January 7

Ferry to Wellington

I got up at 6:30 and packed. I was not sure yet how I was going to get to Wellington, and I was planning to go to the Information Center at 8:00 to ask about ferry tickets. When I asked the manager at Tasman Towers about this, I found I could call the ferry for free, so I did. The 1:30 Interisland Ferry was fully booked, but there was space on the 4:00 Lynx, a faster (and more expensive) hydrofoil boat that does the crossing in about two hours. The 10 AM bus would get me to Picton at 12:30, in time for both afternoon ferries.

When I arrived in Picton, I got my Lynx ticket for $65 NZ, and waited for the Interisland ferry to leave before checking my luggage. I went upstairs to the cafe at the terminal and had a steak and cheese pie with potato chips and a slice of lolly cake. Then I went outside on the deck. The weather was beautiful, and a dolphin was seen swimming offshore.

Around 3:00, the Lynx appeared, moving fast at first, then slowing as it approached the port. I checked in at 3:30 and boarded. It was a nice, new boat, with lots of room. None of the seats had a great view in all directions, so I picked one near the windows on the left, where Wellington would appear later. There were viewing decks upstairs in front and outside in the rear. There was also a cafe, a souvenir store, and some gambling machines. Lunch orders were taken, but I had already eaten. The prices weren't bad, though. I got an ice cream bar later when the lady brought them around.

The ride began through the narrow sounds around Picton, eventually reaching open sea, with a little fog, and then entering Wellington harbor. A rainbow formed in the spray behind the boat as we approached the city. Wellington is a big city, with lots of big buildings. It's the capital of New Zealand, and second in size to Aukland, where most of the country's population is concentrated.

I picked up my bag and called the YHA to find out how to get there. They suggested a shuttle in front of the terminal. The ride cost $8. This YHA was a big high-rise. My room on the fourth floor slept six and had an attached bath. A big supermarket was conveniently located just across the street.

I asked at the desk about how to get to Tongariro National Park. I called the bus company, but they told me the train would be better, so I booked a seat on a budget train (older cars, without air conditioning) leaving at 8:40 in the morning and arriving in National Park at 2:06 PM. I wanted to stay at Whakapapa, where the track begins, and called Skotel there to see how to get to it. They said there should be busses from National Park, but could not give details. I would have to work this out when I arrived.

If possible, I wanted to leave my stuff at Skotel and start the first short section of Tongariro Northern Circuit tomorrow, so I wouldn't have a seven hour walk the next day. I met someone at the YHA who had just done the circuit, and said that doing it in just two nights was a lot of walking the first day, especially if you climb Mt. Ngauruhoe, the volcano in the middle. If I could start tomorrow, I could do the circuit in three nights and still have two nights each for Waitomo and Rotorua, my last stops.

I called Waitomo to book a "Lost World" tour, which rappels 300 feet into the cave system, plus another wet vertical tour, the "Haggas Honking Holes" on the same day, Saturday. This combination was known as the "Gruesome Twosome", and cost $280 NZ. This would be a big day of caving! It was highly recommended by the cave guide in Greymouth. They said I could bring a camera for the Lost World tour, because it was dry, but that the Haggas Honking Holes was a wet cave tour. I used up a whole $10 phone card making all these calls today.

I bought some supplies across the street, and then went out looking for a restaurant called Satay Malaysia, which Lonely Planet says good things about. Although it is not far from the YHA, I had some trouble finding it, because the Lonely Planet map makes it look like it is on a different side of the block, and since it is just a small upstairs restaurant. An employee standing outside said they have Malaysian cooks who don't tone down the spices for European tastes. This sounded good.

I went upstairs and ordered the hottest thing on the menu, chicken sembal, a chicken curry in a sauce made of three kinds of chiles, with cloves and star anise prominent in the flavor. I had it with two servings of rice, a roti, and a DB Export Dry beer, all for $21 NZ. It was an excellent meal. The owner/manager asked how I liked it, and whether it was too hot. I told him it was great. He asked if I were from Holland, and I said no, I was from the US. Apparently they like hot curries in Holland.

I got back to the YHA after dark and went up to the TV room, where a violent movie was playing, until I got sleepy and went to bed at about 11 PM, the time the hostel closes for the night. Most others in my room went to bed then as well.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1996. All rights reserved.