We turn to New Zealand's South Island

Wellington, New Zealand

We arrived at the Wellington to Picton ferry terminal around 5:30 am.  The last boarding call was to be at 8:00.  Neither of us, however, could sleep, so it seemed the best thing to do.

After literally hours, we boarded the Islander ferry.  Our journey took us over open water for about two-thirds of the three-plus hour trip.  The remainder of the voyage, we traveled narrow passageways until we reached the port in Picton on the South Island.

Passageway to Picton, New Zealand

Picton, New Zealand

We arrived on the South Island a bit after noon and began our journey southward to see what we could see.  There was much more traffic than we expected, and we weren't able to see the shore as much as we expected.  Both of us were tired from our short night.  We also encountered lots and lots of construction, detours, and one-lane traffic, slowing our journey.  A fellow we met on the ferry told us the Kaikoura area had received a 7.8 earthquake in November of 2016, causing major road damage.  It took construction crews nearly a year to rebuild the train track.  They were still working on the road damage.

Soon we began seeing our first wildlife... seals along the shoreline.  We stopped to take a few photos. The seals were cooperative, even posing occasionally.  Most looked sleepy and were snoozing among the rocks.  

Further up the road, we pulled into an overlook area to view a seal colony.  We watched mothers leading their babies over the rocks, seals swimming and frolicking in the waves, and others sleeping.  It's amazing how comfortable a seal can look sleeping on rocks!

Seal colony, South Island, New Zealand

Towards evening, we found another free campground and stopped there for the night.  By the time we took a stroll down to the ocean, every available space was taken.

Free camping, New Zealand

On our stroll to the beach, we watched as waves came crashing over small stones rather than sand.  As the waves receded, the stones churned, sounding much like a Native American rainstick.  I tried to capture it on film.  Hopefully you can upload this short video to hear it.

A group of young men dared to stand against the strongest waves...

It was an absolutely beautiful evening.  The sound of the waves, a gentle breeze blowing, a glass of wine, and thou... what more could we ask for?