CROSSING THE COO The Cook Strait between New Zealand’s North and South Islands is crossed by ferries run by two different operators, whose ships often face severe weather conditions to provide a link between the two islands. Two new ships are under construction for this vital route, which has been served by a variety of ferries since the 1960s. MAIN PORTS USED BY THE FERRIES LINKING NEW ZEALAND’S NORTH AND SOUTH ISLANDS Tasman Sea
Cook Strait
Picton Wellington SOUTH ISLAND Lyttelton
NORTH ISLAND
T
wo companies run regular ferry services between Wellington, on New Zealand’s North Island, and Picton in the Marlborough Sounds on the South Island: Interislander, with three ships, and Strait Shipping, under the Bluebridge brand, with two ships. Both companies run services several times a day. Roughly half of the crossing is in the Strait, and the remainder within the Sounds. The journey covers 43 miles and usually takes about three
and a half hours. The seas across the Strait are often rough, with heavy swells from strong winds, especially from the south. New Zealand’s position, directly in the line of the ‘roaring forties’, means that the Strait funnels westerly winds and deflects them into northerlies. As a result, ferry sailings are often disrupted, and Cook Strait is probably one of the most dangerous and unpredictable stretches of water in the world.
INTERISLANDER
Interislander operates three roll-on roll-off ferries: Aratere,
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