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Wednesday, 26 November, Queen Charlotte Sound and Picton, NZ We left Wellington at 430 AM and when we woke up at 630 we were starting into the Sound. Our breakfast was delivered to our cabin at 700, and we watched as we came through the beautiful sound, docking at Port Marlborough, the gateway to Picton, at 1000. I immediately left the ship and walked into town to shop. I bought stamps and overseas envelopes, plus water, ibuprofen ($NZ29.75 for a bottle of 96), seasickness pills for Gail, and some scones for brunch. I returned in time for departure for our tour. We took a bus through the Marlborough countryside, which was, of course, beautiful, green and filled with sheep, mostly already sheared. The other feature of the area was a vast number of vineyards, the newest agribusiness in much of New Zealand. The Marlborough region is the biggest wine producer in the country. One of the most popular tours off of the ship was the wine tour of Marlborough, I'm sure with lots of tasting and buying. In Blenheim, the capital of the region, we went to a fantastic rose garden. New Zealand is famous for its roses, and they have the perfect climate for them, with cool and damp weather, little risk of frost, and no blistering heat. Saw many varieties that have probably never come to the USA, though there were a few that I wish would, though they might not make it in hot and dry Boise. After some more driving through beautiful hills, we arrived at a dock where we took a tour of Queen Charlotte Sound on a catamaran that took us back to the ship. On the catamaran tour we had afternoon tea, fed a bunch of blue cod, and saw lots of birds and spectacular shoreline. Another wonderful dinner back aboard, and back out to sea. Back to itinerary (trip home page)
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