Nelson to Wellington with New Zealand Inter-island ferry

I had originally wanted to do a return flight to/from Nelson, however the airfare didn't work out and I ended up buying the return leg through Wellington, which means I have to find my way from Nelson to Wellington in a day. This is how I make use of my day to get from Nelson to Wellington.

Upon arrival at Nelson airport, I picked up my car rental from Budget, cost just over NZ$80 for the day (other companies are charging over $200). I got a pretty new Toyota Corolla with all the modern features installed.

Since the forecast wasn't good for the day, I drove through the rain to Lake Rotoiti, just over an hour from Nelson. I couldn't get out of the car for long since I didn't have a waterproof jacket or umbrella. Here's a shot I managed to get for the few seconds I was out taking pictures.

After my short visit there, it was about 3pm and I had to drive another 2 hours to get to Picton, where I'll be getting the ferry service to cross the cook strait. The drive was rather amazing, the endless vineyards for over an hour drive, seeing the endless amount of grapes disappearing into the horizon, this was like nothing I have ever seen before. This is especially great news for wine lovers, there are many vineyards where I recognise through the supermarket shelves and some are probably more boutique or made for export. If you do end up around that area, I would highly recommend doing the drive between Blenheim and Wairau Valley.

By the time I got to Picton, I had to navigate my way around to find the rental car return since it wasn't instructed and I end up returning it to the main rental car return area (even though I can return it right at the Bluebridge ferry terminal; the main car rental return is outside Interislander ferry which is a different operator). After returning my keys, I took the complimentary bus service to get to the check in terminal.

About 20 minutes before departure (even though the check in agent told me it was about an hour before departure), we got on the bus again which took us to right outside the ferry. We were then escorted to the stairway through the vehicle bay to get to the passenger cabin. Since there was live stock on board, the walk wasn't pleasant with the heavy scent.

There are private cabins and public area, I didn't check the prices for private cabins but my regular saver fare costed NZ$50, so I would say for a 3 hour ferry ride it may not be worth it. Since we were the last to board (after all the vehicles and trucks), many seating has been taken, however I was lucky to have found an empty table right next to the window.

The deck is very cold (I am not sure if it was set to this temperature or there's no heating), most seats don't have power plugs, but free wifi is available (they are slow at times). Since this is a late noon/evening cruise, I went to the cafe and ordered a fish & chips, price is definitely on the high side but the portion is large as well. Eating my dinner while watching the sun goes down is a rather nice way to spend the evening.

The ride was mostly smooth, with some light bumps out on the cook strait, which is expected given there's a large weather event moving up the country today. After 3 hours, we have finally arrived in Wellington. This is the slowest way to connect between the North and South island, flying would usually take about 30 minutes or so, but if you are going to take a vehicle, this is the only way to go through.

PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kUJuhTVoFR5dfLyh8