Picton and Queen Charlotte Sound

I've just spent a fantastic weekend over on the South Island. Today was a public holiday for the Queen's birthday, so I decided to take the ferry from Wellington over to the northern tip of the other island at visit the Queen Charlotte Sound.


Things didn't start too well early on Saturday morning. There are two ferry companies that travel across the Cook Straits and I turned up at the wrong one, close to the deadline for checking in. Luckily I did a quick dash when I realised my mistake and made it on board with no problems. 

Leaving Wellington behind

Entering Charlotte Sound

The ferry travelled up Charlotte Sound to Picton. A sound is different from a fjord I discovered this weekend, it's formed by rising sea levels and tectonic activity, rather than a retreating glacier, so now you know!

Picton harbour

I had just enough time to drop my bag at my hostel, and grab a quick lunch before being picked up for a wine tour of Marlborough. Along with a friendly bunch of Brits and Americans, I visited 3 different vineyards - Hunters, Forrest and Montana. At each we got to try a good selection of their wines, which made for a very relaxing afternoon. Just in case that didn't finish us off, the last stop was to try a range of liqueurs and spirits!


I spent the evening chilling out with other guests at the hostel - Tombstone Backpackers. During the evening it started to rain really heavily, which didn't bode well for my plans to spend Sunday hiking. I got up early and it was still raining. I considered sacking off the hike, but decided to man up. So I waterproofed by bag with a bin liner and a collection of freezer bags for valuables and got ready to get very wet. Everyone at the hostel thought I was a bit mad, including the owner who gave me a lift down to the waterfront in the pouring rain.


I was going to walk a section of the Queen Charlotte Track, which traces along the edge of the Sound. To get  out to the track takes about an hour on a water taxi. It was still raining and rough in places, but the sky was starting to look a bit lighter. We even got a rainbow at one point -

Just as the boat arrived at the landing point, the rain came to a stop. Incredibly the weather then held for the whole day. Given June in the southern hemisphere is the equivalent of December back home, this was really special. The walking was nothing compared to my last hike, especially as I was only carrying a day sack rather than full camping gear. I'd be worried about taking my Nikon because of the rain. I'm really glad I did, and I'll let the photos tell the story of the day -

Very happy (and dry) at the end of the day