The road was full of curves and sharp bends, one side was a rock wall and the other the pounding ocean surf. Huge semi-trucks with double and triple trailers would scream past our little van like banshees in the night. I was very relieved when we pulled off the highway into a semi sheltered picnic area beside the beach.
The night was pitch black, pierced occasionally by the headlights of a passing motorist. What we couldn't see we could hear; the screaming of a gull colony on the rocks, the rhythmic pounding of the surf and the occasional grunt and splash of a nearby fur seal. I stepped outside the van to brush my teeth and could swear there was a fur seal grunting in the sea grass next to us...I didn't leave the van again that night! We fell asleep enjoying the tranquility of a remote beach side bed.
We started the next day slowly, feeling no need to rush as our ferry wasn't until 10pm the next day. We drank our coffee sitting behind the van, soaking up the view of what we had only heard the previous night. The coastline was jagged with huge shards of rocks emerging from the sea, frothy white waves smashing them over and over again. Stone that was below the water line was smooth, worn down over time by the relentless sea. There was abundant sea life, oystercatchers, shags, herons and a variety of gulls perched on exposed rocks or bobbed on the waves while sea lions lolled on the rocks soaking up the sunshine. With all the wave action, beach combing absorbed me for at least an hour, finding paua shells, periwinkles and a myriad of others.
Eventually we repacked the van and headed on towards Picton, our departure point for the Interislander ferry to Wellington. It was drizzly and grey as we navigated the corkscrew road which made it more difficult for Iain but didn't diminish the scenery watching for me. What a stunning coastline! We passed fur seal colonies and rocky beaches, surf spots and scenic view points.
We arrived in Picton and split up to do some shopping, there were a number of cute little tourist shops with unique items and I enjoyed poking around for a few hours. Iain rented us a room in a downtown hotel and we spent the remainder of the day relaxing and exploring the tiny town. We found a wonderful Irish pub where we enjoyed a few pints before dinner then called it a night.
Our last day in Picton was beautifully sunny but dreadfully windy. The wind howled into town off the water all day making sitting outside to enjoy the sunshine almost impossible. We did a little more shopping but I spent the remainder of our time reading in the van while Iain went to a movie in the grand Picton Theater. It was nice to get on the ferry that night.
We once again experienced a night sailing - one day I would like to see the crossing between the North and South Islands, but the dark of night fit our budget. We got on and quickly snagged the cushioned bench seats beating the other inexperienced van-folk! The crossing was rough, very, very rough as the wind and waves pounded us for 3 hours. We each managed to get a little sleep enroute but I was looking forward to parking that night.
When we finally docked in Wellington it was with great relief that we disembarked. We headed back to our old home in Balena Bay in the suburbs outside Wellington but the wind was howling so badly that the van was rocking, the windows shuddering and every crack in the vehicle was emitting a discordant whistle. I asked Iain if we could find somewhere else and we managed to find a quieter spot along the road into town. We gratefully sank into bed and slept like the dead.
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