Apologies- I was told today ( twice) that folks were worried that we were stuck in EnZed because the blog went silent after Lochmara. Oops – got busy, had limited bandwidth.. and forgot 😟 So, in the interests of closure …
Our final day on the Queen Charlotte Track was relatively inactive and very chill. Rather than more ridge walking we opted to enjoy the amenity of the resort. We opted for the 3pm boat back to Picton, thinking it was a simple 30 minute float . Turned out the 3pm boat was a slow boat deeper into the southern parts of the sounds, picking up punters from various bays , wharves and private jetties. In short , a lovely cruise.
We arrived back at Picton around 6pm … just as the weather finally broke after a dry and beautiful walk. ( The clouds in the last few photos presaged this). The rain began as we walked up from the boat terminal to our hotel.
The next day we had a leisurely start as our shuttle to the airport wasn’t until noon. We walked around Picton and the foreshore, checking out ball the touristy trat in way too many gift shops for a town that size. And bought the now traditional fridge magnet.
The flight from Marlborough to Wellington was short , not too bumpy and socked in with cloud the whole way. A quick transit through the airport and Airport transit shuttle into Town saw us exploring Wellington by late afternoon.
On Friday we kept up the exploration on foot , including a lovely afternoon walk down through the Botanic Gardens and back into the CBD
Saturday saw us take another lap of the Wellington waterfront on foot before heading to the airport. The rain increased incrementally throughout the day. The flight back to Melbourne was delayed an hour , but was quick – we arrived at the planned time .
On Sunday we went down to the Mornington Peninsula with the kids ( actually, now young adults) and had a great lunch at Port Phillip estate … great food , service and views.
That evening we caught the last flight back to Canberra, ending yet another a great break in NZ .
Coming up in February 2023 – we will be wandering down the Overland Track in Tasmania. ….🥾🥾⛰️🗻😀
Ness’ and Mark’s Wandering 