Year 2 – Day 181, Wednesday, October 26, 2022. Day 38 of our 1/2 world trip. Woke up to “Alpha, Alpha, Alpha, zone seven, deck 10”. I hate those calls and you hear them on every cruise. Then I jumped up and opened our curtains. Oh, wow the mountains are gorgeous and we are next to a huge mountain. There is lots of lumber on the shore and more mountains behind that. Another cool day. We are in Picton, New Zealand.
Okay, let’s get moving it is our last port of call. Two more days at sea and then we are on to Sydney. It is amazing how many people on this trip we have met that are homeless. They have sold their homes, are working remotely, and just traveling. The population is 5,000 here. This was my favorite port in New Zealand. Picton is a town on the north coast of the South Island, in New Zealand. It’s known as a gateway to the islands and inlets of the Marlborough Sounds. It is spring here and the sun and breeze from the water is fabulous. The residents are so friendly and happy to have us. We are the first ship here since covid started. I heard from passengers who have just gotten out of covid isolation that they are not allowed off the ship. We took a shuttle bus into town. This is another working port, and you are not allowed to walk in it.
The shops are so nice and have such interesting things with sayings, and the town is so quaint.
Even the little eateries and bars are so cute and inviting. I love love love it here.
As we walked around there were many musical and vocal artists performing.
I would love to come back here and rent an apartment for a month. We could stay at the backpacker’s inn right in town. The prices are wonderful. Somehow, I don’t see us staying there though. I would love the experience for a night or two.
We walked around the town, went to a little craft fair,
and then down to the waterfront. What a beautiful view. Everything in this town is pristine.
Even the grass is calling to me to stay, Dolores, just stay! Except for this little dead animal laying in the grass was a little disconcerting.
You can take the ferry to Wellington and go to the city for the day if you needed to. I do not want to leave here. This is the first port I felt a real connection to and wanted to stay. Yesterday I was ready to go home. Today, I wanted to stay right here in Picton. Boohoo – We had to leave and go back to the ship. This is one of the only ports that I did not want to leave at all. But alas we had to get on the shuttle bus and go back the ship.
The air in the town is so clean and fresh, but when you get around the port and the ship it is very dusty from the cut trees piled up. The wood is sitting waiting to be loaded on ships and taken to China and Singapore. Those ships cannot come in when we are here. This is a really small inlet.
When we got back to our room our Official Crossing the Equator certificates were waiting for us.
To view the complete year 2 daily diary – Click here: https://deestimes.com/living-the-dream-year-2-may-1-2022-april-30-2023/
To view more information about New Zealand – Click here: https://deestimes.com/ports/
To view more information about Ovation of the Seas – Click here: https://deestimes.com/ovation-of-the-seas/
Today’s product recommendations are traveling essentials. 1) Luggage hand cart – we love this cart for easy rolling for easy cruise carry-on bags. Even when you can’t go to your room right away this is so easy to walk around the ship with. Here’s the link https://amzn.to/3s37EOw
2) This large toiletry bag is the best. Steve has the black and I have the pink. We both absolutely love them. Here’s the link https://amzn.to/3v1p6ok and picture
