Day 31: Christchurch to Wellington By Train & Boat

Wednesday, Mar 7th

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SHEILA, 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Well, 6 AM came mighty early. We were picked up from The George Hotel and delivered to the Kiwi Train station in Christchurch for our 7 AM departure to Picton where we would board the Picton to Wellington Ferry for the final leg of today's travel.

The Christchurch to Picton Kiwi Rail train ride lasted about five hours during which time we traversed the northeastern corner of New Zealand's south island. The ride took us through farmland, vineyard country, mountains and along the Pacific seashore. Yesterday's and today's train rides proved to be a relaxing means of travel allowing us to see a vast array of countryside en-route to our destinations.

Upon arrival in Picton we transferred to the Picton to Wellington Interislander Ferry. Our ferry the Kaitaki was much larger than we were expecting, holding up to 1,600 passengers and a huge number of trucks, buses and cars. It was probably large enough that we wouldn't have noticed if several shepherds had boarded with their flocks of sheep. The transit to Wellington was a smooth ride. On the cruise we had camped out in one of the lounges where we had heavy snacks and free drinks. Some of us dozed off for a few minutes of sleep, some of us Skyped and emailed and some of us watched a televised cricket match and learned a few of the terms and methodology from some of our fellow travelers.




We arrived at the Rydges Hotel in Wellington and checked in for two nights. For Sheila's birthday, the kids, Carrie, Shannon and Steve had arranged for birthday cards, wine, a cheese tray and candy to be delivered for our arrival; the travel agent had provided a bottle of wine and the hotel had provided a "birthday" room upgrade to a corner suite overlooking the Wellington harbor. After a rest break the eight of us got together in our room for drinks and pre-dinner cheese, crackers, candy and fruit. As an aside, this week was apparently the 100th anniversary of the introduction of Nabisco Oreo cookies; as would be, we had four Oreo cookies remaining from our trans-Pacific flight stash that we shared in celebration of the occasion.

The birthday dinner was served at The Ambeli, a 5-Star restaurant in Wellington. This was a very nice restaurant and the food was excellent including the best beef I've had since beginning this trip, though there may be a dissenting opinion should we ever opt to revisit. As can often happen when a restaurant is noted for "presentation" (see pictures) the portions can be small and in some cases unusual. Perhaps the most unusual serving was the Fried Lamb's Brains; though several of us tried the delicacy, be assured it will not show up on any of our home menus. Nevertheless, another great restaurant and another story to go with it.