0044 NZ Part 4. North Island

 0044.  NZ Part 4.    North Island.  2nd - 10th February 2023

Queen Charlotte Sound 

On 2nd February, due to the breakdown of another ferry, we departed from Picton on the S Island at about 7 pm, 5 hours late.  The voyage out through Queen Charlotte Sound was beautiful, even in overcast conditions, and we then had an uneventful trip to Wellington. As a result of our late departure, by the time we offloaded in Wellington it was past 11pm, dark, there were roadworks just outside the port, and for some reason the traffic (both vehicles and pedestrians) was crazy  - We found

Night arrival in Wellington

out later there was an Ed Sheeran concert that had just finished, and it seemed half of New Zealand had been there, and was now trying to get home.  We then had to try and drive through the traffic, in the dark, to a camp site that we knew would be closed when we arrived - Not fun.  In the end, Janet had to persuade some of the people returning to the campsite on foot from the concert to give us the code to open the boom gate so we could get into the park, and then we had to find an empty piece of grass to park on.  Stressful to say the least, but eventually we made it and got some sleep.