To the south island

We left Turangi and drove down to Wellington on the south point of the north island of New Zealand.  We spent the night there before taking the ferry to Picton on the south island.  We did a little touring in the afternoon after we arrived.  Wellington is a very nice city and the capitol of New Zealand.  The original Parliament building burned down in 1907 and the new building is nicknamed the Beehive.  We also went to a couple of churches.  One thing that has struck me about New Zealand is that it is so clean.  We really haven't seen any trash on the streets at all.

The ferry from Wellington to Picton is more like a cruise liner.  It holds 600 cars on 3 decks and has a 1,650 passenger capacity.  They have 10 decks, movie theaters, cafe and restaurant, family section, and a section where you can watch TV.  The World Rugby Cup is being played and the "All Blacks", NZ's team, is the world champ so the games are on all over.  The whole country is behind the team and you see evidence of that everywhere.  We had a nice crossing even though the wind was pretty strong.  You could feel some swell action on the ferry but not much.  It was a really nice trip.

We picked up our next car in Picton and took off for Christchurch.  The road down hugs the coast part of the way and we came across a breeding ground for seals.  Moms and pups were gathered there.  The signs said to stay a certain distance away but, naturally, people were pulled over along the road and one couple was right down near a pup taking pictures.  I stayed the suggested distance away and used my zoom to get my pictures but it sure was an unexpected bonus of the trip.

We hit some view points today and toured some of the earthquake damage in Christchurch.  They had a severe earthquake in 2011 and they are slowly getting things rebuilt.  There was so much damage that it is taking a long time simply because the resources needed are limited.  We saw leveled lots, rebuilding everywhere, buildings with props and braces all over, and lots of empty buildings waiting for their turn to be fixed up or leveled.

The south island is more mountainous than the north island.  There are 4 ski areas on the north island, I think, and about 13 on the south.  Lots more snow here but we also found it to be less green.  The north island struck us as almost lush while the south island is less so.  Still lots of sheep and dairy cows but just not that same deep green.  It is also a little behind as far as the tree blossoms, too.  Different latitudes, different temperatures, different terrain.  Just adds more to the experience.  Looking forward to moving further south and seeing more of this country.

One thing we have discovered is that New Zealanders, or Kiwi's as they call themselves, have a great sense of humor.