Change of Islands

Had turned the heating down in the campervan when we went to sleep last night - turned out to be a mistake, everyone woke up cold with noses losing feeling! Will be leaving it on a higher setting from now one. We did breakfast this morning in the kitchen on the campsite, much more room than in the van and we had the place to ourselves. Showers were decent again here. I checked with the receptionist the ferry time - expected to depart about half an hour last, and checked the road conditions as there had been snow on the hills between Wellington and Masterton affecting State Highway 2, our route. This looked like it should be OK by the time we got there. I emptied the toilet cassette - not too bad as we had only weed in it!

We checked in for the ferry about 9.30 - very painless, only took about 30 seconds then joined the waiting line. Exactly the same set up as the Isle of Wight ferry (and just as prone to lateness it seems). The ferry didn't arrive until about 10.30 and we boarded easily with the camper and went to the passenger decks.

We got a couple of breakfasts in the cafe (sausages were not nice and had cheese running through them! Bizarre). Then we went out onto the decks and took some photos and admired the views of Marlborough Sound. This part of the ferry ride is considered almost a scenic cruise.

We then went in and debated on whether to watch the movie in the cinema or not. It had been billed on the website as Inside Out, but had been changed to the Minions. We bought tickets even though Sam and Ed were seeing it for the second time. Have to say it was funny and helped pass the journey when we were out in the Cook Straits and it was a bit choppy (sea conditions had ben shown as moderate (the middle of their scale) before we boarded.

After the movie we sat inside and Ed started to feel very sea sick. We tried watching a bit of the All Blacks game from the previous night (they lost to Australia), but even that didn't work. A crew member advised we should sit right down the back, which we did and it helped and we were soon inside Wellington harbour area for the last half hour or so of the trip which was much calmer. Ed felt much better and decided to eat some chips!

We docked and drove off the ship just as torrential rain started. This eased as we drove a bit further along the highway, ut started again as we approached the hills. Through the hills the roads were very wet and it turned from rain to sleet and then snow as we gained altitude, but there was none on the roads and the drive was no worse than on a UK road in the wet. It was windy with tight bends which meant your speed had to be low anyway.

Once out of the hills we passed through a series of long towns which seemed to spread along the main road for a mile or so each and then reached Masterton, the largest of the lot.

Our campsite was at the far end of town, Mawley Park and we had a chat with the owner about the UK (he ahd lived in Derbyshire and worked across the Midlands) and rugby. We could park in any of the powered sites as the park wasn't busy at this time of year. He said a visit to the Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre would be worthwhile, so we will definitely do that on the way to Napier tomorrow.

Ed and I walked to the NEw World supermarket about 10 minutes away and got some things including chicken, rice and vegetables to go with the butter chicken sauce we had bought in Geraldine. We cooked a nice meal in the communal kitchen and met a couple staying there who were sheep shearers travelling south to shear more (they kindly dropped in some microwave popcorn for the kids later on when we were watching tv). The tv room was adjacent and we watched some programs (one where a lady told celebs on hidden camera what to do and one where celebs competed to do a different act each week).

Then back to the van or a bit of a movie before bed.Læs mere