We traveled from Wellington to Picton, which involved taking our van in a large ferry between the two main islands of New Zealand.

Here’s an interactive map of the ferry route, starting from Wellington (on the right) and ending in Picton (on the left):

And a map of our driving route from Picton; the campground for the night was very near the ferry terminal, but we were early, so decided to take a scenic drive down the coast and back before checking in:

Heading to the ferry early in the morning:

Vehicle check in:

We were very early indeed; this all filled up before boarding:

Coffee vending machine:

Boarding the ferry:

We had booked the Premium Lounge, which included comfy seats and a buffet:

Cattle class wasn’t bad looking, though, albeit noisier:

Outside seating:

Lots of vehicles:

Arriving in Marlborough Sound in the South Island:

Arriving at Picton:

Disembarking:

Vineyards:

Nice hills:

Lake Elterwater Wildlife Refuge:

Coast:

We stopped for a coffee and snack in Kaikoura:

Heading north again:

Arriving at Parklands Marina Holiday Park:

Campground map:

We dumped the toilet cassette again:

We got to choose our site:

After parking, we took a 10 minute walk down to the marina for dinner at the Jolly Roger Bar and Cafe:

Back to our site:

We traveled from Castlepoint to Wellington.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, with some of the stops marked:

Scenic sunrise; not a bad view out our side door:

We didn’t enjoy using the shower in the van, so used campground showers each day after that:

At the campgrounds in the North Island that we went to, the showers had timers, this one with a coin required:

Filling our water tank; the hose the rental company provided was rather short, so we usually had to move the van to reach:

Castlepoint homes:

We parked the van on the sand:

Beach and lighthouse:

Seals:

Looking back to our van:

Walking up to the lighthouse:

Fossilized shells:

Castlepoint:

The campground:

Masterton Golden Shears; proud of sheep shearing:

Entice Cafe for lunch:

Carterton:

Featherston classic hotel:

A glimpse of the Interislander ferry, that we’d be catching the following morning:

Wellington houses:

Wellington is a hilly city, with many tunnels:

Wellington selfie:

We met up with two sides of extended family, one at a cafe, the other at an uncle’s house, then spent the night stealth camping on the road in front of the house.