Day 69: Dolphins and Exploding Beer

December 18, 2019

Kilometers: 1696.5-1700.7

YHA Wellington to Schoolhouse Bay Campsite 

Our alarms went off at 6:15. We all showered and packed up. We headed to the lobby where we met Lizzie and then ran across to the New World for breakfast. The shuttle picked us up to take us to the ferry just after 7:20. It was pouring, cold and miserable outside. When we got to the ferry we checked in and had to check our bags. They weighed our bags using the same scale they have at airport kiosks. I asked if I could step on it and get an accurate weight on myself before starting the South Island but the guy said no. Shux. 

We met Ada at the ferry terminal. After waiting a bit to board they let us on the huge ship. We saw the capacity said it can hold 1,300 people. 

It was good that it was a big ship because the waves were massive on the Cook Straight. We could feel the boat fight over each huge wave and and then fall into the trough and then repeat. Luckily we were still allowed to go out on the side view deck. The pics don’t do the size of the waves justice at all. 

The waves were so bad that all of us started to get seasick. I got up and walked around, which was hard with the huge swells. I eventually got to the back of the ship in the covered outlook area. I found I was least sick when I was able to see the waves. I was able to fall asleep for about an hour. When I woke up I found Lizzie and we got some fish and chips from the cafe as we neared the South Island. When we entered the straight we found Ada and watched the last part of the voyage on the top level observation deck. It was quite amazing. 

The ship eventually docked in the town of Picton. We got off and walked to the baggage claim. I realized my bag was drenched. We had found an extra beer in our room this morning and I had just thrown it in the top of my pack. Unfortunately, the can had popped and my stuff was covered in IPA. The worst part wasn’t it being wet but the stickiness and the fact that I smelled like a brewery. Despite the tragedy we quickly walked over to the Beachcomber Water Taxi to catch our second boat of the day. We paid, hopped on and I immediately took my stuff out to dry on the top deck. 

This boat took us from Picton to Ship Cove where the Queen Charlotte Track begins. The two hour voyage was windy but awesome. The highlight was seeing two different pods of dolphins swimming in the sound. 

We arrived at ship cove around 3:30. Ship cove is known as a place that the famous Captain Cook spent a lot of time at during his voyages. He took a number of voyages around New Zealand and used this place to resupply water. There was a statue to commemorate him. 

We started walking after looking at the statue. The track began with a slow climb up a muddy track. Once we gained a little elevation we got awesome views of the sound. 

Our late start in the day forced us to stop at the first campsite as the next one wasn’t for another 12kms. We set up tents, took baths, and cooked dinner. 

Team Belgium forgot to bring any gas canisters so I’ll be sharing with them until we get to Havelock in a few days. During dinner we had to scare off these flightless birds called weka. I believe Weka means “the biggest loser of evolution” as they are some seriously stupid flightless birds. They steal things so we had to keep an eye on our stuff at all times. They came under my tent vestibules multiple times looking for food. 

We hit our tents early, which was smart as it started to rain soon after we got in them. Ready for a big day tomorrow on the beautiful Queen Charlotte Track.