Left at 7:15 am to go to the ferry a for the crossing from the north to the south island arriving at Picton.The journey across Cook straight was extremely rough, and people were falling like flies, lying on the floor trying to cope with the seasickness. Fortunately my sealegs were good and no problem. I enjoyed the beauty of both islands at once, including the Kaikoura mountain ranges. The rolling waves (about 10-12ft) settled once we got into the small islands that approach Picton, and the view of the town as we arrived was spectacular as the sun was shining.
We then boarded the Coastal Pacific train for the journey from Picton to Christchurch. Approximately 15 min into the journey we were informed that there had been a derailment further along and we would have to take buses. Disappointing but we basically travelled the same route as the rail and roads travelled most of the way side by side. It was so scenic, it is hard to describe. We made our way through horticultural and farmland areas, mountainous areas, and along the Pacific Ocean for miles. Every minute there was a new vista. We went through many tunnels and crossed many one way bridges. There are many of these bridges throughout New Zealand and the story is they didn"t think the traffic warrented two cars at once. Little did they know that the tourism business would take off. The population of NZ is about 17 million, most being on the north island.

Arrived in Christchurch approx 7:30 pm, another long day but beautiful vistas dancing in my head!!!!