Day Eighteen … Not quite the adventure we had planned
Today was an adventure that Ian had planned with great glee. When we were finalising our plans for this trip we realised that in travelling from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island (NZ top to bottom) we hadn’t gone to the northern most tip of the South Island, and because we have done NZ in two trips we hadn’t crossed the Cook Strait. So Ian concocted this plan to catch the Coastal Pacific train from Christchurch to Picton, then catch the Interislander Ferry from Picton to Wellington, and then catch a plane from Wellington back to Christchurch … all in one day! Well … it turns out this grand adventure was not to be. We were up super early to meet our taxi driver from yesterday (Arun) at 6.00 am for the drive to the Christchurch Railway Station. Interestingly, the station is not in the centre of the city and the current station is the third one to have been built. We arrived and checked in to collect our boarding passes (no luggage for this day trip) and it was at this point that our day beca...