Ferry, Train and Van

Friday, January 8^th.

Travel day. We were up early and checked out to cross the street to the ferry terminal. It was a rainy, windy morning as we boarded a huge ferry for the crossing of the Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton on the South Island. The crossing took about four hours and most of us spent the time indoors because of the weather. I spent it relaxing and listening to music. 

When we arrived the weather cleared a bit and we lugged our stuff over to the train station via a bus. We had some time so people wandered around this small town to various places for lunch. Some of us headed up to a bakery that Max recommended. I had a sausage roll and steak and onion pie, both of which were quite tasty. Our train was delayed because there was a problem with a freight train on the line. 

We finally boarded about 2:00 and enjoyed a two and half hour ride to Kaikoura. The train had a bar and snack car and an open car where you could stand and take photos without window interference (bottom photo). When we arrived in Kaikoura our new van and trailer were waiting for us and we drove directly to our hotel, the Sierra Beach Motel. Max showed us where we would be doing our activities tomorrow, and the group doing the dolphin swim went, registered and prepaid. 

We had an hour to hang out before we grouped again for a walk to a fish and chip restaurant for supper. On the way back to the motel, Max, Marie, Jan, Deline, Maxi and I stopped at a bar and enjoyed a couple of pints before going back to sleep.