Trip to the South Island

K and I ventured to the south island of Auckland via the inter-island ferry.  It was a beautiful trip.  Here are some pictures as our ship departed Wellington.

The views of Wellington Harbor, Cook Straight (the body of water between the two islands that connects the Pacific Ocean to the Tasman Sea) and of Queen Charlotte Sound were simply magnificent.  Here are some pictures from the Harbor, Straight and the Sound.

The Sound was particularly beautiful - and quite tight.  Navigating a large ship such as we were on through the Sound must require some excellent captaining skills and experience.

 

We arrived in Picton on the south island.  It is a cute little town that sits at the end of Queen Charlotte Sound and had some lunch there.  Cute tiny little town.

 

From Picton, we followed the north shore sounds to Nelson and then our night's stop at Richmond - a quick stop before heading to the west coast and the glaciers we have planned for later this week.  Nothing too exciting today, just some glorious scenery around the sounds.

 

Nelson too was a cute little town.  It sits on the edge of the Marlbourgh Sounds wine region.  K and I love the fact that all these little New Zealand towns are vibrant - with active stores, cafes, restaurants, pubs, and living space.  I am sure there is a certain amount of big-box store presence, but from our vantage point, it looks like there are plenty of local shops too.

 

A large Anglican church (Christ Church) sits on a hill in the center of town.  It took 40 years to complete due to world wars and funding.  It contains some beautiful stain glass windows and a somewhat out of place bell tower (it was added in 1964 vs the rest of the church started in 1925) but still a nice city center icon.

We wrapped our day at a great bar and restaurant in Mapua on Marlbourgh sound.  I shot these photos from the table we sat at.  I don't think I could ever get tired of views like this.