Yellow Fish cruises: Day 90: Picton

Monday, December 23, 2019

Day 90: Picton

I was moving slowly today. G left the cabin, went to breakfast and actually took the free shuttle bus through the freight port of Picton and into town...and I just slept and slept. Finally, about 9:30am, he burst into the cabin, waking me up to tell me I just had to see this restored stream engine in town and it would be leaving the station at 10:30am. Hurry!

Oh yeah, I just love starting my day like that. Still, it did sound interesting, and I could understand why G was attracted to it. I didn’t have time for breakfast or even coffee; we were off the ship in 15 minutes and immediately boarded one of the shuttles to town. I entered the bus through a back door, took my seat and saw this reflection in a large mirror at the front.

Instant attitude adjustment 😁

I just had to get a photo when I disembarked the bus.

This driver put a smile on everyone’s face (and who knew Santa had a New Zealand accent?)

We were taken to the i-Site (tourist information office) right across from the Picton Railway Station and were able to get close to the train for photos. The train is called the Marlborough Flyer, named for this area of New Zealand. The WWI memorial stream locomotive was built in 1915 and later renamed the Passchendaele, in memory of the famous 1917 Battle of Passchendaele. The train consists of carriages from the same WWI period.

We walked down to the closest crossing for some photos of the train in action. G was in heaven; it was pretty cool.

He had promised me coffee and breakfast in town, but the streets and restaurants were packed. I was feeling seriously overwhelmed by the crowds, dealing with them as I was, without coffee. We walked along the waterfront (very pretty; we had taken the mail boat cruise from here two years ago), and then stopped in a grocery store to buy a bottle of wine from the famous Marlborough wine region to take back on the ship.

Unable to find a restaurant that appealed, we just returned to the ship. We had lunch on the Terrace Deck (it was warm in the sun) until the wind forced us inside. By 2:30pm, I was napping in the cabin. I’m not sick, but we’ve been at this for three months now, and I am a little travel weary. Every so often, a down day is necessary.

The view of the port with the usual stacks of ‘South Island of New Zealand’ logs

Even Google Maps satellite view of the port shows stacks of logs

Picton, on the South Island, is almost directly across Cook Strait from Wellington, on the North Island.

There is a large number of backpackers, campers and other travelers who spend time

in Picton en route to and from the North Island.

The location of Picton in New Zealand.

Interesting note about all the timber reserves around New Zealand, particularly on the South Island: Harvard Management Company (HMC), that manages the Harvard Endowment Fund, is the majority owner of Kaingaroa Timberlands, the second largest owner of plantation forest assets in New Zealand behind US fund manager Hancock Natural Resources Group. We actually discovered this two years ago, and I found it interesting then (and still do).

We went to the Elite Lounge and then to dinner; we ate lightly in both places because of our late lunch. Sail away was at 6pm, and we were on the Terrace Deck to watch as the Ruby Princess wound its way among all the small islands of Marlborough Sound as it made its way to Cook Strait. It really should have been called scenic cruising because it certainly was. It was a lot like cruising in Alaska with views on both sides of the ship.

The beautiful islands of Marlborough Sound

A ferry follows us in Marlborough Sound en route to Wellington

The entertainment in the Princess Theater tonight was mentalist Ace McDermott, and despite the fact that he’s been on quite a lot lately, we’ve managed to avoid him every time. Instead, as soon as the Ruby Princess reached Cook Strait and the views stopped, we returned to the cabin, turned the fireplace channel on TV and G is watching videos on his iPad while I prepare this post.

One more port tomorrow until we get a short break on Christmas Day, a rare sea day on a New Zealand itinerary. Thanks to today’s slower place, I can do this!