Picton and Environs

Well, we arrived in one piece in Picton. The initial part of the ferry ride was very choppy (understatement), we had at one point a Captain's announcement stating that everyone had to remain seated! Once in the Marlborough Sound,though, the sea calmed and we were treated to a spectacular journey up the Sound. Wooded hills fell steeply into the sea, and there were few signs of life other than some small pleasure craft. Incidentally we learned later that this forest is mainly less than 40 years old. When the Europeans landed they cleared the native forest, partly for the exotic hardwoods and partly to establish pastureland for sheep. Unfortunately (according to a water taxi captain) the local land is “crap” for agriculture and so the NZ government has encouraged the re-establishment of native forest mainly for ecological and tourism reasons. Whatever the motivation the results are spectacular.

As we arrived at lunchtime and couldn't check in to the motel until later we decided to go for a ride to......Renwick. This small town is about 20 miles from Picton and is right in the heart of Marlborough wine country. We had to have some cheesy photos taken beside the town sign and, of course, a visit to a local vineyard to buy some (expensive) Renwick wine. One feature that we have noticed is that there are few cheap wines in NZ, even in wine producing areas. Some of the cheapest are Aussie imports (Banrock, Hardys etc) but local wines are seldom below $12 (£6) a bottle, with most being $15+. The ones from Renwick were $20 and $28 and they were by no means the most expensive.

We had seen reference to a museum in Renwick so we sought it out. Outside it looked like a small shop but inside was a really nice local museum. It was closed, but... As we arrived a volunteer was unloading some books (it is also the local library) and she showed us around and gave us lots of information about the founder of Renwick, Dr Thomas Renwick (no relation). We looked a bit at the genealogy and discovered he came from Dumfrieshire and was childless. Both of these make it unlikely there is a family connection.

Parts of Renwick were a bit quaint, the signs for “Renwick Nik-Naks” didn't appeals, nor did the imprecation to to have a Woody at the Renwick Tavern (it's a form of pre mixed spirit drink). We did like the 3 Bears Cafe, which had 4 bears outside and a sign that said:

Opening Hours

7 Days: 08.00 to 16.00

Thursday: 08.00 to 20.00

Clearly they operate an 8 day calendar in this part of the world!

We wanted to walk part of the Queen Charlotte Track, a long distance walking path through remote areas, but the first day in Picton was overcast and dull so we thought it unlikely. The next day dawned clear,bright and sunny so we went down to the harbour to make enquiries. One of the local operators organised a water taxi for us to Mistletoe Bay and we went from there to Anakiwe which marks the beginning of the track (yes, we did it back to front). We covered about 13 km and it nearly killed me. We had not realised quite how much of a climb it was from the bay to the ridge above where we joined the track. Suffice it to say 4WD cars were struggling. Manfully I gasped my way up, being encouraged by Sue who did not even seem to break sweat! Once the walk levelled out a bit it was great, spectacular views over Marlborough Sound and very few people at all. A water taxi back to Picton included an unscheduled visit by a pod of dolphins, Sue was enraptured. Inevitably to toast my achievement a visit to a local hostelry was arranged and so, eventually, to bed.

Today (Sunday) we have driven to Nelson, some way west along the coast. The journey over was absolutely spectacular, the densely wooded hills (mostly different kinds of pines) rose very steeply from the inlet. If we had stopped every time we came to a vantage point it would have taken several days to get here. On the way we stopped at Havelock, the self-styled green mussel capital of the world. One of the cafes had models of them on its roof and round its perimeter fence, very amusing. Havelock was also home to Ernest Rutherford. A local information plaque informed us that if a fellow student had not crashed out in his English exam, “Ern” would not have got the one and only secondary school scholarship. Just think we may never have found out how to split the atom. More importantly, Havelock is also home to Heidi's cafe, where “ritual coffee” is served and all of their cheese is “freshly cut”. Any suggestions on what ritual coffee might involve would be most welcome. We have had a 15 minute fugue on the matter, but it could bear some more flights of fancy.

 

We will be in Nelson for 3 days. The motel is perfectly adequate but a little step down from most of the rooms so far. One reason for being here is so that Sue can see some of the Soroptimists from the club that KL is twinned with. After a difficult time this has now been arranged and we have been invited for dinner by one of the club members (who coincidentally lived in Grimston just outside King's Lynn). More on this to follow.

Apologies for the lack of photos in this post, the motel does not have wifi and we're trying to find somewhere local that does not have tight upload limits.