Those traveling all of New Zealand, not just the North or South Island will have to cross the Cook Strait either by plane or boat. Facing the added expense of both options can be a bit concerning for travelers on a budget.

Luckily, Interislander makes the crossing more than just a mode of transportation, but also a great activity to add to the agenda. Passengers can expect jaw dropping views through the Marlborough Sounds, onboard food and entertainment, maybe even a few dolphins swimming beside the ship.

While on a recent ferry crossing with Interislander from Wellington to Picton, I said a few times, “Now this is how to travel.”

Amenities

Interislander is set up similar to a cruise ship. It offers a few eateries, a bar, a movie theater, several lounges and viewing platforms, a children’s play area, a travel information center with a real live person on site to help book trips, VIP sections, even a lounge for truck drivers.

I boarded early in the morning and headed straight to the cafeteria for breakfast. At $12, the big breakfast was extremely reasonable considering how much airlines and ferries usually charge people for food these days. Expect your standard cafeteria food. Visit the cafe for better meals.

Big breakfast served on board. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

One of the ship's dining areas. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

The only other purchase I made was an hour or 40MB of internet at $7. I would only purchase it to do a few little things online, but I found the connection extremely good considering we were out to sea and in the middle of nowhere most of the time.

The majority of my time on board was spent either napping on the ferry’s big, comfy lounge chairs or on the top deck checking out the views.

Sights

The top deck was definitely the place to be on the clear summer day I traveled. Views are absolutely stunning sailing through the Sounds with massive mountains cascading into blue and green waters.

I was even lucky enough to watch a pod of dolphins swimming and jumping beside the boat. The captain who first spotted them, made sure to announce it to everyone on board.

A view of the Sounds from inside the ferry. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

It seems like wildlife spottings are pretty common through the Marlborough Sounds too. All three times I’ve taken the ferry, each captain announced seeing dolphins. In fact, I’ve actually been on dolphin sighting tours that cost more than my Interislander ferry trip and didn’t give me nearly as good an experience.

Staff

A great interaction with the staff started as soon as we drove onto the ship. One of the staff members directing Ric where to park the car, pretended to be pulling us in on a rope while giving a massive smile. For me, it’s little things like this that always make a trip that much better.

From then on every member of the staff was extremely kind, even fun. The duty manager waited by the exit door bidding everyone farewell at the end of the journey.

Duration

Expect three to four hours for this trip. Those traveling with a car must arrive before final check in, which is usually about an hour before departure, but don’t worry about arriving much earlier than that, as you’ll just have to wait in line.

Ric having a nap during our trip. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

Price

People can book through their website, at a ticket counter or through an agent. A single adult ticket with no vehicle costs $NZ52-$NZ75. For two people traveling with a standard sized vehicle, the price is between $NZ215 and $NZ330 depending on what kind of ticket you purchase and time of travel. These prices seem to have stayed the same the few times I have checked.

The cheapest option is a web saver reservation and these are a lot cheaper so it’s beneficial to book as early as possible as only a limited number of these non-refundable reservations are available. Interislander also offers promotions which may be worth looking into.

Thanks to Interislander  for sponsoring our ferry crossing to the South Island. As always, all opinions are my own.

I think one thing every one can generally agree on about New Zealand is that pretty much everywhere you look is stunning. You don’t have to visit a national park or the mountains to see scenic New Zealand, just look out your window. If the scenery you crave isn’t there, drive 20 minutes and I guarantee you’ll see something majestic.

For this reason and so many more, Peter Jackson chose New Zealand to be the setting for Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The Kiwi-born writer, producer and director spent years filming all around New Zealand, including Wellington.

Photo from Electro Smog

After three weeks of living in Wellington spent mostly on Cuba Street working, Ric and I wanted explore the beauty that surrounds our new city a bit more. So we rented a car from Rent a Dent for a steep $62 a day (which turned out to be a lot more, but I’ll get to that later), planning to explore some natural wonders outside the city.

Two things happened, we realized we didn’t have to go far to see something spectacular and our natural wonders tour of the Wellington suburbs, quickly turned into a Lord of the Rings tour.

We picked up our car at the Interislander ferry terminal around 9 a.m. (This is why our rental turned out to be $92 instead of $62. Rent a Dent’s headquaters is only a short bus ride from the city center, so unless you actually arrive in the city by ferry, just pick it up there cause they charge a fortune to deliver it to you.)

Picking up the car at Interislander.

After a quick breakfast at Fidel’s on Cuba Street, where we looked through brochures for ideas of things to do. Our first stop was Weta Cave, a mini-museum attached to Weta Digital studios, which is where the special-effects were done for Lord of the Rings (LOTR), District 9, The Lovely Bones and many more films. Ric had his eyes set on this place since we boarded a ferry to Wellington. He’s a huge film junky. I’ve actually never seen him smile that much on our travels.

Ric visits Weta Cave.

The free museum is a sci-fi film buffs dream. It’s only small, but has real props and costumes used in the films its helped produced as well as memorabilia. My favorite part was taking a photo next to the real Gollum holding a fish which can be seen in my banner photo.

“The rock n’ pool is nice and cool, so juicy, sweeeeet.”

Orcs are even scarier in person.

I think Ric most enjoyed the 20-minute behind the scenes video they show. It’s amazing how many films this small studio has been apart of. We visited Hollywood in the Spring and every studio was armed with electric fences and guards, yet this Academy Award winning studio in New Zealand looked like a simple business complex with no guards and gaps in its fencing.

I love New Zealand.

After seeing the video and taking note of all the amazing scenery in LOTR, Ric and I decided to see if any of those places were close to Wellington. We knew a few had to be near by since there’s been plenty of gossip about Stephen Fry and Orlando Bloom being in town to film The Hobbit.

Weta Cave sells a map of Middle Earth as well as a book that includes all the filming locations used in the LOTR. Being the cheap travelers we are, we jotted down a few places close by and hit the road.

We headed to Lyall Bay to try and find Red Rocks, which was used for “The Black Gate” in LOTR. I had been told to go by a work mate prior as a colony of seals lives there. Unfortunately, Ric and I didn’t find it on our LOTR day. But I found it a few days later and it’s really beautiful but you must walk about an hour to reach “The Black Gate” or the seal colony.

We stopped at a few places to take photos around Lyall Bay.

Instead of wasting too much time looking for Red Rocks, Ric and I just got lost in Lyall Bay. The scenic drive from there to the city center is decorated with blue seas, mountains and tiny cottages. From that drive people can reach a pathway for Mount Victoria, which probably offers the best view of the city and was also where Peter Jackson filmed the “Get off the road!” scene in LOTR.

Warning, if you do go on any sort of Lord of the Rings tour, you’ll probably spend the day warning people to “get off the road”.

While visiting places around the city was nice, our whole reason for getting a car was to get out of the city a bit. So we set out eyes on Rivendell, which was filmed in Kaitoke Regional Park in Upper Hutt Valley. About a 45-minute drive from the city center, the park is really easy to find. Just follow State Highway 1 towards Hutt Valley and continue onto State Highway 2, then look for signs for Kaitoke.

Ric visits Rivendell.

The park is massive and there are a few entrance points to it, but the further entrance is right at Rivendell . Once you park there are signs pointing to some of the areas that were featured in the film. Hutt River runs through the park and it was used as the Black River in LOTR.

The Black River isn't really black. It's actually quite clear.

When the sun hits the trees just right, you can imagine yourself in Rivendell.

Also around that area is a really fun chain bridge. It’s something that would probably be seen as a lawsuit waiting to happen or source of profit in other places of the world, but just a fun bridge here. Did I mention how much I love New Zealand. Walk across the bouncy bridge to learn about the park’s rainforest. Along a pathway that takes about ten minutes to walk, there are signs posted explaining certain trees and ferns in the area.

Ric pretending he's on "I'm a Celebrity, Get me out of here," while walking on the chain bridge at Kaitoke Regional Park.

You could spend all day at Kaitoke. It’s a three hour walk one way on its hiking path. It’s also a great setting for a picnic.

After visiting the regional park, we attempted to find Dry Creek Quarry, also in the Hutt Valley, which was the film location for Helm’s Deep and Minas Tirith in LOTR. But we didn’t have a map and were already pretty spent, so we just went home and rented the Fellowship of the Ring.

Lord of the Rings tours I see advertised around Wellington are quite pricey, so it pays to do some research online and just do it yourself. It’s not hard to find fantastic scenery in New Zealand and film locations for The Lord of the Rings. We just scratched the surface on our one-day adventure, but for those looking to be more in depth, I recommend purchasing a LOTR location guidebook to New Zealand.

Like what you’ve read? Follow Bobbi and Ric on Twitter and Facebook for updates on their travels and more.

Driving along State Highway 1 through Kaikoura on the South Island of New Zealand, I saw some yellow and black seal-crossing signs. As with any case of an unusual-to-me animal crossing sign, I was on the look out for a possible peak or even encounter. But these signs weren’t a warning, but a promise of seeing seals.

If you look in the center of this photo you'll see dozens of seals on the rocky beach. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon

Located right in the coastal highway, Ohau Point Seal Colony is home to many barking and playful seals of all sizes. Make sure to pull over when you see signs for the lookout. It’s definitely worth the short break to see heaps of these funny creatures in their natural habitat.

But if my image wasn't close enough to capture the cuteness. Here's one from Rankers.co.nz