Speeding down to reach our ferry to the South Island, we discovered some beautiful scenery in the Whanganui area, mostly by accident. One of the nice things about travelling without a fixed itinerary is that if something takes your fancy, you can stop and take a closer look. Dorka spotted a kayak rental place advertising trips along this river valley she remembered reading that it was something special, so we decided to have a go. We had to take an organised trip, as the river is quite fast and strong - the normal method is to take a ride on a jetboat upstream (with the kayak stuck on the back 
of 
the boat) and then paddle back down. It was our first time in one of these machines, and it was great fun and very fast, even though our guide Tom insisted this was the gentle version for our kids. While we waited for Dorka to catch us up, I listened to Tom's tale of how the Whanganui river had been a major trade route just a hunded years ago - it was funny to think of great big paddle steamers chugging along this narrow waterway, as we sped along.
We had a lovely afternoon, but we rather unbderestimated the time, and when we finally got though our compimentary hot chocolate (I love tour companies in New Zealand - they always know that the little things count) it was time to push on. trouble is, it was getting late, and the narrow 
winding road around the top of the valley ( and the heart-stopping views) caused us to go very slowly. We were hours away from Wellington, so we just started looking for a place to stay (another advantage of travelling with no fixed plan) We heard that there might be rooms at a local nunnery, and though it was really hard to find- (we almost gave up and drove on into the night!) we eventually found ourselves in the wonderful peaceful house - it really was run by nuns, though they 
lived next door. Our neughbours were new Zealanders from Auckland travelling to visit relatives, and they also had a little girl Emma's age, so all was well. We ate communal food, and our new friends made a huge list us in great details places we should visit in the south. We all slept in 2 huge dormitories, you know - the sort where you know you're disturbing 12 people when you creep out in the night to visit the loo, and every door creaks like a horror-film sound effect.
Looking back, I see that this was one of the loveliest places in our trip -We should have worked out a way to stay, but we had to get down to Wellington for the ferry, and we didn't want to miss it, so we dragged Emma away from yet another new mate, and trogged on to the big city.
Arriving quite late, we grabbed a quick evening stroll and a meal out in the heart of Wellington, a very hip town, and our jump off point for the South Island. We didn't realy give this town enough time, but we'd used up our extra night by stopping in Whanganui,a nd the ferry ticket was for the next day! It was late when we arrived back at the hostel, so we repacked quietly so we could make a smooth start in the morning. (How wrong we were!) Early in the morning. Dorka and I took turns nipping down to put things in the car, and finally the only thing left in the room was Emma, still fast asleep in the upper bunk of our small hostel room. We agreed that i should try to carry her out, hopefully stioll asleep. I should have got help, but I thought I could do this alone, I almost got Emma down safely, but then lost my balance and spun into the open door, which caught emma solidy on the top of her head, so she woke up screaming, which was bad enough, but whenI rwched Dorka, she noticed that Emma's hair was covered in blood. What a mess- of course Emma was scared at the sight of her
own blood, but she was very quiet and very good, wheas Dorka and I became Mr and Mrs panic. We'd like to check out now, and could you please get us a band-aid, or perhaps an ambulance? The cut looked wose than it was, so we pressed on, with me carrying my child down the sreet in her blood-spattered pyjamas like something out of a war movie. In the car we changed her and then took her straight to the nurse on the ferry, who checked her out and reassured us it was nothing serious. 
Panic over, we could head up on deck to wave goodbye to North Island. The first sight of the South Island is pretty amazing too, as you travel through the fjords of the marborogh sound - where huge mountains plune straight into the sea, and the ferry take a seeminly narrow path through the towering rocks into the port at picton. Hello South Island!
To see the whole Whanganui collection, click on Dorka and Lara!
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| Wanganui |
