Ferry from north Island to South Island New Zealand

If your traveling around New Zealand in a campervan or motorhome then you’ve probably at one stage or another want to go between the North Island and the South Island. There is one main ferry route that most people use and that is Wellington to Picton or Picton to Wellington what ever takes your fancy. The ferries make this trip 6 times a day and journey takes about 3 hours one way. Ferries can be booked online by visiting the Inter-Islander website and are prices around $200 to $300 NZ dollars for a family (2 Adults & 2 Children) and a standard sized vehicle.

The passage way between the two islands can be quite hectic at times and is not one for people that get sea sick easily. But having said that there are certain precautions one can take to reduce the ill effects of sea sickness such as taking sea sickness pills from your pharmacist or a more natural remedy of chewing on ginger to settle the stomach and your nerves.

Catching a ferry from the North Island to South Island of New Zealand doesn’t have to be hard. Make sure you arrive early to make boarding the ferry hassle free. The ferry terminals are well signed and are hard to miss. There are also many holiday parks such as the Top 10 Hutt Park Holiday Park that you can spend the night at if you wish. So don’t feel pressured and rush, instead take your time and enjoy what this amazing place Cook Strait has to offer.

Be sure not to miss out on exploring all of what the cook strait coastal region has to offer. Often overlooked are the many little coastal islands that can make for great picnic stops on your journey.

This history of Cook Strait has been quoted from Wikipedia and provides an interesting insight into how it was discovered.

Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east.

To the south the coast runs runs 30 kilometres (19 mi) along Cloudy Bay and past the islands and entrances to the Marlborough Sounds. To the north the coast runs 40 kilometres (25 mi) along Palliser Bay, crosses the entrance to Wellington harbour, past some Wellington suburbs and continues another 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to Makara beach.

The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. In Māori it has the name Raukawa or Raukawa Moana. Raukawa may mean “bitter leaves”.

Cook Strait is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. In good weather one can see clearly across the strait. At its narrowest point 23 kilometres (14 mi) separate Cape Terawhiti in the North Island from Perano Head on Arapawa Island in the Marlborough Sounds. Counter-intuitively, at this point the South Island coast lies further north than that of the North Island.