The next morning I went down to the harbour for my morning jog and was amazed that within half a block you can go from a commercial street to a truly delightful little harbour.
Shots taken at Picton harbour
I was also amazed to see so many other people with grey hair and hear North American accents but discovered they were from the cruise ship docked in the next harbour. This one apparently had been diverted because of the weather conditions, the remnants of Cyclone Pam. The day got progressively nastier, but not nasty enough to cause any damage. And given what I'd heard Nova Scotia was receiving (again!), I was not in a position to complain. So I stayed pretty much confined to my motel that first day.
Day 2 (March 16) I took the morning bus to Blenheim, a 30 minute drive south of Picton. It's huge relative to Picton, about 30,000 folk. Why Blenheim which, like me, you have likely never heard of before? First of all it was once the home of friends back home in Wolfville and I wanted to see where they had lived. But also I wanted to visit a place where Kiwis lived, a place not filled with tourists. I hadn't realuzed that Blenheim is the centre of the Marlborough wine region, New Zealand's largest. Despite that, there were few tourists that I could detect there. By that I mean not many people carrying maps, looking lost, or speaking with a different accent or in a different language. Blenheim is just a very pleasant kiwi town with a very nice downtown area, lots of parks, a lovely path by the Taylor River, an excellent museum and even some gardens (in Pollard Park). That's pretty much all you need!
Town clock, Blenheim
Memorial in Seymore Square, Blenheim
Pollard Park, Blenheim
- the first vineyards were planted in the Marlborough region in 1873, by David Herd;
- it wasn't until 1973 that the first truly commercial vineyards were planted;
- by 2007 there were 110 (!) wineries in the area;
- Sauvingon Blanc has made the area's reputation (likely everyone but me knew that);
- in 1982 one hectare of vineyard land cost $5,000. By 2007 that was up to $255,600!!
I had to return to Picton about 3:30, on the last afternoon bus. I'd have liked more time there.
Back in Picton I'd decided to go to see The Theory of Everything, the film about Stephen Hawking. A very good movie. But again I got more than I expected as the aquarium and the cinema share a space. Of course!! So while waiting for the film to start I got to hang out with little wee penguins, turtles, a large and very dead squid, and other assorted marine life.
The wee blue penguins (they were rescued)
