[lettie]

On Easter Saturday we turned up at Wellington Interisland Ferry Terminal for our sail to the South Island. The Interisland ferries are large, comfortable and a brilliant way to see the South Island's Marlborough Sounds. It took approximately 3 1/2 hours to sail from Wellington to Picton and was a very civilised way to get from a to b.

On entering the Sounds it's hard to believe how remote this place feels. There are some small houses dotted around in the Sounds which appear to be only accessible by boat. All the small boats on the Sounds wave to the ferry as it passes. We docked in Picton, collected our car and set off over Queen Charlotte's Drive on our journey to Nelson.

Queen Charlotte's Drive is the most scenic route from Picton to Havelock. Views of the Sounds are a feature of this journey. The road turns inland at Havelock (famous for its lovely green-lipped mussels) and the sea views are gone.

We stayed the night in Nelson which is reputed to be the sunniest place in New Zealand and it was cracking the flags when we got there. We checked in at the motel and set off for a walk on the beach. Sparky was dying for a paddle in the sea and I wanted to feel the sand between my toes. We had a lovely stroll and meal in Nelson, but it was merely a stopover on our way to Franz Josef.

The drive to Franz Josef from Nelson is nothing short of long........ Setting off on Easter Sunday at about 9am we headed south for our trip to the glaciers. We stopped for lunch in the town of Greymouth. Situated on the Grey River, Greymouth is a lovely town which has had the misfortune of being submerged by the flooded river on several occasions including twice in 1988. Since then a flood wall has been built popularly known as the Great Wall of Greymouth. Greymouth owes it's prosperity to the river, gold and coal mining. We stretched our legs by having a walk along the Great Wall and had a look at their town statue 'The Old Man of the Sea.' It was soon time to get back into the car for the remainder of our drive. It was going to be a long afternoon.

Here are some pics. A view of the Marlborough Sounds from Queen Charlotte's Drive. A view of the town of Havelock, Sparky and the sea in Nelson, Greymouth main Street and the Old Man of the Sea.