Back to the North Island

December 19^th-20^th, 2019

The drive to Picton was uneventful, some nice views near the end but not the prettiest ride I’ve had in this country…I think my expectations are a bit high at this point.  I didn’t return to the “holiday campsite” in town where I’d stayed at when I first arrived on the island but opted to go a bit out of town to a spot called Whatamango.  I mean come on, what-a-name!  It was a blustery night but I was protected by some trees and bushes so it was fine.

Before I left the Nelson area, I played an 18 hole disc golf course that was in a park with large trees and nice gardens (kinda seemed like a strange fit).  This is one of a handful of obsurd holes...the basket is way in the distance in the middle of the picture.

Interesting clump of trees, some dead, some living...

Lots of raw logs heading somewhere overseas...my guess would be China.

A ferry as I pulled into Picton, different company than I will sail with tomorrow.

I've never seen a dog being transported like this.  Felt sorry for the little guy although he didn't seem to mind as he laid down for a nap as I was watching him.

The big footed Pukeko bird.

I checked in at the ferry around 7:45 am for the 9:05 sailing, you had to be there at least an hour before departure.  This time Betty 2.0 ended up on the outside portion of the upper deck.  These ferries are definitely more complicated to load than BC Ferries where you simply drive on and then drive off.  Here some cars are pointing one way, some the other way, some are curved at an angle.  It seems a bit inefficient as it does take a fair amount of time to load and unload vehicles.  There also seems to be a lack of seating in the regular lounge for the number of passengers and another complaint I’d have would be that the selection of food was quite limited.  I didn’t check out the cafeteria until we’d left the southern island, about an hour into the trip and started sailing in the more open ocean (once the interesting scenery had disappeared).  By then, there were a handful of overpriced sandwiches left or you could order a hot dog, chicken nuggets, fries…none of which seemed appealing at 10 in the morning.  Where was the breakfast menu?  People bitch about the BC Ferries, but they do get some things right.

There's Betty 2.0 in the middle.

Leaving Picton.

Bye bye south island.

Nearing the gap to the open sea.

This is the covering over the lights in the lounge on the ferry...yes, this country does live and breathe rugby!

As we entered Cook Strait between the islands, even though it was a relatively calm day, the 1-2 meter swells did make walking around a bit challenging, something I haven’t experienced in the same manner, even on a stormy day back in BC.  It was kinda fun, especially watching others navigate their way around.  As we approached Wellington, which is pretty much straight east from Picton (it’s funny, you think well I’m going from the south island to the north island so I must be heading north…not so much in this case), the wind picked up and so did the whitecaps.  It was nice to see the capital city on a sunny day rather than the low overcast rainy day on my way south 5-6 weeks earlier.

My plan was to meet up with my friend Braden whom I’d met in Canada in Revelstoke.  He’d also visited the flight park in Lumby a number of times (read: he’s a paraglider pilot).  His girlfriend Sarah is originally from the Toronto area and is now living here in Wellington too.  Braden works as a brewer at a you-brew place called “The Occasional Brewer”.  Sweet.  I was instructed to come by at 3pm to help his dad Wells and brother Storm bottle some beer.  Sounds good to me!

The waterfront:

I had a bit of time to kill before that so I returned to the national museum called Te Papa.  On my way south I had only time to check out the Gallipoli exhibit so this time I got to see some other parts of the museum.  It is an impressive place and it still blows me away that it’s free to enter…well worth the price of admission!

Death from above in the museum!

Skeletons of the extinct Moa...they would have been scary birds.

This is a cannon from Captain Cook's ship the Endeavour that was in the ocean for over 200 years!  His ship ran aground in the Great Barrier Reef so they jettisoned any weight they could, including 6 cannons.  This one was salvaged in 1969 after being dumped in the sea in 1770.  Crazy!

Love the line-up of these gulls...all nose into the wind.

Driving to the brewery I could not find parking anywhere, although I was confused by the signage.  Most of them stated that “Coupon Parking in Effect” and I had no idea what that meant.  Finally I thought I’d found a spot but it was on the lane that had “Bus Lane” painted before and after my spot.  The sign beside where I parked just stated “Parking at Other Hours” or something to that effect.  Well I didn’t know what the hours were (for the bus lane)…so I admitted defeat, drove to Braden’s apartment and parked near there, and walked 20 some minutes to the brewery.

I had fun with Wells and Storm bottling the beer and had a few pints with them as Braden finished his final shift of the year.  His mom Karen picked us up and Sarah’s mom Sharon from Mississauga was visiting too.  We’d met in Revelstoke a few years before when the band Daring Greatly were playing.  I had a lovely dinner with the family and camped out in Betty 2.0 in their parking space.

Sarah gave me this beer...love the label.

The following day Braden hooked me up with another paragliding pilot to go flying…what kind people.  Braden’s family was flying back up to Auckland that evening while Braden, Sarah and Sharon were getting on a ferry to head south for the next 10 days or so.  I’m glad we were able to connect.