Day 11: Jan 5th : Wellington – Greymouth
I started off from the Hutt Park in Lower Hutt for the Interislander Ferry terminal which was 11 kays away. I had to catch the 8.30 AM ferry and you need to be there an hour prior for check in if you have a vehicle. The day started off as being cloudy and I was a little worried about the sea being angry and knocking down the BKing in the vehicle bay.
At the Wellington ferry terminal in the morning
The bike was secured with straps on the ground and a front wheel holder coupled with the side stand. Looked like it wont go anywhere and it didn’t.
I was sailing on the Kaitaki, which is a Maori word for ‘Challenger’. The ship was quiet big from inside and all the facilities you would require for a comfortable 3 hours cruising on the sea. There was also a very enjoyable magic show which perhaps got all the children on board at once place and indeed gave them tons of fun. The magician even made a Harley Davidson (he called it a Balooney Davidson) replete with handles and a seat! It was fun for ‘grown ups’ like me and others to watch too.
The 92 kms distance between Wellington and Picton is covered in 3 hours and is also regarded by a few as one of the most spectacular ferry voyages in the world. The ferry crosses from North to South Island through the Cook Strait. Cook Strait is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. In good weather one can see clearly across the strait. The South and North Islands were joined during the last ice age.
At Picton, which is the terminal for the ferry from the North Island there is The Edwin Fox Maritime Centre which features the Edwin Fox, the only surviving ship that transported convicts to Australia, which is undergoing preservation.
At Picton
From Picton I headed into Nelson, 100 odd kays away. The day was bright and skies were blue. In between I got an idea to hook up my camera and the Gorillapod to the handle of the BKing and give some videos a shot. I got good results with the video and got some good high speed shots while riding too. Of course a proper mount would be much better in eliminating the vibrations but this was not that bad either!
^Some shots while riding at around 100kmph from the mounted cam. The videos were similar ut of course apparently clearer.
Today was one of the few days I did not book a lodge. I wanted to see how far down south I could get before close to Franz Josef which would be my next day’s stop. I visited the Paproa National Park last time i passed through here. This time it was 8 PM and the skies were dark with clouds. On top of this I was a little worried about my accommodation prospects in Greymouth.
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region on the South Island. It has quite a few lodges. I reached at around 8.45PM (and it was still bright!). The first place I looked for a room was the Top 10 lodge, but they were fully booked. Then I started looking at the motels which were on the main road and a beeline. None of them had a vacancy! Then I started to look for B&Bs (bed and breakfast) options. Some of them were very expensive (120+ NZD!). I had to skip those. Finally when it 9.30 PM I checked into a B&B 4 kms out of the main town on the South Road. It was actually a homestay which meant that the guests will get an experience of living in a NZ home and will live in the same space as members of the family. You do of course get your own private room to sleep. This was a beautiful place and the host was especially nice. Her son was also very much into motorbikes and had recently got an Aprilia after selling his Harley.
So finally at 10.30 PM i managed to hit the bed in a town which had every other room full of tourists like me…
In all I did 529 kms today (including the 92kms on water).
^Met this gentleman who was traveling on a trike with a Chevy 1600 engine!
