Ferry from Wellington to Picton

After 4 great days in Wellington, time to take the ferry over to the south island. The day was overcast so didn’t get to experience much of the scenic views but it was uneventfully smooth sailing—a good thing. The ferry holds 1650 passengers, on this day had nearly 1000 on board and very little extra seating. Made notes to be sure to bring snacks with us on the return voyage.

The scenery was fantastic and different again from the north island. Drove along the coast for awhile—beautiful! Had been told to stop at Cay’s Crays for a meal of crayfish. We did but the day was too cold to enjoy cold lobster on the side of the road, especially at $45 each!

Drove on to Woodend, a suburb of Christchurch, where we stayed with our new friend Gina Anson who was the woman I had planned to do an exchange with in 2010, an exchange that fell through, sadly. She was a wonderful hostess and took us around to see the earthquake damage in and around the city. Quite devastating and hard to capture in pictures. Gina told us to imagine that the empty spaces in the city core were once buildings which have now been cleared. We watched as huge cranes and shovels tore apart other structures which had also been condemned for removal. In the “Red Zone” no one can enter until these damages can be accurately assessed and the buildings either shored up and restored, or taken down.

Sadly, Christchurch Cathedral is in the heart of the red zone and is severely damaged. We could not get close enough to get a decent picture but those that we have seen show that it is a mess. Best guess is that it will have to be torn down but will likely be rebuilt, as it is such a city icon.

We also drove through the suburbs and to Gina’s old school, which will lose at least 3 of their buildings to quake damage. Many houses are ruined; roads, playing fields and golf courses have uneven spots and break points as well as signs of liquifaction—greats rounds of grey cement-like earth that didn’t exist before the quakes.

After the sadness of exploring Christchurch, Gina took us to Akaroa, a tourist town that sits in an ancient crater, the water deep enough to allow cruise ships to enter from a channel to the sea. Again we were startled at the incredible beauty of the countryside. Gina’s dog Max came along for the ride and entertained us with his antics on the beach.

The next day we set off for another bit of voyage to Dunedin. Stopped along the way at Maeroki Boulders for lunch and saw up close and personal the gorgeous Pacific Ocean and sandy beaches. Had a quick lunch and then made our way to and through Dunedin and drove the additional 10 km to Mosgiel, where my Aunt Lydia lives in a lovely retirement village. We spent the evening catching up with family. Today, Sunday, Jan 18th, we are going over to my cousin Bruce’s home and the whole family will be there: Bob; Cath and her husband Karl plus two kids Ben and Grace; Joce and her boyfriend, Ian; Bruce and Niki and their kids, Will and Maddy. Looking forward to learning all about my cousins at the family bar-b-que