NZ Road Trip: South Island Day 12 Heading North

This was our last morning on the South Island. We Had to meet the Picton ferry for noon. We swiftly moved through Nelson, and I wish we had more time as I heard many great things about this area.

As we had the ferry booked well in advance, we had no problem getting aboard. The ferry boats were well equipped, and we had a comfortable voyage out of the inlet at Picton and into the cook straight. I recall a feeling of sadness and pause as the boat pulled away from the South Island. It had been a great experience and I felt there was still much to see and do.

We decided to skip a night in Wellington and head up the road as we started our journey on the north Island. Driving out of Wellington was busy, the busiest road I’d been on yet, so we took special care navigating the Jucy bus.

Finding a campsite in Wellington was not easy and we didn’t want to take another hotel. We happened upon a pretty great urban camp site in the Ngatitoa Domain area. It was park with sports fields and the like, bit had an area designated for freedom camping along the water. As we got on early we found a choice sure right on the water. We walked into the town nearby for dinner at the Supply Room before walking home under the stars.