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T&KonTour
Tuesday 29 March, Wairau Valley to Picturesque Picton to Windy Wellington
Up at 6.00am in the chilly dark for an early breakfast. Not sure we needed to be up quite so early as the trip to the ferry should take less than an hour, but... By the time we leave Wai Natur it is light and we drive through the lines of grape vines as people leave home for work, school etc. Gromit takes us around Blenheim and we drive north to the little coastal town of Picton which includes the terminal for the Interislander Ferry. We drop off the car and hope that the tiny, tiny scratch below the front passenger door won't cost us a packet. No one is at the Thrifty counter to ask unfortunately. We are early for our 10.45am departure so we grab coffees in the terminal cafe and read, or watch the activity in the marina.
The ferry leaves slightly early and there is plenty of room on board. A beautifully clear, calm but slightly crisp day we enjoy the nearly 3 1/2 hour cruise. Lunch includes a nice glass of wine for most of us. Getting into a taxi was more of an issue however, with no organisation it was a bit of a bun fight. No maxi taxi to be had (we subsequently learn that there are only 7 in Wellington) so we take two normal cabs. The rest of the afternoon was spent on domestic duties as we have our own washing/drying machine.
Not knowing where everything is we are told to cross the road and take a lift down from level 8 to level 1. This brings us to Lambton Quay (historical edge of the water, due to reclamation it is now ~300m away) which is a real lesson on how steep the hills are in Wellington. We find the "General Practitioner Bar" which was fine for a simple evening meal.
Up at 6.00am in the chilly dark for an early breakfast. Not sure we needed to be up quite so early as the trip to the ferry should take less than an hour, but... By the time we leave Wai Natur it is light and we drive through the lines of grape vines as people leave home for work, school etc. Gromit takes us around Blenheim and we drive north to the little coastal town of Picton which includes the terminal for the Interislander Ferry. We drop off the car and hope that the tiny, tiny scratch below the front passenger door won't cost us a packet. No one is at the Thrifty counter to ask unfortunately. We are early for our 10.45am departure so we grab coffees in the terminal cafe and read, or watch the activity in the marina.
The ferry leaves slightly early and there is plenty of room on board. A beautifully clear, calm but slightly crisp day we enjoy the nearly 3 1/2 hour cruise. Lunch includes a nice glass of wine for most of us. Getting into a taxi was more of an issue however, with no organisation it was a bit of a bun fight. No maxi taxi to be had (we subsequently learn that there are only 7 in Wellington) so we take two normal cabs. The rest of the afternoon was spent on domestic duties as we have our own washing/drying machine.
Not knowing where everything is we are told to cross the road and take a lift down from level 8 to level 1. This brings us to Lambton Quay (historical edge of the water, due to reclamation it is now ~300m away) which is a real lesson on how steep the hills are in Wellington. We find the "General Practitioner Bar" which was fine for a simple evening meal.
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