Smooth Sailing on the Kaitaki

After an early morning wake-up call, we were on the road bright and bushy tailed for our short 10km drive to the ferry terminal.   After checking in and being shown where to park prior to boarding,  we came across this bit of sage advice.

And there she was, the Kaitaki, which means “Challenger”, ready and waiting.  Built in 1995, 22,365 tonnes,  181.6m in length, and with a speed of 20.5 knots, the journey across Cook Strait takes about 3 1/2 hours.

Kaitaki – the Challenger

All the cars and small campers were loaded first, and then we went in together with the larger motor-homes and big trucks.  The staff made sure that everyone is parked up close and then we had to squeeze ourselves out between the gaps and make our way to the lifts to take us to the public lounge areas.

Luckily the sailing was nice and smooth, as Robin is not a good sailor in rough weather.  How about a little breakfast to start off our journey?  Nothing too rich or greasy, such as the cooked breakfast on offer, (just in case the swells start the ship rocking and rolling in the middle of Cook Strait), it was a sandwich for him and baked beans on toast for her.  The Ocean View Café was one of three eateries on board, and was doing a roaring trade.

We took a turn around the ship, checking out the other lounge areas, and the decks.

Wind blown selfie on the deck

As we travelled through the Sounds, Robin tracked our trip on this handy app on his phone.

And then we saw another Interislander ferry  Kaiarahi coming towards us, on it’s journey to Wellington, and a Mussel Farm quietly growing mussels in the Sounds.

Almost at Picton

The announcement came over the speakers for all car passengers to return to their vehicles, and not to start their engines until directed to.  Before too long the drawbridge was lowered, and off we went, out into the bright Picton sunshine.  And the sign in front of us read, “Welcome to the South Island”.

We’ve arrived safely – now to head to  Murchison.

The Great War Exhibition

It’s taken us a while, almost two years in fact, but we finally made it to the stunning Great War Exhibition, by Sir Peter Jackson.  Driving into Wellington City, we spotted MV Kaitaki in the harbour.  Capable of carrying up to 1600 passengers, it is the largest ferry operating in New Zealand waters.  We remember the excitement when our group of four vans boarded this vessel back in 2012 when we embarked on our 3 month South Island Odyssey caravan trip.  Soon, we keep telling ourselves, we will be travelling across Cook Strait again.

M V Kaitaki

 

We drove adjacent to the Terrace, full of high priced office blocks and apartments.

Finally, after a hiccough or two from the Sat Nav wanting to take us up one way roads in the city, we finally made it to the historic Dominion Museum.  I’m sure I’m just one of thousands who can remember school trips to the museum.  Up the steps we went, and paid our entry fee – we had decided to take a guided tour and joined a small group.

Dominion Museum building

The tour took us through a picturesque Belgium town, past lovely homes and shops, while our guide explained the catalyst which started WW1.

Pretty Belgium buildings

In such a short time, Britain was involved, and young men were enlisting, many of them underage.  The consensus amongst the men was, “We’ll be home by Christmas”.  Being part of the British Empire, New Zealand men were also involved, to help out Mother England.

Getting ready to enlist

We weren’t previously aware of just how many countries were involved as Allied Nations during WW1. The list makes fascinating reading.

Allied countries in WW1

When the British sent 70,000 troops to assist in the defence of Belgium, they expected a fast moving mobile war.  Short of trucks, London Double Decker buses were pressed into war service.  900 buses would be sent to France and Belgium, with their bright red colours and gaudy advertising quickly covered with green paint.  Most glass was removed for safety, and the windows boarded up.  They were used as ambulances, and also converted into mobile messenger-pigeon lofts.  The soldiers nicknamed their buses “Old Bill”

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“Old Bill” London Type B bus

And how many horses were sent to war, never to return?

The men settled down to war in the trenches.  Our guide showed us examples of the different  trenches built by both sides.  The Allies trenches were originally constructed of straight lines, while the German trenches were made of curves, making them less liable to collapse.  Carrier pigeons played an important role in sending messages, as did the very bulky telephones. 

In the trenches with pigeon cage in the back

Imagine the horror of tanks rumbling across the trenches and the men trapped underneath.  It made me feel quite queasy to view this.

Men trapped under a tank

The sets were amazing, just as we would expect from Peter Jackson and his talented team.  We saw so much – check in later for part two.

We’re suffering from Boat-lag

Our time in Christchurch had come to an end, it was time to leave the apartment, pack the car, and drive on up to Picton to catch the ferry home.  The alarm was set to go off at 6.00am and after a shower, a cuppa, and a quick check to make sure that we hadn’t left anything behind, it was time to hit the road.  As we left the city, it was a bit like rush hour in Wellington, with long streams of cars driving into Christchurch.  With so many suburban houses damaged in the earthquakes, many homeowners now live in the large subdivisions which up sprung up some distance away.  Our plan was to leave early, and stop for breakfast further  along our way.  The cafe we stopped at in Cheviot was a good choice, with a “Farmer’s Breakfast” for him, and Scrambled Eggs for her.  There was a lovely old stone church across the street which caught my fancy.

Presbyterian Church at Cheviot

It was about here that our plans fell in disarray when we received a couple of texts from the Interislander.  The first text told us that the ferry we were booked on was having mechanical problems and was running late.  Then we were told that our early afternoon sailing was cancelled and our booking had been transferred to the 7.00pm sailing – bother!!  That will make us very late home indeed.  But never mind, at least we were fully informed and could now just take our time.

Driving through Kaikoura we caught glimpse of snow covered mountains so out came my camera.  Robin commented that I seem to have a “bit of a thing” for such scenes.  He’s right, there’s something about such grandeur that really leaves me breathless.

Just look at that wonderful view

Then we drove back through the small one way tunnels cut into the rock.  There are two sets of these tunnels quite close together along this road.

Dinky little tunnels cut through the rock

As we had plenty of time to kill, we decided to have another stop at Ohau Stream to see if the pool was full of baby seals this time around. But no, we were disappointed again, there was only one lone sea pup swimming all by himself in the pool.  Around and around he frolicked  enjoying himself just under the waterfall.  It was not easy to get a good photo at all with the poor light and the continual movement. 

Seal pup in the pool

The bus load of noisy young female tourists squealing in delight didn’t seem to upset the baby at all, he just kept on playing before hauling himself up onto a rock.  There he struck poses this way and that as the cameras went clicked merrily away and the girls talked baby talk to the seal pup.

  Posing for the cameras

Then as we walked back down the track we were treated to the sight of two seal pups playing in the stream, and wondered if these were the same two we had seen a week earlier.  They were certainly having fun in the water, and then decided it was time to go.  They showed us how to do rock hopping as they made their way down stream.  They followed the stream through the culvert under the road and we spotted them again on the rocky beach. 

Time to go back to the beach

And there they are moving down to the sea across the rocks.  Perhaps it’s meal time and they are waiting for their Mums to return.

Returning to the sea

View of the coast

We continued our journey and arrived in Picton, where we had hours to spare before our ferry was leaving.  So we enjoyed the sunshine and the views down at the marina as we whiled away the time.  There was lots of serious money tied up here, we thought.  It was such a nice calm day there was no concern that we would get a repeat of the rough trip we had coming over Cook Strait a week ago.

 

Down at the marina

At last it was time to  go and park up in the check-in area with the other cars, vans and motor-homes.  As usual, the railway wagons and trucks were loaded first, and then finally, it was our turn.

The way back to Wellington

The Aratere (meaning Quickpath) got away at 7.00pm.  This ship is a version of a “stretched limo”, as it underwent a $52 million refit at the Sembawang shipyard in Singapore in 2011.  The ship was lengthened by cutting it in half to insert a new 30-metre (98 ft 5.1 in) midsection, and  a new bow and stern.  All this work  increased her capacity from 360 to 600 passengers. Isn’t that amazing!

We arrived in Wellington at 9.45pm, and started the long drive up SH1, finally arriving home at 11.30pm.  It had been a long day, and we were exhausted, so the car was quickly unpacked, and we tumbled into bed.   I think we were suffering from “boat-lag”.

Travelling Cook Strait on the Arahura

Beep, beep, beep, it shrilled, calling us out of our slumbers at the ungodly hour of 5.30am.  We had a busy day ahead, and needed to set the alarm clock to make sure we were up bright and early. It was a matter of getting up, showered and dressed, eat breakfast, have a very quick tidy up (dishes and make the bed), throw the bags in the car, and off, off, and away.  We were travelling across the Cook Strait down to Picton (South Island) on the Interisland ferry Arahura, then drive down to Christchurch but first we had to travel down to Wellington in the peak hour traffic.  As it happened, we made very good time, and then we were informed that the ferry was running 30 minutes late.  Never mind, we would rather arrive in plenty of time than be running late.  The check-in operator handed us a  free copy of RV Lifestyle magazine to while away the time.

 

At last the ferry arrived.  We watched while the captain manoeuvred it into position on the wharf, then  trucks, cars and railway wagons disembarked.

Arriving in port

Then it was our turn.  We may well have been in starting position on lane 4, but the big trucks went on first, followed by those cars in lanes 1, 2, and 3.  It seemed strange driving our little Toyota Corolla on board, as last time we boarded a ferry, we were part of a group of eight excited people, three caravans and one motor home embarking on a three month trip.  This time we are going “down south” for a mere five days.

Follow that car in front

I watched as the crew chained down the wheels of the trucks.  They don’t bother with the cars, one of them told me, just rely on the hand brakes to hold them in place.  Then we climbed up the narrow steps to the lounge area, where another crew member welcomed us aboard.  With 90km winds blowing, it didn’t promise to be an easy trip.  The captain made an announcement warning that the seas would be rough, and to be very careful if we walked around, better to remain seated, he advised.  And that sick bags were there for our use.  Oh dear – will we be in trouble?  It certainly seemed like it as big waves hit the front windows with force, and as the bow ploughed up and down through the open sea.  Robin is not a good sailor at the best of times, and decided that he would try and and sleep through the worst of the trip.  My way is to immerse myself in a good book, and concentrate on the story – even better if it is about serial killers wrecking havoc and the smart detective who is closing in fast to save the day.

The Arahura (meaning Pathway to Dawn) is the oldest and smallest boat in the fleet, and was built in 1983 in Denmark for $45 million.  The 148 metre long ship is powered by four diesel electric motors, and can carry a total of 60 rail wagons, 125 cars, 12 trucks and 550 passengers

 

The rough seas were left behind as we entered the beautiful Marlborough Sounds.  The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys at the north end of the South Island.  According to legend, the Marlborough Sounds were formed when Kupe, a great Maori warrior, was chasing a giant octopus and finally caught it in Cook Strait. The battle that ensued formed the waterways and headlands of the Sounds.  Most of the properties dotted along the shore line in this part of paradise are only accessible by boat.

Views of Marlborough Sounds

It didn’t take too long to disembark at Picton, then we were on our way to the next stage of our journey, driving down the coast to stay in Christchurch for a family birthday celebration.