The ship traversed Cook’s Strait from
Wellington on the North Island back to the South Island, very early this
morning. It is a 3.5 hour journey for
the ferries. The cost to take the ferry
across the strait to Picton is $65 per person or $250 per car.
We are back on New Zealand’s South Island
in the Marlborough Sounds coast, in particular Queen Charlotte Sound which holds
two bays, one is Picton Harbour and the other is Shakespeare’s Bay. They are separated by about a 750 meter wide finger
of land about 1.5 kilometers long. The Shakespeare’s Bay dock is located at the
wharf where timber logs are shipped to Australian, Asian and American ports. Picton is a seaside resort town in a sheltered
harbour with a permanent population of about 4,000. It is the gateway to the
Marlborough wine country as well as hiking, fishing, kayaking dolphin watching
cruises and other outdoor activities.
The gray clouds were low in the sky and a
fine rain was falling when we climbed up to Deck 11’s Windjammer buffet. The outside temperature was about 16 C and
the wind was hardly noticeable. Again
today there was an ambulance waiting on the pier and it had luggage waiting
beside it.
Today’s tour through the Wairau Valley to
Blenheim had an early start. We met
Maureen and Bob to get the tour stickers before 7:30 a.m. Our group was on a
bus, which had a faulty starter, and the group was led to another bus to be on
our way shortly after 8 a.m. We drove
through the town of Picton and found the main highway through the wetlands and
onto the plains and distant mountains.
We
could see the forested hills where sustainable logging is happening. The pine trees have been planted in the area
since make work projects of the 1930s.
It takes from 25 to 28 years for the pine trees to grow here, before
they are ready to be harvested and then are shipped to other countries.
We drove past orchards of cherry trees and
apple trees as well as acres of vineyards as far as you could see, some with
first year vines. Some fields were
covered with fine netting either stretched above the grape vines or partly
supporting them. The first vines in the Marlborough region were planted in
1973. The main varieties of grapes grown here are to make sauvignon blanc and
pinot noir wines, although grapes for other white wines are grown in the
Marlborough region as well. A vineyard’s land is worth about $250,000 per
hectare, about $240,000 Cdn.
The highway leads to Christchurch, which
last year took about 4.5 hour to drive.
However, that road has been closed for repairs since the November 14,
2016 earthquake that damaged the road. Right
now the detour makes the drive to Christchurch seven hours long. The road
repairs should be completed in the next two weeks. The repair of the rail line
will take a bit longer.
Our first stop was at D’Vines Boutique Mall
which had a variety of small shops and a café.
The largest shop was called the Quilters Barn which had a large
selection of yarns for embroidery, knitting and quilting fabrics and
supplies. There were completed quilts
for sale, too. Behind the boutiques,
separated by lawn, there was a little garden and the café patio. There were vineyards covered in fine green
netting. As a backdrop were the mountains of New Zealand’s Southern Alps
enveloped in long wispy hazy clouds. The
rain had changed to a delicate drizzle.
Then
we travelled to the town of Blenheim which is the capital of the province of
Marlborough. We were driven to the 50
acre Pollard Park and Waterlea Gardens to enjoy its walking paths through the
trees and colourful flowers of its various gardens. We were given 45 minutes to
explore the park while a light rain fell on our umbrellas and jackets. Pollard Park also had a nine hole golf course,
tennis courts and picnic area including a shelter where you could
barbecue. Most people returned to the
bus within 30 minutes.
Finally, it was time to return to Picton,
where passengers had a choice to remain on the bus to return to the ship or be dropped off in town and take
the complimentary shuttle back to the ship.
We chose to explore the quaint town and opened our umbrellas as a light
rain resumed. We missed the floating
maritime museum called Edwin Fox. It was
the ship that once carried Florence Nightingale to the Crimea, convicts to
Australia and settlers to New Zealand in the second half of 19th century. We strolled along the main street, looking in
the cafés and browsing in some of the stores. After stopping at the Seabreeze Café for a
Cappucino and an Americano, we found the shuttle bus stop to bus back to the
ship returning by 12:30.
After lunch in Deck 11’s Windjammer buffet,
we climbed further to Deck 13’s Starquest Lounge for a quiet place to read,
overlooking the stacks of logs on the wharf.
The ship left shortly after 3, for the 2,222 km journey across the
Tasman Sea back to Sydney, which will take over two days. During his pre sailing announcement, the
captain warned the passengers that he is expecting 2.5 to 3.5 meter waves as
the ship crosses the Tasman Sea.
We joined Bob and Maureen in the dining
room. We ordered Fried Rice &
Portobello Mushroom Balls or Minestrone Soup as appetizers, main course Chicken
Marsala with mushroom sauce, mashed potato and asparagus or Garlic Tiger Prawns
with rice. The desserts were Tiramisu or
Sticky Bread & Butter Pudding with coffee.
After dinner we caught the remainder of the 6:45 show of Comedy
Hypnotist, Anthony Laffan. It was just
as entertaining as on the first cruise.
People are happy that the time change
overnight is to gain an hour.
Steps 14,876 Flights
Stairs 64
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