Big Trip

Up at 5am to be picked up at 6 by Alison & Phil, bless their hearts, & taken to the station. Caught the 7am Tranz Coastal train (yes, two scenic trains in three days) to Picton. Nice to see the scenery of the Canterbury Plain, the east coast, and the northerly wine growing areas from the train, without having to drive this time. The coastal parts around Kaikoura are especially spectacular, as the railway runs right along the coast, sometimes even closer to the sea than the road. It was another beautiful day, and this time there was one open viewing car but a much shorter train (I think it was 4 coaches instead of 10), so we had much better photographic opportunities. The people sitting opposite us had a neice, I think, who had worked for Lady Somebody-or-Other in Banbury, of all places, and were a veritable mine of information on places to visit in New Zealand, some of which we've done, some we may yet have chance to do.
The ferry terminal was a short walk from the railway station at Picton, and our bags were loaded for us straight from the train, which was nice. The ferry was the Challenger, but if you looked closely, you could see that the new name had been painted over the previous name "Pride of Cherbourg", which I have a feeling I may have travelled on on a school trip.
The crossing was smooth and largely uneventful, apart from some annoyances over getting a gluten-free lunch for Max, the first time that's happened anywhere in the whole country.
We were met by Sheila & Johnny, Sarah's aunt & uncle, and eventually managed to pick up our hire car and follow them all around the bay to Eastbourne, which is about as far round as you can get. They have a beautiful house right on the beach with the most incredible uninterrupted views across the bay to Wellington. We were made exceptionally comfortable, well fed & watered, and settled down for what promise to be a very relaxing few days.