Picton

Today was our boat ride to Picton. This, except for flying, is still the only way of getting from New Zealand’s north island to its south island. While a very short distance (merely a few hours), this pass opens up to the biggest ocean in the world and as such can be incredibly rough. I don’t know what is normal for this boat ride, but when every third wave would completely cover the 8^th floor windows of the ferry, I was impressed. While plates and cutlery were flying everywhere and other passengers were either lying down or throwing up, we decided the best idea would be to get as low in the boat as possible. And to our great pleasure, at the very bottom was the children’s activity world – a playground full of cushions, slides and ball pools. As all the kids were presumably in no fit state to play, we asked the crew very nicely, and were kindly allowed to spend the remainder of the journey in the playground.