Akaroa & Picton

Arrived in Akaroa to an overcast morning, which turned into a bit of drizzle, but that didn't last long. Akaroa is a tender port, however we didn't have to wait more than 10 minutes for our number to be called. Luckily the sea was calm. As we were a bit earlier than expected we went for a coffee while waiting for our friends Colin & Marilyn, but there was a large crowd and the coffee took half an hour!  After Colin & Marilyn had their coffee we went for a drive around the area.  Up in the clouds reminded us of the last time we were here 20 years ago.  The town however has certainly changed a lot.  Called in to a lovely little bay and were pleased that the weather started to improve.  Back to Akaroa township for lunch and then down to the waterfront, where we had another glass of wine:-) .  All too soon we were back on the wharf and the tender boat was waiting, so promptly back on board.  Many thanks to Colin & Marilyn - funny thing is that they will be staying with us next week, so we are looking forward to showcasing our neck of paradise.

Monday brings us to Picton, but not as we expected - we are once again surrounded by logs :-) . Because of our size we are at the commercial port and were bused into town.  A nice touch was that all passengers were presented with a bouquet - considering we had over 2600 passengers, that is a lot of flowers!   The weather was looking good, but still took all the gear, just in case.  Met up with one of Vivian's old school friends for a coffee in town and later did a pleasant walk through the bush to Bobs Bay.  Took longer than we expected, but worth it. Back a couple of hours later and had a drink at the old scow which is now a restaurant.  I must be out of touch as Vivian's small glass of flat lemonade was $4.50!  Anyway, that was enough of Picton so back to the ship for lunch and relax on the deck with a book.

Great weather and we enjoyed our departure down Queen Charlotte Sound from the comfort of a 12th deck balcony.  Our dinner companions, Steph & Murray had invited us to have a look at balcony cabin, so picked a good day.  Great photos of sunset over the top of the South Island.

Given that wee set sail at 5.00 and reached Cook Strait by 6.00, we are all joking as to what the Captain will do to fill in the time to reach Wellington tomorrow.  We'll see.