Heading South for the Holidays

We finally got out of Auckland on Wednesday; we'd planned to leave Monday, but kept putting off leaving because of the rain. Heard the forecast was for sun in the South Island by Christmas Eve, so off we went and here we are. Spent a couple days near New Plymouth (hiking Mt.Egmont to the snow line - I got my white Christmas after all), then drove south to Cape Palliser, where we surprised a seal colony almost as much as they surprised us. The only ferry crossing we could get was at 3:00 am Boxing Day, so after our encounter with the seals we drove to Wellington, where we had Christmas dinner at an Indian restaurant, then spent the evening in the ferry terminal parking lot. We got a few hours sleep in the car until an attendant woke us at 1:00 am so we could get our boarding passes. We arrived in Picton at 6:15 am, tired but happy to be there. Two hours later we were in Kaikoura, found a campground just south of town, and slept until mid-afternoon. Woke to blue skies and warm sunshine, so it was all worthwhile.

Cheers,
Sandie