View Larger Map
At 7am we queued to board the Interisland Ferry and headed out.
It is one honkin' big ferryboat.
These twin lighthouses mark the opening of Wellington's harbo[u]r.
Once we were in the open Tasman Sea the boat moved around a bit for all its size—Enough so you had to watch your step when walking around. At first they kept the top, open deck closed. But when we entered the Queen Charlotte Sound the water was smoother and we were allowed to go up to the "Sun Deck." The view was great but it was wiiiiiindy!
Note the hair of the girl in bright green.
The weather was unstable with showers and sun-breaks coming and fading in minutes.
Marian took this "black and white" picture.
The Sound has some of the feel of Puget Sound, David thinks. "See, that could be Orcas and that could be Shaw..." Marian says "It looks nothing like Puget Sound." So we passed the time until Picton appeared at 11:30, right on schedule.
The plan was to sign in to our campground and then join a boat tour to a bird sanctuary. But the tour company said they weren't going out today, with Southerly gusts over 65Kph. "Up to 40Kph we can handle, but today you'd just be thrown around."
The weather alternated heavy showers and gusty winds with moments of calm and hints of sun all afternoon. Tomorrow morning we will have to decide whether to stay on another full day and take the bird tour, or continue down the road toward Nelson. If the weather is good, the bird tour offers our only chance to really look at the Queen Charlotte Sound, and to see the King Shag and some other birds. If it isn't good for boating, we might as well drive.
No comments:
Post a Comment