Queen Charlotte Sound Picton

Today we got up early had some breakfast then I went to see if we could catch a boat around Queen Charlotte Sound. Lucky for us there was an 11.00am tour going out so we decided to take the trip. Well it turned out that we were the only ones accept and elderly couple form the North Island, so we had the run of the boat. The captain was brilliant, …

Today's big event was our crossing between Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand to Picton on the South Island. We had scheduled ourselves for the first ferry so we were up at 5:45 to make sure we were there in good time for returning the car and getting to the ferry before 7:30.

Getting there and finding the car drop off was …

DAY SIX 16 Feb 2011 I took the free shuttle, courtesy of the hotel, to the train station in Addington, at 6.30 am, and by seven, I was sitting comfortably on board the OVERLANDER – my first train ride in NZ! The coaches are quite old but the seats are comfortable enough, and because there weren’t many passengers, there was plenty of …

Morgens um 9 wurden wir angerufen, wir sollen so schnell wie möglich zum Airport kommen, damit wir das geniale Wetter für unseren Fallschirmsprung ausnutzen könnten. Gesagt, getan. Kurz danach waren wir 4km über dem Boden und sind reihenweise aus dem Flugzeug geflogen. Sky Dive ist auf jeden Fall ziemlich hammer und jeder sollte das mal gemacht …

De B&B in verlaten om met de Endeavour Express (genoemd naar Cook's schip) afgezet te worden bij Ship Cove, daar waar James Cook aan land kwam. Op de boot ontmoet ik de vrouw van de eigenaar van de lodge en een van hondjes, bonnie de bulldog. Meteen met Bonnie een afspraak gemaakt om 'r vanavond weer te zien! Je kunt maar motivatie vinden.

Took a long walk to find Isabel in Bug backpackers. Her hostel is along Vanguard street but the time from my hostel to hers roughtly took an hour. Furthermore I bought like a carton of beer from Countdown and had to walk some distance before i reach her place. Damn shag …

De volgende halte is Picton, in het noorden van het Zuidereiland.


In deze havenplaats komen de grote ferryboten aan die vertrokken zijn van het Noordereiland. Vanuit Picton varen de Queen Charlotte Sound in.


Een bootje (watertaxi) van de lodge waar we verblijven, brengt ons naar een bepaald punt in de Sound.

…

... Picton.  Did some blog catching up and also drove up to a small lookout northeast of town with great views of the Queen Charlotte Sound (except for the ugly lumber yard in part of the sound).  We cooked dinner up at the lookout and killed ...

... much to warm our cockles either. Just sitting lazily in the immaculately tended gardens with the full expanse of the Queen Charlotte Sound splayed out right in front of us twinkling like a thousand diamonds is a pleasure in itself, really. Chike ...

... ve driven on one boring road so far. Another mountain road to negotiate over the Bryant range as I meandered  to Queen Charlotte Sound. Stopped at Cullen point lookout to stretch my legs. The muddy brown waters of the Pelorus river, which appears to ...

... in New Zealand at this time of year. As the ferry ride came to an end we sailed down through the Queen Charlotte Sound heading towards Picton and I braved a look outside, feeling slightly queasy and getting quite drenched in the process due to all the ...

... couples tickets for the next day. After that we decided to take a cruise around the hills to the ridges that overlook the Queen Charlotte Sound. This place was promising to be awesome. After the drive I decided to pick up a case of beer as it would ...

... .  I've been having ankle problems and I'm trying not to be on my ankle too long.  I was hoping to do the Queen Charlotte Sound Track, but this is not the right time for a three to five day hike.  Hopefully, when I pass by next time.  ...

... , a port on the South Island. A large portion of the ride is spent not between the islands, but navigating the Queen Charlotte Sound, a beautiful weaving of bays and and straits through green mountains that lead from the ocean into Picton. Waiting for me ...

... Up at 6.30 ready to catch the boat by 8.00. It was a beautiful morning and almost no wind as we headed north up Queen Charlotte Sound - were we glad or what about the calm water!!! Superb views on all sides as we cruised up the sound. 45 minutes later we ...

... across the Cook Strait to New Zealands north island. The ferry takes 3 hours and starts off taking in some of the scenery of Queen Charlotte sound which should be cool. We arrive in Wellington at about 1pm and we've booked a 3 night stay in a 4 star ...

... cruise is going out the Wellington Harbour, the next one-third crossing the Cook Straight and the last third going up fabulous Queen Charlotte Sound. If you hit one of those magic days of good weather it will be one of the most wonderful panoramas of ...