Project Honeymoon - Day 12: Taking the Interislander Ferry to South Island

A Few Hours Left in Wellington for Some Shopping - Our ferry departs at 2pm and we have a few hours in Wellington.  We walk up to Lambton Quay for some shopping.  I end up being good and don't by anything.  On this trip, I've been pretty specific on what I want to take home.  In the past, I've been bad at bringing home tacky souvenirs.  So far I've purchased:
- Merino wool shrug and gloves
- Manuka and clover honey
- Manuka oil (known for its antibacterial properties; good for the skin)
- A NZ cookbook
I also picked up a NZ jade or pounamu pendant.  It's bad luck to purchase pounamu for yourself so Hubby bought it for me.
Before we leave Wellington, Hubby picks up a memory card for his camera.  His card errored when we were taking photos in Napier of Guy Fawkes Night and he lost his photos.  A disappointing accident.

Interislander Ferry

3 hour ferry ride to Picton - The ferry is much smaller than the ones we have back home.  The view is breathtaking.  Food on the ferry is surprisingly decent and inexpensive; also no massive long lines for food like on the BC Ferries.  On the ferry, I pick up a free NZ guide which has a list of "must-eats" in New Zealand:
- Lamb and beef
- Green lipped mussels
- Crawfish
- Pavlova
- Hokey Pokey Ice Cream
- Whitebait
- King Salmon
- Manuka Honey
- Kumara (like a yam)
- Hangi (traditional Maori method of cooking food by steaming underground in woven baskets)
We haven't had mussels yet and the book showcases a restaurant in Havelock (45 minutes from our hotel in Picton) called the Mussel Pot.  I tell Hubby we must go to this restaurant.

Steamed Mussels

The Scenic Route to Havelock - On recommendation from the hotel receptionist, we go the "scenic" route to Havelock.  The road is super windy with some turns 180 degrees.  A lot of turns are also blind.  Not the best choice if you're trying to make it to a restaurant before they close.  Restaurants have last call at around 8pm here.  We don't leave Picton until 7pm and it's a 45 minute drive.  Hubby is a safe driver; we get a bit nauseaus with all the turns.  The views are stunning though.  Our map book shows an alternative way through highways, we make a note to take that route back to Picton after dinner.

The Mussel Pot - We get to the Mussel Pot just before 8pm.  We're relieved the restaurant is still open.  About 15 minutes after we arrive, we notice the waitress turn the sign from "Open" to "Closed".  Hubby has the steamed mussels and I have the grilled mussels.  They were absolutely fantastic.  Hubby still claims the best steamed mussels are at Bin 941/942 back home.   My grilled mussels are the best mussels I've ever tasted.  We still have room for desert and are pleased to find they serve both pavlova and hokey pokey icecream.  So based on the "must-eat" list, we're able to cross off 3 just at this restaurant.

Grilled Mussels

Pavlova & Hokey Pokey Ice Cream