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Blogs from Picton, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania
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April 11th 2013
With only a few hours sleep I am actually fairly awake (luckily) and by 9am I am on the bus, waving goodbye to Nelson and heading for Picton, my next stop. The bus retraces the route we came, through the windy Ria valley to Blenheim, from there is it then a fairly flat and scenery wise uninteresting drive to Picton, arriving at midday. The hostel I am staying at, is actually the sister of the one in Nelson…yes that’s right, more chocolate pudding. And has the same lovely chilled and very friendly atmosphere, however this hostel is a lot queiter, with just myself, and one other lady arriving in the evening in the 6 bed dorm….result! I have a lovely afternoon, having a quick scoot round Picton, trying to get my head round the contrast of ... read more
January 29th 2013
We are still in Wellington, staying in a lovely airbnb overlooking the bay and the airport! we got up at the crack of dawn to catch the interislander ferry to the South Island which is reputed as being one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world. weather conditions were perfect, no wind in windy welly! it was actually hot too, about 30oc. the crossing took 3 hours each way and we had a couple of hours in Picton to have a look around and have our daily picnic on the beach.t is all so beautiful everywhere it is almost surreal. dinner is at Hannah s, on the deck, sipping Marlborough Sauvignon along with sweet Karen! Photos on facebook.... read more
The most amazing drive, if you are ever in New Zealand you MUST go to Golden Bay
Published: December 10th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton
December 10th 2012
Last night I stayed in Pohara, my intention being to drive to Nelson today. Whilst on the beach last night I thought that the coast to the west looked really pretty. So this morning I drove west (sorry that should be east!!) rather than going straight to Nelson. Wow! What a drive. The road went under a natural tunnel through the rock and from then on I was saying "Wow" out loud at every turn in the road for the next 20km. Every turn gave an amazing view of the ocean. The road clung onto the edge of the hill overlooking the sea. The 1st 10km was tarmac but it had been washed away in several places so was fairly hairy to drive on. About 5km into the drive there was no longer any sign of ... read more
November 21st 2012
Stayed one night in Picton as we thought it looked good when we arrived on the south island 18 days ago. This town is the ferry terminal and it has shops, hotels and restaurants so perfect for our last night in the south. On the way over from Westport, a drive of 4 hours we passed through Renwick in the Marlborough region. Of course we could not go by without visiting another winery and this time we chose a favourite of ours as drunk back home. Spy Mountain produces a wonderful savignon blanc as well as a few other varieties and is highly acclaimed by the wine writers (available only in Waitrose or Majestic). Reasonably smooth crossing to the north island although Sue wished she had taken the last of the special pills. Driving north we ... read more
3. November 12 - Lazy Saturday und Blenheim
Published: November 8th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton
November 8th 2012
Samstag, 03.Oktober 2012 Picton: Ein Besuch in Blenheim Für heute versprachen uns die Wetterfrösche einen trüben und verregneten Tag und weil solche Versprechungen meist eintreffen, beschliesst das Comitée: Heute gibt es nur einen Besuch in Blenheim, der Weinmetropole im Marlborough Sound Gebiet. Dass ein solcher Stadtbummel nicht nur aus Windowshopping bestehen kann, ist ja wohl allen klar, und so überlegen wir uns, was wir noch an Kleidern benötigen. Wir ( Rolf und ich )sind ja die ganze Zeit schon neidisch auf Willi’s tolle Wanderhosen und so liegt es nahe, dass solche Hosen auf unserer Einkaufsliste zuoberst stehen. Die Fahrt nach Blenheim dauert nur 20 Minuten. Unterwegs entdecken wir viele, uns bekannte Weingüter. MATUA unser bevorzugter Sauvignon Blanc liegt direkt am Weg. Endlich wissen wir, wo unser Lieblingswein angebaut wird. Proscht, zem Wool..... Bl... read more
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4. November 12 - Cloudy Bay
Published: November 8th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton
November 8th 2012
Sonntag, 04. Oktober 2012 Picton: Eine abenteuerliche Fahrt auf der Küstenstrasse entlang der Cloudy Bay. Sonntag Morgen und ein unglaublich blauer Himmel. Ein gemütliches Frühstück und ein Abenteuer vor uns. Obwohl wir an einem Sonntag eine Autofahrt machen, ist Rolf bestimmt kein Sonntagsfahrer. Es ist beeindruckend, wie er mit dem grossen Van, beinahe ein Bus, umzugehen weiss. Mit dem Linksverkehr hat er absolut kein Problem und so steigen wir voller Vertrauen in das Auto, obwohl wir wissen, dass der grösste Teil der Strecke nicht asphaltiert ist und es unglaublich uneben in den vielen, vielen und noch mehr Kurven, ist. Da gibt es oft bis zu einem Meter Höhenunterschiede vom Innenradius zum äusseren Wegrand. In Basel ist ja Herbstmesse und ich brauche keine teuren Bahnen, um das seltsam flaue, Appetit tötende Gefühl im Magen zu bekommen. Oi,oi- ... read more
1. November 12, von Wellington nach Picton - mit der Fähre über die Cook Strait
Published: November 4th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Picton
November 1st 2012
1. November 12, von Wellington nach Picton Früh aufstehen – um 05.30. Das macht uns keine Mühe. Das Gepäck steht schon bereit. Nur die Koffer, in die das noch Benötigte für die Nacht hinein muss, sind noch fertig zu packen. Christine und Willi bereiten das Frühstück zu, während ich das Auto lade – eine gute Aufgabenteilung. Wir fahren beizeiten ab und erreichen nach kurzer Fahrt die Ankerstelle der Interislander Ferry. Ich bringe das Mietauto zur Abgabestelle zurück und begebe mich zur Abfertigungshalle. Die Tickets sind schon seit September gebucht. Wir müssen also nur einchecken und kurz warten, bis wir auf’s Schiff können. Wir sind so ziemlich die ersten, die die grosse Fähre betreten. Das bedeutet auch, dass wir uns die besten Plätze aussuchen können. Ja, es lohnt sich, etwas früher aufzustehen und beizeiten einzuchecken. Auf unseren ... read more
August 21st 2012
I set off early to head north to Picton to catch the 1pm ferry to Wellington. The journey to the coast took me up into the hills again and then down through the clouds and the pine forests to Nelson. The coastline here is spectacular with many coves and beaches, and the amazing weather made it all look better! As I headed towards Picton I took the windey coast road which gave an amazing view of the Marlborough Sound and the routes out to the Cook Strait. I arrived nice an early at the ferry port at 11.30am, half an hour before I needed to be there, so I was at the front of the queue. I sat in the car eating my lunch with the radio on but after 5 minutes disaster struck......my car battery ... read more
June 5th 2012
Monday 7th May How many more glorious sunny mornings will there be? Down on the waterfront in Picton harbour for some last minute photos and watching the inter-island ferry from Wellington appear in the distance thru some lifting fog. Just beautiful. We haven't done the ferry crossing, yet, however can only imagine what a stunning sight the passengers on this one must be experiencing! We will do it for sure next time. We then spent a bit of time walking around the main street in Picton and as usual discover some nice looking shops that we wished we had time to look thru. Early is a nice time to "discover' a town. Just before the shops open and people are going to work and the coffee shops are brewing their fresh aromas and there is always ... read more
May 14th 2012
George (with commentary by Al): On Monday we leave Devonport and go to Whitianga (pronounced Vitianga) (Actually pronounced Fitianga, Ed!). We arrive at the campsite 3 hours after we left. The campsite has a trampoline. The following day we go to a beach that has hot water in the sand. We dig a hole and then lie down in the hot water. On Wednesday we go to Coromandel Town. We go up the hill to an old Maori settlement but there are no tepees. Ruby runs off and we don’t know which direction she goes down. The next day we drive to a town called Rotorua which is over hot springs. The campsite is right by the lake and the geothermal activity in the area is apparent everywhere. The radiators in the mobile home are heated ... read more
