So it was a slightly earlier start today as we have to check into the ferry by 8.15 to head towards the South Island. The good news is that everything still fits into the cases so we handed back the keys and went down to the lobby to wait for the taxi who was actually already there, or rather a taxi was already there – it turns out it wasn’t actually our taxi but ours arrived just after we had loaded all our luggage into the first one so as both of us were heading to the ferry we stayed in the one we were in and set off for the terminal. We somehow managed to be almost the first people in the ferry so we picked a spot in the premier lounge and settled in for the 3 ish hour journey. The lounge was very civilised with complementary breakfast and mid morning tea (warm jam scones and cream) which meant that by the time we landed I was stuffed! We seemed to spend an age docking but finally it was time to disembark and it was actually a very smooth landing interestingly they actually walk the foot passengers off via the car deck. After collecting our luggage we went round to the car hire to collect our new car, luckily we were the 2nd people there as there was only one person working and despite their ‘quick pickup process’ it seemed to be vey long winded process and by the time we got the keys there was quite a queue. Anyway we managed to get all the luggage into car and set off for the accommodation which is only a couple of hours away. En route we saw our first South Island waterfall, snow capped mountain and seal. The drive was lovely as a lot of it was along the sea and the coastline is fantastic, the colour of the water and the braking waves are stunning, all with a backdrop of the snow caped mountains. We stopped on the way to look at Ohau waterfall which is where, in the summer, all the seal pups can be found, but unfortunately although we saw a couple of seals as we were walking up, it is the wrong time of year to see them in the pools. We arrived at the apartment about 4.30 and sat on the balcony having a drink for a while but although it is lovely and sunny it was a bit cold so we moved back inside before heading off out for something to eat.
