Day 6

It was a slow start to our morning but we knew we had a lot to get done today so we did what we could to get going.  After some yogurt and banana we buttoned up Van and hit the road south.  Wine, Weta, and the Ferry to the South Island was all on our itinerary for the day.

The rainy day had cleared up and as we continued to drive south the sun came out more but the wind did pick up.  As we were driving south there was a sign on the side of the road that said, Kiwis! Well, how could we spend time in New Zealand and not see a kiwi? So we followed the signs to Mr. Bruce Wildlife Center, the home of a white kiwi, as well as several other endangered New Zealand birds. 

We bought our tickets and walked out on the deck. The Kaka, or alpine parrots, swooped around us. The birds look brown sitting on the tree branches but when their wings are out, there is a flash or orange.  Down below the deck it was feeding time for the Takahe, a blue flightless bird with a small red beak.  After we watched the two Takahe waddle about their pen and nibble on the seed we ventured into the rain forest walkway, leaving behind the tour group to see what we could see in the aviaries and of course the kiwi house. 

Kaka

White Kiwi

            As we walked over the streams we could hear the birds all around us, chirping and calling.  The rainforest was thick with ferns of all kinds as we walked to the kiwi house.  Kiwi (the bird, not the human) are nocturnal flightless birds so their house is cast in red light so they think it is night and we can just barely see them.  As we walked in the house and our eyes adjusted, there in front of us was the rare white kiwi, Manukura, about the size of a chicken with a long yellow beak. The bird was using its long beak to poke around the dirt and logs, looking for it’s meal. As we walked around a corner there was Turua, a North Island Brown Kiwi. He was hard to see, but luckily, unless they’re napping, a kiwi is always moving. He was fluffing his feathers. 

Manukura

Turua

Back in the light we continued around the wildlife refuge, realized we didn’t have the time or patience to sit around and look at birds, too many things to see and do.  We packed back into Van and continued south for some lunch and some wine.

So we departed the State Highway 1 motorway for a more scenic tour of the north island wine country, heading for Martinborough. We quickly discovered that the vineyards here were young, as were the wineries. After getting some intel from the local iSite, we stopped at country farmhouse style for lunch and wine. We decided to split our meals and a glass of Pinot Noir which was purportedly the local specialty. The service was terribly slow, and the food was mediocre, which unfortunately belied the quality of the wine. Watery, and thin flavored, the experience left us with a sour taste in our mouths. So, we headed back to the town center.  Here we tried the wine store, which featured a few tasty bottles, which we purchased, some for our freedom camping needs, and some to take home. Time was now working against our itinerary, and we hit the road again after grabbing a few provisions from the local 4 Square market.

Some 2 hours later, we were entering Wellington, home of the ferry, and home of the Weta Workshop, where they made all of the props for Lord of the Rings. We debated whether we had time or not to hit Weta before out 5:30 appointment on the ferry, but we decided to risk it. After stopping and filling our tank at the first Z(ed) gas station, we discovered that we got free DC Comics blockhead toys for every $40NZ spent. Thus began our hunt for more Z(ed) stations, and we were never happier that our tank was over 80 liters, making it a sure thing we would get two toys every time we stopped. First up, we got Batman and the Black Canary!

Anyhow, we made it to Weta with about 20 minutes to spare.  The drive was the most city driving we’d done with narrow streets and lots and lots of other people. After precariously parking in the residential neighborhood that surrounded Weta, we dashed in, took a few pictures, and walked though the mini-museum and gift shop before fighting rush hour traffic to get to the ferry. Wellington had a nice port city vibe to it, and with zero evidence, struck us as quite hip.

We queued at the ferry at 5:30 on the dot, and before we knew it, we were aboard the largest ferry that either of us had ever been on.  We left Van to hang out on the auto level with his other campervan and lorry friends, and we climbed several flights of stairs, passed the movie theater on board, showing the Expendables 3. As tempting as it was, we passed on the movie, and got some mediocre dinner.

The 3 hour trip was quite beautiful, from leaving the Wellington coast, and spotting our first lighthouse, to the many islands and sounds as we moved towards the South Island, and Picton. The highlight of the ferry ride was spotting several lorries which were packed full of sheep. Three or four levels deep, sheep, stacked upon sheep, upon sheep.

We arrived as the sun was setting in the small costal town of Picton and headed to the Top 10 Holiday Park to power and water up, shower, and get a good night sleep.  This was the first clear night we’d had since getting to New Zealand and Aundra spent some time staring at the sky trying to figure out what she was looking at.  Over the horizon she could see Orion standing on his head.  It was a reminder that the world was quite small, while being so big at the same time.  The next few days we’d be exploring a whole other island, still part of the same county, but a day away from home.