An unforgettable Journey

After a nervous night we get Fantail ready to take off to the Harbour again. As we’re not sure whether we will actually make it onto the ship today, we book ourselves in for another night at the campsite - just to be sure to have a place to stay plus electricity if the situation prevails. After having paid we drive off into uncertainty.

At the Interislander Terminal there is chaos. Other Tourists as well as locals try to get waitlisted while motorcyclists and pedestrians are more lucky. We approach the service desk and explain our situation again. After what felt like an absolute eternity we receive a preliminary ticket for the 12:30 ferry. The service lady tells us that we can show this at the check-in terminal and they will then let us know if we can get on the next ship (or not). With newfound hope we get back to Fantail and get into the queue. At the gate we receive the info that we won’t make it onto the 12:30 ferry but are invited to queue in the standby lane which is next to the boarding lanes (i.e. for those who have a valid ticket). Whilst parking our vehicle we spot an oddly familiar logo on another camper van. It reads: “Kiwi Burrow” and must be Jill’s other camper with a group of 6 from Canada who are also stranded due to the service disruption!!

We say hello to them and take a picture together which we send to Jill to cheer her up as well. After all she must be even more stressed than we are! After waiting for at least 4h in line and seeing the midday ferry arrive, get loaded with vehicles (a lot of lorries also!) and then sail off to Wellington. We decide to get something to eat (we’re almost hangry) as we now only can hope to get onto the afternoon sailing. Luckily Fantail is already well positioned in the standby queue. As we walk into the city center we received an E-mail from Interislander:

“Hello guys,
I am delighted to let you know I have managed to make you a confirmed booking on the 6.30pm Sailing tonight.
The Ship is running several hours late. Final check in is 8.30pm, although you are welcome to check in any time after 4.30pm.
I hope you have had a nice holiday in New Zealand. Despite having the disruption of the Ferry.
Kind Regards,
Carmen.”

We can’t believe our luck and the feeling of pure happiness is kicking in. Knowing that we now have a chance to make it back to Rotorua in time to hand back Fantail!!

We walk over to Tasman Holiday Park to cancel our campsite and then have a wonderful late lunch/ early dinner at the Waitohi Sports Bar and treat ourselves to a few beers.

Late at night we make our way on to the ferry and sail up north again. 😌Read more