We didn't get to see much of Nelson, but we made the most of the DeLorenzo's studio apartment we stayed in by using the spa bath, and watching Lord of the Rings which was amazing because all the places looked like things we'd seen!
The drive to Picton was lovely, and because we were running early we took the scenic route.
We said goodbye to our trusty rental car and checked in at the interisland ferry terminal, and waited for our boat, the Kaitaki, to arrive over a coffee and some indoor bird watching (the Pier Cafe has some local birds that fly in from the outside and hang around singing happy tunes to the customers). The whole process of returning the car and catching the ferry was really convenient because it was all in the same place. It's a really nice way to travel and definitely beats flying between locations.
We decided to pay the extra $55NZ for the Premium Lounge on the Kaitaki and my god it is worth it. The lounge is pretty small, but not filled to capacity so you get your own little area to yourself. Also, you get to know the people there so you can happily leave your belongings and not worry when you want to go above deck and check out the view.
The view is spectacular, but goes between mildly chilly to "I'm about to loose my ear warmers" in a matter of seconds. The sea conditions were listed as "moderate" which was the center of the 5-point scale but I guess since "moderate" means a gentle lovely rocking, "extreme" probably just means you might feel slight movement since the boat is so fucking massive (we looked it up, it's about half the size of the Titanic).
I'm currently still on the ferry in the premium lounge relaxing on the couches over a Tuatara beer (all drinks are included) and a beautiful ocean view. I can't believe we were tossing up whether on not to pay the extra, it's seriously worth it. I'm really looking forward to checking out Wellington tonight!
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