30.01.2014Picton – Byebye South Island!

In order to continue our journey back to Auckland we had to cross over from the South to the North Island. The inter-island-ferries leave at the little town of Picton and go all the way to Wellington, NZ’s capital. Picton is a small town at the top of the South Island of New Zealand and clustered around a cove of the Queen Charlotte Sound.
It was a beautiful day as we arrived in Picton and after strolling around at the harbor we enjoyed a delicious ice cream 🙂

Since our ferry left the next day we decided to continue on to our campground for the night after visiting Picton. On the way to the camp site we passed the Karaka Reserve with a beautiful view:

Our last night on the South Island! There are dozens of campgrounds at the north tip of the South Island. We followed the recommendation of that funny Irish couple we met at Otto’s campground and chose the campground at Whatamango Bay. First thing is always to secure a good spot and set up the tent:

Then we cooked up some dinner and sample a bottle of Pinos Gris. Unfortunately not one of our favorite grape types…

Next morning we got up early, drove back to Picton to have breakfast and to catch the ferry to Wellington:

View over Whatamango Bay:

On our way from Picton to Wellington:

Passing through Queen Charlotte Sound:

After about three hours we arrived in Wellington:

Once we arrived in Wellington we disembarked from the ferry and headed for our hostel in the center of Wellington were we planned to spend the next couple days.