Picton New Zealand Saturday, March 2nd
Picton New Zealand 7:00am-2:00pm
Another beautiful but colder day awaits us. We woke up a little earlier this morning since we are only in port until 2pm...all aboard by 1:30pm. So we needed to get an early start. I was amazed when we looked out the window....Are we in Alaska? Were we silently beamed up and transported from NZ to Alaska sometime during the night? Taking another look, we were certainly docked at the head of Queen Charlotte sound in Picton harbor, but it sure looked like any Alaskan port. A small harbor surrounded by tall mountains, and the small town of Picton a brisk walk away. Even the weather felt like it....55 degrees when we walked off the ship. Sweaters for sure this morning.
Picton is a small town of about 3000 people and is considered the gateway to the Marlborough region, which is famous for its wineries, sheep farms and scenery. I don't doubt the scenery at all...it was fabulous.
The town was only about a 1/4 mile from the port so no shuttles today. And no excursions....we are here for such a short time and we wanted to be able to explore the town without being rushed after an excursion. Besides, interacting with the people of New Zealand is much more interesting than being on a tour with.....well, you know. As we got off the ship we were greeted by very nice Pictoners(?) giving out small handmade flower corsages....what a great welcome! It was a nice cool walk into town along the bay. A blue line painted on the cement showed us the way into town and the port authorities made sure everyone followed the blue line. Another ship was parked in the next bay from where we were, so this small little town was going to be packed with people....just like Alaska.
The small beach was made up of small rocks and the water was cold! Many small campers were parked along the waterfront with the smells of breakfast cooking wafting from them. Many tourists and locals alike rent campers and motorhomes and just go from place to place. It is so popular that shopping centers and parks just charge a small fee for camping. We saw many all over NZ.
The town consisted of one main street with a few side streets and most of the shops and cafes were open. I guess the lure of making money off of some 3000 tourists from 2 ships on a Saturday was too good to pass up closing for the day. This is our last stop in NZ and we had a little NZ currency that we had to get rid of before Australia. We bought some more local honey in a hardware store.....I mean, what small town hardware store doesn't sell honey? It sold everything under the sun. And of course talking to the owner of the hardware store, he knew the honey seller.....and on and on. I love Kiwi's. We then walked to the Saturday market that was set up by the bay. About 15 tables selling crafts and such made by the people of Picton. Wood carvings, stone jewelry, loose stones, handmade tea towels, and many other fine things. I was amazed at so many loose stones and rocks, but the area is rich in raw minerals and some are quite rare and expensive. It was wonderful chatting with the locals. We walked around and watched families picnicking and playing in the water park. It was still a little chilly, but the tots didn't care. Their laughter filled the air. We slowly made our way back to the ship and sail away. We were leaving early, so we were able to go out on the back deck and enjoy sailing back through the sound and into the Cook strait, heading to Australia.
Another beautiful but colder day awaits us. We woke up a little earlier this morning since we are only in port until 2pm...all aboard by 1:30pm. So we needed to get an early start. I was amazed when we looked out the window....Are we in Alaska? Were we silently beamed up and transported from NZ to Alaska sometime during the night? Taking another look, we were certainly docked at the head of Queen Charlotte sound in Picton harbor, but it sure looked like any Alaskan port. A small harbor surrounded by tall mountains, and the small town of Picton a brisk walk away. Even the weather felt like it....55 degrees when we walked off the ship. Sweaters for sure this morning.
Picton is a small town of about 3000 people and is considered the gateway to the Marlborough region, which is famous for its wineries, sheep farms and scenery. I don't doubt the scenery at all...it was fabulous.
The town was only about a 1/4 mile from the port so no shuttles today. And no excursions....we are here for such a short time and we wanted to be able to explore the town without being rushed after an excursion. Besides, interacting with the people of New Zealand is much more interesting than being on a tour with.....well, you know. As we got off the ship we were greeted by very nice Pictoners(?) giving out small handmade flower corsages....what a great welcome! It was a nice cool walk into town along the bay. A blue line painted on the cement showed us the way into town and the port authorities made sure everyone followed the blue line. Another ship was parked in the next bay from where we were, so this small little town was going to be packed with people....just like Alaska.
The small beach was made up of small rocks and the water was cold! Many small campers were parked along the waterfront with the smells of breakfast cooking wafting from them. Many tourists and locals alike rent campers and motorhomes and just go from place to place. It is so popular that shopping centers and parks just charge a small fee for camping. We saw many all over NZ.
The town consisted of one main street with a few side streets and most of the shops and cafes were open. I guess the lure of making money off of some 3000 tourists from 2 ships on a Saturday was too good to pass up closing for the day. This is our last stop in NZ and we had a little NZ currency that we had to get rid of before Australia. We bought some more local honey in a hardware store.....I mean, what small town hardware store doesn't sell honey? It sold everything under the sun. And of course talking to the owner of the hardware store, he knew the honey seller.....and on and on. I love Kiwi's. We then walked to the Saturday market that was set up by the bay. About 15 tables selling crafts and such made by the people of Picton. Wood carvings, stone jewelry, loose stones, handmade tea towels, and many other fine things. I was amazed at so many loose stones and rocks, but the area is rich in raw minerals and some are quite rare and expensive. It was wonderful chatting with the locals. We walked around and watched families picnicking and playing in the water park. It was still a little chilly, but the tots didn't care. Their laughter filled the air. We slowly made our way back to the ship and sail away. We were leaving early, so we were able to go out on the back deck and enjoy sailing back through the sound and into the Cook strait, heading to Australia.
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