A Bike ride in Picton
- Paul Hallman
- Mar 1
- 3 min read
Picton may be small, but it's rich in natural beauty and character. Located at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound, it offers access to over 1,500 km of sheltered coastline. The scenery is breathtaking, with forested hillsides plunging into turquoise bays.
It is the gateway to the stunning Marlborough Sounds, known for its sheltered waterways, forested hills and abundant wild life. The town offers a charming waterfront, cafes, shops, and scenic walking paths. It is also the entry point to the world famous wine country home to renowned Sauvignon Blanc vineyards.
We arrived in a beautiful bay at the top of the south island, to a golden sunrise hovering over the hills of the island. We have not had many sunrises on this journey but this morning it was brilliant.
As the ship entered the channel for our dock we could see rows and rows of additional logs, piled and ready to be shipped abroad. They had a small mill there to remove any bark which prevents the spread of potential bugs or hitch hikers to another country. It was evidence that the main industry was thriving.
When we arrived to the town the locals gave us flower corsages for each ship passenger as we disembarked from the Coral Princess. We attached ours to our knapsack and the flowers stayed healthy all day long. Nice touch from the locals.
The locals had set up a small market for us to visit and we did find a few things to bring home. The winds in the area were very strong as the town sits in the bay south of the north island and it is famous for winds. Across from the bay is Wellington NZ and it is called Windy Wellington.
There was one vendor that had an interesting booth as he was selling sets of New Zealand coins, but not just any old collection. Each set was from a different year but it featured a special coin that had a specific subject. I photographed a few that had birds that were, at one time, almost extinct or very rare. If you can read the details on each photo it will tell you what the subject actually is. The coin in the center is the one of interest.
Jan and I had booked a catamaran excursion for a short cruise into the Queen Charlotte Sound and when we left the dock there was no wind but on our return, some 2 hours later, we had white caps and 40 mph wind. What a change in weather even though it stayed sunny. There were lots of fish in the waters and many places were "cottage type places" with no road access. Just remember they really don't get any cold winters here.
When we returned, we booked a 4 seater motorcycle trip out of town and up into the hills. It was an exciting run and we had the chance to see the town from a different perspective. Such a beautiful area with all the bays and hills surrounding the town of Picton.
Now, the day was not over yet, although we made it back to our ship safely and sailed from the harbour into strong winds. It was so windy that they closed the upper deck for safety reasons. I was told that the winds were upwards of 70 knots and it supports why they call it a windy bay.
It was GOLD MEDAL hockey this evening and because we are 12 hours different from the Milan Olympics the puck drop was going to be at 2 am ship time. I managed to get the proper cable to connect my tablet to a TV in the chapel, so at 2 am eleven of us (9 Canadians and 2 from Tampa) secretly snuck into the chapel and watched the game. We ordered Beer, Bloody Mary's, Burgers, Fries, Taco's and Chips to be delivered to the "holy room" and sure enough, we had a party in the chapel. Although the ending wasn't what we had hoped for we did have a party on the water. No one even knew we went there to watch the game.
We left Picton and had an interesting perspective of the area and the people. Everywhere we went the locals were so friendly and welcoming into their town. It certainly is a great place to visit and if we ever come back again Picton will be on our list of places to visit.
Next Stop - New Plymouth, New Zealand
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