# quickest route from Nelson to Wellington?



## MrsRose

Other than flying...

Is driving to Picton and then taking a ferry from Picton to Wellington the fastest way to get between Nelson and Wellington?


----------



## escapedtonz

If flying not a possibility for you, then yes sailing across on either of the ferries is the only way.


----------



## topcat83

Lol, Mrs Rose, 
If you don't fly then there is _no_ other way than the ferry from picton to Wellington 
Look at Interislander: Cook Strait Ferry Wellington & Picton, North & South Island, New Zealand and Interislander: Cook Strait Ferry Wellington & Picton, North & South Island, New Zealand


----------



## Song_Si

There is also Bluebridge is an alternative ferry service to Interislander

Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferry

Long-term - bear in mind the possibility of Picton no longer being the ferry terminal, this proposal has been going on for years but in the news again on Friday



> Friday October 26, 2012
> Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee says he will take a paper to cabinet before Christmas on the possibility of a ferry terminal at Clifford Bay in Marlborough.
> 
> The government has been looking at building a new sea freight ferry terminal at Clifford Bay, south of Seddon, which could reduce ferry crossing times by half an hour and cut the travel time to Christchurch by 50 minutes for road and 80 minutes for rail.
> National Business Review


50 minutes closer to Christchurch - and further away from Nelson.










Clifford Bay


----------



## escapedtonz

Or......

Wouldn't it be great if someone had the bright idea of boring a tunnel to link both islands as an alternative to the ferry or flying ???
Could take the train all the way from Auckland to Christchurch and beyond 

It worked in good old England.
Unfortunately a major undertaking of that magnitude needs customers to use it once commissioned to make it pay and I expect there just aren't enough residents, tourists, visitors to NZ to make it viable.
One benefit though would be the competition created would force the price of the ferry crossings down - that can only be a good thing eh!!!


----------



## Song_Si

ahem . . . I'd rather stay on top!!


> The Wellington and Cook Strait region is New Zealand’s most active seismic risk area. The project involved scientists from NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) mapping about 20 active faults in the Wellington and Cook Strait region capable of generating earthquakes of magnitude M7 or greater.


the Wellington railway station is on land uplifted 2-3m from the seabed in the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake (8.2) - and why Lambton Quay is about 200m from the shoreline these days. On or above the water, thanks!!


----------



## topcat83

Song_Si said:


> ....There is also Bluebridge is an alternative ferry service to Interislander
> 
> Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferry


Ah Song-si - you spotted my deliberate mistake. One of my links was supposed to be the BlueBridge - but I posted the Interislander twice!

And agree with you about staying atop. The fact that this part of NZ has soooo much seismic activity - all those fault lines, and a 'twist' in the ribbon of land due to subduction under the west coast in South Island and subduction under the east coast of North Island must make this one of the riskiest areas in the world to dig a tunnel!


----------



## bdl123

MrsRose said:


> Other than flying...
> 
> Is driving to Picton and then taking a ferry from Picton to Wellington the fastest way to get between Nelson and Wellington?


You could always swim :-0

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


----------



## MrsRose

Ok I already found the answer to my question but let me clarify my situation here so that you all can be assured that I'm not complaining about a lack of underground transit or how hard it would be to swim from the south island to the north. 

I am visiting NZ in March. Like most travelers visiting New Zealand, I will be at the mercy of public transportation or rental cars. That being said... 

I will need to get from Nelson to Wellington at some point in my travels. I am well aware that one must either fly or take a ferry. My question was are there any faster _routes_? I wanted to know if there were any ferries that left directly from Nelson so that I wouldn't have to pay for transportation to Picton first.


----------



## bdl123

MrsRose said:


> Ok I already found the answer to my question but let me clarify my situation here so that you all can be assured that I'm not complaining about a lack of underground transit or how hard it would be to swim from the south island to the north.


No need to clarify your situation...I assume the rest, like myself, were just adding some light hearted humour to the conversation 

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


----------



## topcat83

MrsRose said:


> Ok I already found the answer to my question but let me clarify my situation here so that you all can be assured that I'm not complaining about a lack of underground transit or how hard it would be to swim from the south island to the north.
> 
> I am visiting NZ in March. Like most travelers visiting New Zealand, I will be at the mercy of public transportation or rental cars. That being said...
> 
> I will need to get from Nelson to Wellington at some point in my travels. I am well aware that one must either fly or take a ferry. My question was are there any faster _routes_? I wanted to know if there were any ferries that left directly from Nelson so that I wouldn't have to pay for transportation to Picton first.


Hope you don't mind the leg pulling - it shows we like you  (typical NZ sense of humour...)
As far as I know, no - there is no ferry from Nelson to Wellington.


----------



## Song_Si

some info on travel and travel times for Nelson

Getting Here & Around

and info on ferry-drive option

Airlines -AirNZ and Sounds Air


----------



## MrsRose

topcat83 said:


> Hope you don't mind the leg pulling - it shows we like you  (typical NZ sense of humour...)
> As far as I know, no - there is no ferry from Nelson to Wellington.



Haha. My bad. Cultural differences I guess. 
Here (where I live), sarcasm and "leg pulling" are funny and friendly if it's between yourself and close friends...but typically, it can be interpreted as antagonistic when it comes from strangers or those you're unfamiliar with. 
AND It's US presidential election time, and many people are downright mean and hostile towards anyone who disagrees with their political opinions. I think having spent so much time recently reading the news, and the response forums attached to the US political news articles must have me on "auto defense" mode. Lol.

Anyways...

Wouldn't it be rather cold swimming across the Cook Strait in March? 

Oh wait...March is a warm month in your hemisphere.


----------



## topcat83

MrsRose said:


> Haha. My bad. Cultural differences I guess.
> Here (where I live), sarcasm and "leg pulling" are funny and friendly if it's between yourself and close friends...but typically, it can be interpreted as antagonistic when it comes from strangers or those you're unfamiliar with.
> AND It's US presidential election time, and many people are downright mean and hostile towards anyone who disagrees with their political opinions. I think having spent so much time recently reading the news, and the response forums attached to the US political news articles must have me on "auto defense" mode. Lol.


Cultural differences in senses of humour and what is acceptable can be really difficult. 

For example, in many working environments in the UK and NZ (especially in more technical or practical environments) you know you're accepted once people give you a nickname. It's where I got my nickname 'Topcat' from - I was working in Liverpool and 'TC' were my initials. So it ended up as 'Topcat' from the childrens cartoon character. 

We had a previous contributor from the Phillipines who was really upset because he thought his workmates were calling him names and didn't like him. In fact it was probably the opposite - they were calling him a 'nickname' and doing some gentle ribbing because they did like him and he was accepted!



> Anyways...
> 
> Wouldn't it be rather cold swimming across the Cook Strait in March?
> 
> Oh wait...March is a warm month in your hemisphere.


Nope - the Cook Straits water temperature is cold at any time of they year!


----------



## pookienuffnuff

Flying takes 25-30 minutes, no need for excessively long check in times (30 mins but many folk do an illegal 10 if no checked luggage).
Ferry (yes only one route) takes over 3 hours.
Same price more or less.
Airport in Wellington not in town but fast bus (cheap) gets you there in less than 30. Traffic can be bad.
Ferry arrives in town more or less...
Ferry route is not really as attractive as made out unless you havent been on many ferries.
Flying and spending the extra 2 hours doing Welly = time better spent. Unless you NEED to take your rental car over with you.


----------



## pookienuffnuff

topcat83 said:


> Cultural differences in senses of humour and what is acceptable can be really difficult.
> 
> For example, in many working environments in the UK and NZ (especially in more technical or practical environments) you know you're accepted once people give you a nickname. It's where I got my nickname 'Topcat' from - I was working in Liverpool and 'TC' were my initials. So it ended up as 'Topcat' from the childrens cartoon character.
> 
> We had a previous contributor from the Phillipines who was really upset because he thought his workmates were calling him names and didn't like him. In fact it was probably the opposite - they were calling him a 'nickname' and doing some gentle ribbing because they did like him and he was accepted!
> 
> Nope - the Cook Straits water temperature is cold at any time of they year!


confused, what has liverpool got to do with the cartoon top cat? they were definately american cats...and only close friends got to call him TC


----------



## escapedtonz

Ha ha Liverpool hasn't got anything to do with Topcat........
Topcat has the initials TC and whilst working in Liverpool, colleagues took the initials and decided to give the nickname Topcat.
Another example. I used to work with a guy called David Lyon and his middle name began with an R so we all called him Dr. Lyon as whenever he signed anything he wrote D. R. Lyon - didn't make him a doctor or general practitioner!!!


----------



## topcat83

pookienuffnuff said:


> confused, what has liverpool got to do with the cartoon top cat? they were definately american cats...and only close friends got to call him TC


Lol! I was working in Liverpool at the time I was given the nickname!


----------



## Song_Si

This sites lists the sea, air, road options




> *Getting Here & Around*
> 
> Nelson's central location at the top of the South Island makes the region very accessible from all points around New Zealand, whether arriving by air, by sea or by road. Within the region, visitors are well served by local bus, coach and taxi services, and many activity and accommodation providers offer transfers. Self-drive is the most popular mode of travel for visitors to this region. Most of the major national rental car companies have depots here, and there are local companies also providing vehicle rental services.


Though a little creative with the 'arriving by sea' as Picton is the only option. As that ferry takes about 3.5hrs, my rough calculation would be a ferry trip, if one were to exist, could take eight-ten hours Nelson-Wellington, heading north then south and including far too much 'open sea' in what is often one of the roughest stretches of water.


----------

