South Island Day 1

We left bright and early on Boxing Day for our South Island journey. We had a very packed car (luggage rack on top, trailer hitch rack on the back, a very packed trunk, and 8 people squished into our van). We drove to the Wellington ferry to catch our boat to Picton. Our ferry ride was over 3 hours on a nice sunny but chilly day. We all thankfully did well on the boat through the choppy water, even though many around us were queasy and sick. We spent some of the time on the top of the ship and some inside snoozing & playing on our devices. We loved riding through Marlborough Sound as we neared Picton. It reminded us a lot of Alaska where houses and cabins line the secluded shores and only have boat access.

We arrived safely in Picton and disembarked the boat. We stopped at an outdoor market and did some souvenir shopping and potty breaks. We then found a nice park to refuel with a picnic lunch. Then it was on the road for the next 6 hours to Christchurch! We drove through windy and hilly terrain. Everywhere we looked was green. Unfortunately, poor Reese got a bit car sick and spewed. The boys were absolutely disgusted! But we quickly got her cleaned up and were back on the road again. We stopped in a town for Moroccan food for dinner and it was delicious! We made it to Christchurch just as the sun was setting. One of Cody's coworkers graciously let us stay at her home while she was on holiday. So we set up shop for the next two days and got everyone to bed after a long day of travel. We survived the longest day of traveling and we were all excited for exploring the next day!