ldsant
Nov 14, 03, 8:37 am
After my winery day in Blenheim, the next day I got up very early to catch a bus to Picton. I wanted to get out on the water and see the Queen Charlotte Sound (or Marlborough Sound). After going to the railroad station with the large bus stop in Blenheim, I was told that I would have to go to Seymour Square to catch the bus to Picton. Was there over an hour early. Just about missed the bus though when I didn't realize that it was sitting ahead of the bus stop. . .got onto the bus, paid my $7NZ for the trip to Picton. Was the only passenger on the bus for the 40 minute ride. The driver, as everybody else in NZ seemed to be, was courteous, friendly, and helpful. Explained where I should go to look at some nice crafts in Picton and said that the mail run was really a fun way to see the sound.
Got off in the center of Picton and headed to purchase my ticket for the afternoon mail run. I assumed this was a "tourist" thing that they called the mail run. No. This is a REAL literal mail run. It doesn't matter if there are any tourists going or not, Captain Matt is going to go and deliver the mail. The ticket cost $27NZ and was going to be a 3 hour boat trip around the sound. I had a few hours to kill before I needed to be on board, so I walked to explore Picton. First stop was stopping to get some breakfast. Ate at the waterfront cafe and had yummy French toast along with grilled bananas. Also had a cup of tea. Wonderful breakfast and the day was sparkling with sunshine and cool breezes.
After breakfast I then walked the main street (called High Street) of Picton. Stopped into a crafts store where I purchased a couple pairs of earrings for my sister and friends for Christmas. There were lovely hand-made crafts ranging from jewelry to jewelry boxes to wooden carvings. Very reasonable pricing as well (earrings were sterling with stones and cost approximately $30NZ). Next I walked to the other stores that were on the street just to browse.
Then I walked down to the park to watch the various boats coming in and out as well as to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. The birds were ferocious! I saw one woman lose her lunch because one of the birds swooped down and took her bread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
It was time to board the boat. I climbed on board and found a seat on top so that I would be able to be outside as well as see everything without having it be through glass. There were a total of 10 of us on the boat. Captain Matt launched on time and we were off! This was a great experience. Not only was the scenery absolutely spectacular (this is where Captain Cook stopped five times on his way to his other discoveries), but we got to "meet" and learn about each of the families or individuals that we were dropping mail off for. Seemed like each person had a dog (Captain Matt offered them biscuits!) and lived miles away from anybody or anything else. Learned that one woman had lived alone for over 30 some years in the Sound. The distance between the homes is miles. The small bays were beautiful. The water was sparkling clear once again reminding me of a complete box of all blue Crayola crayons.
The trip took a total of 3 hours. At the end, I was running a bit close for my bus so Captain Matt drove the boat into the ferry terminal where I would catch my bus. I climbed up the stairs and was in the terminal http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif The boat then took off to drop the rest of the passengers off at the main terminal.
I would HIGHLY recommend this trip. It was wonderful to get out on the water, meet the "characters" of the sound, and participate in a real mail run surrounded by breathtaking scenery.
Got off in the center of Picton and headed to purchase my ticket for the afternoon mail run. I assumed this was a "tourist" thing that they called the mail run. No. This is a REAL literal mail run. It doesn't matter if there are any tourists going or not, Captain Matt is going to go and deliver the mail. The ticket cost $27NZ and was going to be a 3 hour boat trip around the sound. I had a few hours to kill before I needed to be on board, so I walked to explore Picton. First stop was stopping to get some breakfast. Ate at the waterfront cafe and had yummy French toast along with grilled bananas. Also had a cup of tea. Wonderful breakfast and the day was sparkling with sunshine and cool breezes.
After breakfast I then walked the main street (called High Street) of Picton. Stopped into a crafts store where I purchased a couple pairs of earrings for my sister and friends for Christmas. There were lovely hand-made crafts ranging from jewelry to jewelry boxes to wooden carvings. Very reasonable pricing as well (earrings were sterling with stones and cost approximately $30NZ). Next I walked to the other stores that were on the street just to browse.
Then I walked down to the park to watch the various boats coming in and out as well as to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. The birds were ferocious! I saw one woman lose her lunch because one of the birds swooped down and took her bread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
It was time to board the boat. I climbed on board and found a seat on top so that I would be able to be outside as well as see everything without having it be through glass. There were a total of 10 of us on the boat. Captain Matt launched on time and we were off! This was a great experience. Not only was the scenery absolutely spectacular (this is where Captain Cook stopped five times on his way to his other discoveries), but we got to "meet" and learn about each of the families or individuals that we were dropping mail off for. Seemed like each person had a dog (Captain Matt offered them biscuits!) and lived miles away from anybody or anything else. Learned that one woman had lived alone for over 30 some years in the Sound. The distance between the homes is miles. The small bays were beautiful. The water was sparkling clear once again reminding me of a complete box of all blue Crayola crayons.
The trip took a total of 3 hours. At the end, I was running a bit close for my bus so Captain Matt drove the boat into the ferry terminal where I would catch my bus. I climbed up the stairs and was in the terminal http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif The boat then took off to drop the rest of the passengers off at the main terminal.
I would HIGHLY recommend this trip. It was wonderful to get out on the water, meet the "characters" of the sound, and participate in a real mail run surrounded by breathtaking scenery.