| The Lynx |
Crossing Cook Straits, Wellington N.I. to
Picton S.I. |
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The Lynx is a fast catamaran ferry that links (ha ha ha) North
Island with the Mainland (as the Kiwis affectionately refer to South Island).
Tickets need to be booked, and paid for, in advance. The cost is high and the
prices are tiered. The earlier the booking is made the less it costs. We paid NZ$230 for
the crossing to South Island but only NZ$190 for the return trip.The
Lynx takes 2 hours and 15 minutes to cross at a speed of 35 to 40 knots! |
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| This is an amazing ferry. Built in Australia and put into service in 2000, this
is an aluminum catamaran is driven by water jets. Loading and unloading
are both done at the stern. Cars enter and drive towards the bow, then turn and drive back
towards the stern in parallel lanes. That's why the picture above shows us going into the
stern using the leftmost lanes but the cars in the right hand lanes are facing out.
There are two decks for cars, but the second decks were raised out of the way
and not used on our crossing.
Other than the small deck above the jet drives at the back of the ferry for
smokers, all passengers are accommodated in a comfortable air-conditioned passenger deck. |
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The interior resembles a jet plane. All the seats face forward and are the
airline type recliners. However there is a lot more space between the seats than on an
airliner! There are two bars and a snack bar serving light meals. The bar
areas have small tables with easy chairs around them.
Large windows along the sides as well as the front of the passenger deck gives a
good view of the passing scenery.
Sick bags are provided, but our trip was perfectly calm, with just a gentle
swell. We'd been warned that it can be a very rough trip. |
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| We only spent about 45 minutes in the straits between the islands. Most of the
time was spent leaving Wellington Harbour and sailing down the long sound towards Picton. The
scenery is very similar to that of the B.C. ferries going thru Active Pass to Schwartz
Bay.
Our landfall in South Island, Picton is a small town with several restaurants, a
small supermarket, a butcher, a museum, marina and many tourist attractions such as whale
watching, fishing, and tramping. |
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| A view of the Picton ferry docks. |
This is a photo of the older ferry, the Interislander
which we'll be taking on our way back. The trip takes 3 hours on the slower ferry. |
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S/V TETHYS