The Sounds & Picton

A typical view from the roadside!

Although NZ needs a lot more rain we loved seeing the sun come over the hill into the bus as we were having our Ohingaroa Bay-side breakfast on Wednesday morning and the views of the Sounds as we drove along the windy, hilly Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton were spectacular. Lots of stops on the way for little walks and photos. If we come back this way it would be nice to stay at the DOC Momorangi Bay Motorcamp ($28 for a seaside site for 2 with electricity, a little less for over the road) - a beautiful little spot.

Morning in the Sounds

We decided to re-visit the Picton Golf Club where we played our first South Island game in the freezing cold wind. Sunshine and a nice temperature today and again we both played better than last time. Len was especially chuffed with his second 9, scoring 37 - watch out Rory!!!
After golf we drove around the corner to Freeths Rd and the farmer's large POP site where we stayed previously. We have views across the paddock to the golf course and the old arthritic goat is as friendly as ever. A very peaceful spot and when we woke we could only hear the birds - the sheep were especially quiet for us and the 4 other vans.

Nanny & Len acting the goat!

Thursday morning we did a bit of local sightseeing driving around the coast road to Waikawa Bay, Karaka Point and the bay beyond, as far as the decent road could take us, and with lots of stoppages for little walks or good views of the Sounds.

Once back in Picton we visited the BlueBridge Office as we had booked our tickets online but Len couldn't bring up the excellent discount that we get as NZMCA members. It kept telling him that they were sold out so he had to pay the full price of about $360. We thought that we can't have booked early enough but decided it was worth popping in to check and it certainly was! They are giving us a refund of $171 as that discount is ALWAYS available to members as long as the ship isn't full. There was just a glitch on the internet site.
We stayed at the Picton RSA for the night and ate there for dinner, described as - "the best roast in Picton". We look forward to a roast seeing I'm not cooking them in the bus. Well the lamb was plentiful, tender and delicious but the roast veges were tiny and sad alongside the dull looking peas and corn. I guess if I had had three times as much pumpkin and half as much meat I would have been happy though!

It was an early start this morning as we had to be at the boat at 7.00am for an 8.00am sailing so we had our breakfast while waiting in the queue on the wharf. It is another beautiful day and should be a smooth crossing.