Day 64: Wellington – Picton - Kaikoura

Leaving Wellington
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This morning we boarded the ferry to Picton, leaving the North shore (and its rain hopefully) behind us and commencing our tour of the South. This particular route is far more of a scenic cruise than what the image of a ferry may conjure up, especially the final hour through the Marlborough Sounds with its rugged green hills meeting incredibly blue water coves.

Picton, the village where the ferry disembarks and the train embarks from, is worth noting for 2 things. Firstly a very picturesque sea front and marina looking out to the Sounds, secondly being the first place on our travels with a pub that’s bothered to import Tenants lager (why?).

Drew, Jane and the Mighty T on tour

Ferry in the Marlborough Sounds
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We only had 90 minutes here, but that was enough for a quick wander round, a look at the 9^th oldest ship in the world (they don’t have many firsts here so 9^th is an attraction apparently) and a spot of lunch. Tragically we didn’t have time to do Seahorse World justice and decided that to rush round it would just be a mistake (?!?!).

Train ride from Picton to Kaikoura, our destination for the night and base for whale watching tomorrow, takes about 2½ hours watching the world go by the window – first impressions of the South Island are that it looks likely to live up to the hype. This is confirmed by the view stepping of the train at Kaikoura – magnificent.

Picton
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After finding our hotel our very helpful and hospitable hotelier Andy suggests we dump our bags quickly and go to the local winery, even driving us the couple of kms there himself. Without a shadow of a doubt this place must have lead claim for the most beautifully located winery / vineyard in the world. Sitting out on the decking, with obligatory glass of wine, you can see vines stretching uphill towards snow capped mountains in one direction, dark and brooding crags along the shoreline in another, and volcanic beaches and green cliffs in the other. Truly spectacular, so much so we had to stay for another. Our hosts (Andy now accompanied by Trisha) appeared and joined us for a drink before we headed off to their next door neighbours’ restaurant – pretty good despite being run by a Chelsea fan.

Our balcony at the Lemon Tree Inn - what a view
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Post dinner we managed to find some nightlife in the sleepy town, population 2500, where one small bar seemed to mix a near retirement age band churning out 70’s rock at the front with cheesy disco (Proclaimers & Aqua as I recall) at the rear. This probably makes it sound like a big bar. It wasn’t. Managed to befriend a touring football team, temporarily join a visiting stag party and get a lock in across the road with some locals before the night was over, having gone back out after walking Jane back to the hotel.