This morning we got up to the sound of a car siren going off in the parking lot. Yes we slept in the van in a parking lot which actually was not a problem, until the siren.
We had to catch the ferry at 1 pm but was expected to be there checked in by 12 with the reservation we had. Being careful about things we wanted to be there closer to 11:30 so the question was what to do from 9:30 to 11:30? Wes checked out some ideas and indicated that there was a tram that went up the hill from downtown to a lookout over the city and harbor. This sounded really good so we headed downtown to find the tram.
The first thing we learned was that parking downtown is really expensive at $4.00 per hour. Since I thought we were only going up to a lookout and back down one hour should be enough. However as we headed up the hill on the tram we learned that there was an botanical gardens, a museum of history and technology, and the Lady Norwood Rose Garden. We could have spend several hours up there but with only one hour on the meter we decided to have a look at the Lady Norwood Rose Garden and be satisfied. The Roses were incredible. However we really did not have time to really enjoy the flowers but I was able to get a few pictures as we rushed by them.
We returned to the car park at 10:30 and decided to feed the meter for another hour and check out the museum that should be just down the road. Well we never did find the museum but we did find the railway station, the bus station, the Parliament Buildings and a few other older interesting buildings. The new parliament buildings were running tours but again we did not have time to enjoy one. We realize that we should have planned a couple of days to explore Wellington, but really on this trip it was not going to happen.
We headed down to the ferry terminal and with some difficulties in finding the right roads arrived in plenty of time to get in line. There we sat waiting for the 1 pm loading for more than 2 hours. The company got behind yesterday with the high winds and today they were working at catching up so the 1 pm ferry did not leave port until almost 2:30. This meant that we would be late getting to John’s place but there was nothing we could do.
The ferry itself was interesting as we drove up a ramp to the upper level deck which exited in the middle of the deck, then turned to the back of the ship and swung around to drive forward along beside the ramp. We are used to the size of ferries in BC and this one was much smaller in size with fewer cars and people. Fortunately it was a calm day so the ride was not rough at all. We did eat lunch finally on the ferry and sat on the deck watching the land disappear behind us as we headed out into the strait. I have to admit it was very interesting to watch land re-appear and having the ship to sail directly towards the land. Of course from the distance you can not see any passages between the islands but it did exist and we sailed around and amoung several islands that were dotted with houses.
Another interesting sight was the number of small water crafts out on the water. Between the islands the water was very well sheltered so there would be no concerns really. However in the strait the open water has the potential of really have large waves and being difficult to navigate. I guess those who ply these waters know the dangers and the signs to watch.
As we approached Picton I was surprised how small a community this seemed to be.
However I realized that I was only seeing a part of it since the hills all around likely had housing on and behind. As we headed down to the van from the deck I started up the computer so we could use Skype to call Barbara and John to explain why we were later than expected. Skype worked wonderful and we were able to use it for our phone. So far this little computer of mine is our file cabinet for pictures and blog files, it is our connection for email, our research tool, and now our phone. I am impressed.
We arrived to John’s house without any difficutly and have settled in for a couple of days. We will use this as home base and do some activities here until after the New Year. John is in a wheelchair but he is active and a great host with ideas and encouragements for our travels. 
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