Inter island ferry to Wellington

There are several ways in which to get between the north and south islands of New Zealand… But the only FREE option for me was the incorporated link using ‘Inter-island Ferries’ as part of my Flexi-pass option… (Be aware if your using this that you cannot just walk on - book at least 26hours in advance if you want to make a sailing).
So happily I walk down and check in at the terminal for 9.15am only to find that the ferry is running late… oh well a chance to partake of a paper and coffee ;) before finally boarding at 10.30am. Soon we are underway with plain sailing ahead of us through the Queen Charlotte Sounds. Smooth water allowing us untroubled passage between the flooded valley sides - a beautiful landscape dotted with lone houses, sailing vessels and fish farms. However, this was not to last and we soon came in sight of choppy waters; the Cook Straight! White frothing waves should have given us some warning of what was to come, but thinking the best I had remained at the prow of the ship watching on as the open water surround us and the occasional albatross glided past skimming the tops of the waves at times. All but one of the guests at the prow headed back into the lounge as we crossed onto the open sea. The choppy waves started to give way to larger rollers and soon the ship was crashing down into each trough causing a huge bow wave to break either side of the vessel and eventually an officer came and ushered me and the other stalwart guest off the prow to our great disappointment (something about not wanting someone to fall overboard - he did have a point as each drop caused us both to almost lose connection with the ships deck!!) L The booming hammer blows that the ship suffered every time it crested a wave and crashed into a trough resounded through its hull and inside I soon began to feel queasy… 0_0 In
the warm, cosy but rolling lounge I begin to feel the bile rising and desperately headed aft for some relief hoping to find somewhere open to fresh air - I was in luck and found a side hatch open where people were gathered underneath a life boat… this apparently was a place for smokers to come for relief - well I can honestly say that it also aided in my equilibrium and stopped me from being violently sick…
Our first site of the North Island came shrouded in cloud with a vision of the ferries sister ship coming in the opposite direction - well at about ½ way across clearly the two had timed their departure well. Passing each other with no fanfare we continue towards the land and soon start make out the details of steep hills dotted with wind turbines!! Yep, the islanders are making full use of the regular strong winds in the area and the turbines provide all of the power for Wellington (The capital city of New Zealand). After another hour we are finally heading through the last of the white cresting rollers and moving through the gently rolling waters of the Wellington Bay entrance… and finally make it to dock at 1.30pm… My stomach is upset for the afternoon and I am knackered (Next time I will fly)… So a quick 1km walk to the YHA and time to settle in and relax before considering what to do for the three days that I am here. The YHA is enormous, yet very busy with both school and hiking groups but the 6 bed dorm that I am booked into provides a relaxed space in which to lay back and SLEEP… :)