Day 1: Wellington, New Zealand
I left Budapest on a Wednesday and after 2 taxi’s, 4 flights including 2 flights of 11+ hours, some walking, loads of sitting, all equaling 35+ hours of commuting…I arrived in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, on Friday afternoon. My taxi driver told me they call it “the coolest little capital in the world,” the name given to it by Lonely Planet seems to have stuck.
Staying in a great Airbnb just 1 block from Cuba Street, which is apparently “the street,” and a 15 minutes walk to the waterfront, I set out to explore, find food & drink. I also wanted to figure out how long it would take me to walk to the Bluebridge Ferry (https://www.bluebridge.co.nz/) as I am catching the 8am tomorrow morning. It’s a 3.5 hour ferry from Wellington on the North Island to Picton on the South Island. Just to note, there are 2 ferry companies to choose from to commute back and forth from the islands.
Turns out it took me exactly 30 minutes to walk it. I went inside and asked about boarding and they informed me I needed to be there by 7am, a full hour before departure. That’s good to note as I would never have thought I needed to be there an hour in advance. They load the people before the cars and the loading takes a while. The ferry pulls out at 8am and arrives in Picton at 11:30am. With the 30 minute walk, this will be a 5 hour commute. Since I am planning on exploring as much of the South Island as possible in 15 days, I am preparing myself mentally for the amount of time I will be spending commuting throughout this adventure. I am clear this is the only way to truly see all New Zealand has to offer, so it’s worth it. An truthfully, the commutes on ferries and buses are beautiful and a lovely way to see the country.
