The North Island and the South Island are two different parts of New Zealand, divided by yet more beautiful watery bits in between. We took the ferry across from Wellington to Picton. And when I say "ferry", don't be mistaken, thinking this is some barge with two open sides for a few cars. No sir, this is a small floating city! Six or seven stories high, it carries not just hundreds of passengers, many cars, a few 18-wheeler trucks and, I hear, the occasional train, but it also includes three cafés, a food court, a sports bar (with the rugby match on, of course), a windowed viewing deck, four recliner seat rooms (with and without TVs), computer desks, two movie theatres, a children's playground, a child-friendly room with destructo-proof play area (and Dora the Explorer on TV), and a reception desk. It is HUGE!
The views from the top sun deck were fabulous and ever-changing throughout the course of the journey.
Laurent and Pablo came up for a look too, but stayed inside and just looked through the window.
It was incredibly windy up there, but very invigorating, and definitely worth it for those great views!
And these girls had some fun up on the top deck!
Did I mention that it was REALLY WINDY?!! So much so that they had to close the deck to passengers for a while in the middle of the trip!But that was okay since we had other things to entertain us, like those two movies and, in the kids area, a magic show!! Nigel Kennedy set up shop with a sign saying the Magic show started at 9:30 and the children, from 2 to 12 years old, started grabbing foam bits as seats and gathering in a circle around him. Nigel continued to captivate them once he started his show, and was very good with the children. They laughed and squealed with delight at his antics and his well-practiced pretended surprise and since every volunteer helper magician's assistant received a personally-crafted wearable balloon sculpture, he was ensured an abundance of eager volunteers every time he asked for one from his rapt audience! The show lasted an hour and kept us all thoroughly entertained. I think is was a stroke of genius for the ferry company to have this included in their amenities. Bravo!
Pablo made the most of the play area, determined to tackle the mountain of vinyl and foam.
And, happy to show off, Pablo was not just walking around, but simultaneously carrying things as big as he was!
We finally arrived in Picton, and it was still only 11:30am! Look at all we had accomplished already! The day had just begun!
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