| On Feb 21, we set off from the boat and drove south by car to see the volcanic hinterlands of North Island, like Tongariro National Park... |
| ...and to take the ferry from Wellington across Cook Strait for a motor tour of South Island. |
| The ferry pulls into the indented north shore of South Id. |
| The ferry ride up Marlborough Sound is long and calm after crossing Cook Strait. |
| The town of Picton is the ferry terminus at the head of Marlborough Sound on South Id. |
| The panoramas of Marlborough Sound were stunning. |
| A low drizzly day, but beautiful too. |
| We hiked the Queen Charlotte Trail along Queen Charlotte Sound. |
| At Cable Bay we got our first glimpse of the Tasman Sea, uncharacteristically calm that day! |
| The trail on Cable Bay was marked as "easy".... |
| ...yeah, right!.... if you are a mountain goat! |
| The view at the top that day was worth the huffing and puffing. |
| In 1876 the final link was laid here of the 15,575 mile telegraph cable from England to Gibraltar, Egypt, India, Burma, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. |
| One of the non-native mountain goats. |
| High tide creates Echo Lake behind the sandbar and cobble barrier across Cable Bay. |
| We also took a great hike on the famous Abel Tasman Coastal Trail, which starts off across a tidal estuary. |
| Some sort of weird fruit and flower. |
| The Abel Tasman Trail hugs the north west coast of the South Id. along Tasman Bay in Cook Strait. |
| The trail is cool, shady and well-watered. |
| An enticing view of the Bay through the tree ferns. |
| Farther down the west coast of the South Id near Westport was Seal Colony Preserve. |
| A colony of NZ fur seals lives on these rocky islands and stony shores. |
| The pups were only 2 months old in late Feb, rambunctious and playful while the adults dozed. |