Pages tagged with: cook strait

On a fine, calm day ‘Cruising on the Interislander’ can be like a luxury Mediterranean cruise. But Cook Strait can be one of the world's roughest stretches of water: seasickness, dodgy food and wildcat strikes have all been part of the colourful Cook Strait ferry story.

Before 1962 rail struggled to compete with ships for inter-island business, but the road/rail ferries changed that.

In the 1960s, the ferries' food and services fell short of the glossy ads, but now they are more upmarket.

Crossing Cook Strait is often idyllic, but it can be one of the world’s roughest stretches of water as it's part of the westerly wind belt known as the Roaring Forties.

From 'puke' green to funnells sprouting ferns, the ferries' branding and appearance have had many changes.

Cook Strait ferries were vital to the flow of freight and passengers between the North and South islands, and  interruptions because of bad weather, mechanical problems or strikes and lockouts inevitably hit the headlines.

The old fable about the tortoise and the hare was replayed on Cook Strait as fast ferries offered travellers a quick dash across the ditch.

The Interislander ferry features in The A to Z of New Zealand stamp series produced by New Zealand Post in 2008.

The story of a bunch of Otago University students trip on the Cook Strait ferry

Video of a rough crossing of Cook Strait

The Kaitaki buries its bow in the waves at the Wellington Harbour entrance.

The Incat 050, marketed as the Top Cat, looked like something out of a science fiction story.

Cartoon seagulls clinging to the deck of The Lynx are plucked off one by one as it gathers speed.

The Albayzin’s woes slowed this Cook Strait fast ferry.

Eric Heath’s cartoon about the timing of stoushes between management and unions

Tourists stranded at the ferry terminal by an industrial dispute

The Arahura shows the fern design on the funnel.

The Aratere displays The Interislander dolphins on its funnels.

The Aramoana shows the Railways' early colour scheme and design.

The Aranui at sea

Cars drive onto the Cook Strait ferry.

Ferry fares of the sixties compared with present-day fares

New Zealand Railways' publicity brochure