Crossing the Cook Straight with Sounds Air: New Zealand

Kia ora, friends, and let me tell you a little about the Cook Strait! The Cook Strait is the body of water separating the North and South islands of New Zealand. It is well known for many things, but two particular facts stick out in my mind: it’s one of the most beautiful ferry crossings in the world, but it’s also one of the roughest ferry crossings in the world. As we planned our honeymoon in December 2017, Matt and I decided that we absolutely had to do the ferry crossing, since all the guidebooks labeled it a “New Zealand must-do.” The ferry crossing goes from Wellington in the North Island to Picton at the tip of the South Island, and passes through the gorgeous and breathtaking Marlborough Sounds of the South Island.

Long story short, I was really looking forward to this ferry crossing, until I started to read reviews online (mistakes). The reviews were . . . informative. Most people agreed that the crossing was beautiful, but almost everyone forewarned that the 3.5-hour journey was seasickness-inducing due to the rough winds and choppy waters of the open ocean. Several reviewers said that they threw up the whole time. So that made up my mind: we were going to cancel our ferry booking and instead take a 20-minute plane ride to Picton instead. We booked with Sounds Air, a company that specializes in domestic flights within New Zealand. Currently, it offers flights to and from nine different destinations.

The plane ride was the exact same price as the ferry, would save us about four hours of time, and best of all, no one was going to throw up: a win-win, in my book.

So, the plane ride! Upon arrival at the Wellington airport, we said goodbye to our lil rental car, of which we had grown quite fond, and headed to our gate. Most fascinatingly, we didn’t have to go through security since we were on a domestic flight! As we proceeded to the Sounds Air terminal, we saw several impressive homages to Lord of the Rings: Gandalf riding the Eagles and Smaug the Dragon from The Hobbit.

Our vessel was a Sounds Air Cessna prop plane that held only twelve passengers. And after flying with Sounds Air from Wellington to Blenheim, I’ll give it to you super straight: it was an amazing experience. The crew, the pilot, and the planes were the best in professionalism, safety, and fun. From the moment we arrived at the gate to the minute we landed safely in Blenheim, we had the best experience with this team, and I cannot recommend Sounds Air more highly!

So what was it like crossing the Cook Straight in a plane? Going into the flight, I was not nervous at all, since I love flying! Matt was also a good sport about it and didn’t seem concerned in the least, even when we saw our plane:

It was a tiny little thing! Both of us had only ever ridden in large, commercial planes. Do you remember how I mentioned in my other posts that Wellington is known as the “Windy City”? (and not like in Chicago, where they’re referring to politics. This city is actually extremely windy).

On the runway, the plane was rocking from side to side in the wind like it was made of Styrofoam. When we went to the tarmac to board, the wind hit me like a ton of bricks and literally started pushing me over!! It was the strongest gale I’d ever felt. The Sounds Air crew then informed us that they couldn’t get us directly into Picton because the winds were too strong, so we’d be landing in the slightly larger town of Blenheim, just about 30 minutes away. I considered this great news, actually, since our hotel was in Blenheim!

I (perhaps) obnoxiously requested the co-pilot seat so I’d get the best views; luckily, no one else on the plane seemed too concerned with fighting me over the front seat. The pilot even helped me buckle my seatbelt, because it was one of those intense harness-type belts that really locks you in tight. From my seat in the front, I turned to look at Matt, giving him the thumbs-up, even as the plane shook from side to side from the wind gusting across the runway. He looked . . . a bit nervous, but hopeful.

Our pilot then introduced himself, flipped a few switches, and the rotor on the front of the plane started whirring very, very fast. We chugged down the runway for a few minutes, then geared up and we were off! It was the quickest takeoff I’d ever experienced (not windy or bumpy at all, to my great surprise), and the views were immediately breathtaking.

The windows in a prop plane are massive and provide much better views than a normal commercial flight. I could see everything around me, from the water crashing against the rocks below, to the harbor of Wellington, to boats sailing in and out, to storm clouds building in the west, to the open ocean out in front of us.

The takeoff and first initial moments of the flight were not what I expected—they were incredibly smooth, and it felt like we were truly flying. I could feel the engine vibrating beneath my feet and could see every gust of cloud flying by. The pilot was casual (in a professional way) and cheerful, which made me feel at ease and comfortable. Matt, however, looked a bit nauseous. I kept prompting him to take photos but he would only shake his head no.

We’d only been in the air for about fifteen minutes when we started our descent into Blenheim. That’s when things got a little bumpier. The winds coming from Picton were fierce! They hit our plane like waves pounding the rocks below, and the plane’s metal body vibrated with every gust. By this point, Matt’s face had turned sheet-white, and I started to feel terribly guilty for dragging him on this plane. (Although, to this day I think that the ferry crossing would’ve been so much rougher—look at that choppy sea beneath us).

Our pilot was ready for the winds, however, and we sped into the Blenheim airport at quite a sharp angle, landing easily and smoothly despite the bad weather. I never felt unsafe–in fact, it was super fun! I could feel the relief emanating from Matt as we deplaned.

From the Blenheim airport, we caught a cab to our hotel, just 7km away. The cab, however, cost us a whopping $35, despite the ride only taking about five minutes. I was outraged, since our plan had been to spend the rest of the evening in Picton, where we could walk along the seashore and gaze out at the water and mountains. That plan was foiled when we learned that it costs $100 to get to Picton, which was only about 20 minutes from our hotel.

Frustrated but intent on having a good time, Matt and I took a walk around the neighborhood and ended up at Mexican restaurant before heading to an early bedtime in sight of the long drive we had planned for the next day. 

My takeaway for this post is this: always be willing to switch up your plans and try something new! Even though Matt probably isn’t cut out for riding in tiny prop planes, I still consider my experience with Sounds Air to be one of the best, coolest, and most unique things we did in New Zealand. I would do it over and over again. They’ve recently opened up several more routes within the country–if you’re looking for an adventure (or if you’re afraid of getting seasick on the Cook Straight), consider taking a flight with this crew. I guarantee you’ll never regret it.