worker advised us to ask for easy access parking next time!  Of course we had, and next trip we will make sure to wave it about so it will be seen when we drive aboard the ferry.

Close parking indeed.

For a treat, we had decided to book into the Premium Lounge, a first for us.  A little pricey, but very comfy indeed, and no children allowed. As it turned out there were only about ten of us in the lounge, but we were told that sometimes it is at full capacity.

Premium Lounge

As we arrived we were presented with a glass of orange juice.  It was  breakfast service  on this trip, so we enjoyed bacon, eggs, and other delights from the self service counter.  Pastries were available, hot tea and coffee, and a trolley of sushi was on offer later in the evening, or should I say, very early morning.  It certainly was a nice experience, and I would like to sample it again during a day time sailing.

Our early morning breakfast

The ferry arrived in Picton at 5.30am, the break of dawn, and we were soon off and away to Koromiko.  Hopefully we can get into the POP at this early hour, and get our heads down for a while.

Hello Picton