Cook Strait Ferry Advice Needed!
Kia Ora / Hi Everyone,
I'm looking for advice please!
My wife and I are travelling from Auckland to Queenstown from mid-September to mid-October and I've been finalising timings for each day including the Cook Strait ferry crossing.
This is what I've initially planned for this portion of the trip and I'd love your opinions/experiences/recommendations on how likely it is for the ferry to be cancelled/delayed thus affecting the rest of the itinerary (especially as there's a tight turnaround between arriving into Picton then catching the train so soon):
2nd October:
Kapiti Island
Travel down to Wellington to stay overnight
3rd October:
Catch the 08:15 ferry (Bluebridge) to Picton (scheduled to get there by 11.30)
Catch the 13:40 train to Kaikoura
4th October:
Dolphin swim in Kaikoura in the morning
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I'm really keen to do both Kapiti Island and the dolphin swim and I've picked these specific dates because:
- there are no tours for Kapiti Island before the 2nd October that week
- There's only one train that goes from Picton to Kapiti per day (or at least the Coastal Pacific Train I've looked at)
- I will have booked the dolphin swim in advance and, as it's going to be spring school holidays, I imagine I won't be able to reschedule it for the next day if we do end up missing the train
Thanks in advance!!!
EDIT: Absolutely appreciate how silly it is of me to ask if anyone can see into the future and predict if it will be delayed/cancelled but does anyone know how often it does get cancelled around this time of year? Thank you! ☺️