1st May Thursday Wellington to Havelock

"A Pinch and a Punch for the First of the Month".

Only a few days left in New Zealand now. Really, one month is not enough. Ideally I think I would hire a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Land Cruiser and take 3 to 4 months to tour New Zealand – so much to see and do – 4 weeks is not enough.

We woke up in Wellington and it was still raining and blowing and we hadn't slept well during the night.

On the way to the ferry terminal we got into the morning rush hour traffic and therefore had plenty of time to admire the whitecaps on the water in the bay and to look forward to an undoubtedly rough crossing to Picton.

We check in at 8 am and drove straight onto the ferry and then went and found a comfy seat. We then waited and waited. The sailing was delayed by 30 minutes during which the weather calmed down and we had an excellent crossing.

At one point I could see both North and South Islands out the window – it seems a lot closer than UK and France. Because of the route the ferry takes, through the Queen Charlotte Sound, it takes 3 ½ hours from Wellington to Picton.

Off the ferry and drove to Havelock along the Queen Charlotte Drive and what must be the road with the most corners on it in New Zealand. All along the route to Havelock there were stunning views of the water and bays below.

Havelock is a tiny town – one hotel with pub and pokies (poker machines), one restaurant, a small supermarket, two cafes and a big marina – but it's the "Green-Lipped Mussel Capital of the World".

It's also where Ernest Rutherford and William Pickering went to junior school.

Rutherford deterined the concept of the atom being composed of a nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons.

Pickering was a former director of the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory and directed the Explorer, Ranger, Pioneer, Surveyor and Mariner space missions.

You know when you are on South Island, the temperature dropped by a few degrees. We were so cold! Or maybe it's because Mum & I are sick? My Mum developed a nasty cough and I have a bit of a fever and a cold.

We had Green-Lipped mussels for a snack lunch – well we had to, didn't we?- they were cooked tyhe same way as in France and were delicious.

Havelock once had a thriving population during the local gold rush (there seems to have been a number of gold rushes in New Zealand's history) but it's now a sad little town like most of the gold rush towns. It's sad to see nothing going on.