Goodbye South Island, Hello Wellington!

Alas, it was time to say goodbye to the South Island, so we drove to Picton to catch the ferry to Wellington, NZ’s capital, located at the southern end of the North Island. It was a 2.5 hour drive to get to Picton and, as seems to be the norm here, the road, while scenic (what isn’t?), had some incredibly winding sections. We’ve heard reports of some folks experiencing a bit of motion sickness with all the back and forth, and it’s not hard to imagine.

On the ferry from Picton on the South Island to Wellington on the North Island

The Interislander’s Kaitaki ferry was huge: 181 meters long and holding up to 1350 passengers and about 600 cars. It had a couple restaurants, a movie theater, a kid’s play area and a sizeable bar, plus plenty of places to just take a seat and lounge away the nearly 4 hour trip. We proceeded out of Picton and weaved through islands, crossed the relatively-calm straight, and were soon docked not too far from the center of town, where we were staying. After a couple directional miscues, we finally made it to our hotel, the Set Up, parked the car and didn’t need to use it the rest of our time in the city.

Our hotel was nothing fancy, but it was very strategically located. We were just around the corner from Cuba Street, which is very lively and has tons of restaurants, shops, cafes and bars. We were also really close to the national museum, Te Papa, and Mt. Victoria (which offers splendid views of the city), and probably more than a dozen craft breweries. So, we spent our first day in Wellington enjoying just those things: climbing Mt. Victoria, walking along the Oriental Parade (a beach-side promenade), and visiting Te Papa.

In the evening we went to a play, “Four Nights at the Green Barrow Pub.” The play, which was set in an Irish pub, actually took place in an Irish pub, JJ Murphy’s. They took over the top floor of the bar and the setting was absolutely perfect for the subject matter. Very well done indeed, and a ton of fun.

The following day we spent most of our time at Rogue and Vagabond, a brewpub which was hosting a music festival featuring a bunch of local acts to benefit Zealandia, a nearby nature preserve. In between sets, and for meal breaks, we visited a few of many the breweries located nearby to round out the day: Fortune Favors, Tuatara, Fork and Brewer, and Husk.