Friday, 24.01.20, Day 68

Evans Bay Marina, Wellington

Our morning starts today at 0:30 am with muesli and cocoa in bed. After that, we go straight to the ferry that will take us to the South Island of New Zealand. After safely parking Zuhlo on the ferry, we set sail in complete darkness and light rain at 3:30 am in Wellington. On the ferry, we find a cozy spot where we will spend the planned 3.5 hours. There, we have another breakfast with homemade sandwiches and then play a round of Phase 10. In the dawn, we go to the observation deck, but due to the weather, we don't see much of the sunrise. Just before entering the port of Picton, there is a delay of about 30 minutes, so all passengers receive complimentary hot drinks. However, after the initial delay, there is another delay of another 3 hours. Therefore, we are now even getting free breakfast on board with eggs, baked beans, potato rosti, toast, and fries. After seven hours, we can finally drive to the South Island with Zuhlo. The first stop is the port of Picton to see the rays living there. With our luck, we didn't expect to actually spot one of the giant rays after just two minutes. We want to make good use of the cloudy day, so we drive to a laundry. Later, we go to the Double Bay campground in the Marlborough Sounds area. While we hang up the still wet laundry, we discover a plum tree and pick some plums. Later, we go swimming in the expansive bay and climb to another shore. From there, we enjoy the impressive landscape that strongly resembles fjords.