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Published: March 5th 2009
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We decided to move on from Nelson on Saturday as it was raining all day and there was little prospect of an improvement for a few days. We had a fairly hairy drive along Queen Charlotte Drive, with Lys clinging tightly to her arms rests, but we arrived in one piece and saw some beautiful views of the Sound on the way.
We stayed at the ferry port of Picton that night and headed south for Blenheim because Lys had found out about some Stock Car Racing that afternoon. It was the NZ national championships. The sun was baking hot, as per the forecast and we spent most of the day there. No pictures for you as we used video and I haven't worked out how to upload that to the blog. It was fairly exciting . but not as good as some we have seen in UK and there was no Destruction Derby, unfortunately. We found our way on the hairiest road yet to a small DOC campsite. . It was on a lovely beach with the sun setting behind the mountains as we paddled in the sea.
On Monday we drove back into Picton. very sunny
again, so we decided to take a boat trip on Queen Charlotte Sound. It was a four hour trip on the boat which delivers the post to all the outlying creeks and small hotels. Some of the people had no jetty so came out to meet us in rowing boats. It was all very interesting to watch and made a lovely trip. That night we found another DOC site in a different bay and Lys sailed and watched a small shell bobbing in the water as the tide came in. This took up half an hour while I went for a walk.
Tuesday was not so bright and clouds came over. We spent the morning in Picton and then decided at 1.00 to catch the ferry at 2.25 p.m. There was no problem about it and we were soon on our way. It is a 3 hour trip on a boat about the size of the Barfleur. It carries railway wagons as well as lorries and cars. We had a smooth crossing and the sun came out half way over, so we arrived in Wellington in bright sunshine and, unfortuanetly the rush hour. Eventually we found our camp site
Post Boat at Ship's Cove
This is the cove where Captain Cook landed 3 times. in Lower Hutt, a commuter town about 15km away. The poeple next door had been on the same ferry and teased us about why we had taken so long. We got chatting then shared a glass of wine. Before long we had invited them in for a meal. they cooked, we cooked, and we ate in our van which was much bigger than theirs. We had a lovely time. She was a PE teacher, about our age.
Wednesday was a sccrching day. I had looked out all the sandy beaches as we came into the harbour so we drove round the headland to the South of Wellington and stayed on lost of small and beautiful coves. The airport was very nearby and we could watch the planes landing and taking off all day. There were lots of surfers to watch too. Thursday was not so sunny, but still quite warm and we wanted to see some of the sites of Wellington. We also had to get our grill fixed on the camper. We found a really helpful chap who had the whole oven out in a few minutes, found the fault, and we were on our way within hal;f
an hour. The previous people wanted 4 days to obtain the part which was not actually faulty, so we were lucky to have found this chap.
We enjoyed our time in Wellington. There are 2 cathedrals. The new one is very modern and built of stone in simple lines, but very effective. Apparently they have an acoustic problem. Any offers Chris?.. The old one was built of wood and is very dark inside, but it is an amazing building. I hope the photos do it justice.
The main attractiobn of Wellington is the Te Papa National Museum, where we spent much of the day. It was late opening night too!. Some of the displays on Maori culture and sailing boats were really special and we throroughly enjoyed. them. We had a bite to eat and then set off for Napier on the east coast. We are about half way there at present and should be there by Friday evening. Then on to Lake Taupo.
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