Picton & the Queen Charlotte Track

(Written on Friday, 1/23/09)

Hello from the South Island!

Kevin and I just left Picton, the first town that we visited on the South Island of New Zealand. We arrived in Picton on Wednesday (our time) by the InterIsland Ferry. Now, this isn’t like any Seattle ferry boat that we’re so familiar with. When we arrived at the ferry terminal in Wellington, we thought for sure our boat hadn’t arrived yet…since the only thing we could see in the terminal is what looked like a large, slightly-aging cruise ship. Low and behold that was our ferry! But even more impressive than the boat was the 3-hour cruise from the North Island’s Wellington to our first South Island city of Picton. It was absolutely gorgeous! Like cruising through a post-card. I couldn’t keep Kevin in the boat with me (it was a little chilly for me on the deck). Kevin probably spent 80% of the cruise out on the deck enjoying the vistas (so the pictures below are his). I joined him for the last 20 minutes….that’s about as much as I could handle. But – thanks to the lovely Christmas gift from my sister, I kept myself more than entertained, enjoying a few episodes of Gossip Girl (btw, what a great show! I’m hooked.)

We loved the town of Picton. It is a tiny and very cute seaside town nestled in the most gorgeous of settings. We were unable to find accommodation there in a hostel (they were booked everywhere), so we stayed two nights at a small bed and breakfast called The Gab les B&B. It is run by a lovely couple, Paula and Ian, and is an adorable home that used to be the home of the town’s mayor. The room we had was huge!! Plus we had our own bath, which honestly has been a luxury during our hostel stays and not always the standard. (We realized then how much we needed this respite from the hostels!)

We can’t speak highly enough of Ian and Paula. They were so nice and friendly, and each morning they had a wonderful breakfast spread waiting for us in the dining room (again – such a wonderful treat for some home cooked food after eating out for every meal). We really enjoyed our stay there, and it’s going to be hard to go back to hostel living for the rest of our tour of New Zealand. (Since I’m in charge of booking the accommodations, I might find that other towns are completely sold out too…).

During our stay in Picton, we took a water taxi up the Queen Charlotte Sound (one of many sounds around Picton) to hike the Queen Charlotte’s Track, a hiking trail that hugs the coast along the sound (which, if done in full, takes about 3 -5 days to hike). We decided to do a day hike only, so the boat dropped us off at one point (Ship Cove) and picked us up at another point (Fearnaux’s Marina), 14 kilometers down the track . The hike was really beautiful (and really exhausting!). We ended at Feurnaux’s Lodge, a luxury resort on the sound coastline intended as a lodging point for those who are doing a multi-day hike. We had some beers there to reward ourselves for finishing the strenuous hike, and I do think they are one of the most deserved beers we have enjoyed so far!

Today, we were sad to leave Picton and our hosts, Ian and Paula, from the last two days. But we look forward to enjoying our next stop on the South Island: Nelson, where we plan to stay for three nights.

We are kayaking and hiking tomorrow in Abel Tasman Park, and then we plan to do some wine tasting the following day. We hope everyone is having a good time back home. We miss you! Cheers!