Queen Charlotte Sound

The early start was for no reason at all.  The hour and a half journey along one of the bendiest roads in the world early in the morning on an empty stomach and making Angela feel ill was for no reason at all.  South Island was not going to let us go that easily.  Our ferry had been cancelled and we suddenly found we had three hours to kill in Picton before we were going to be allowed to go.  We walked around the bay from the harbour along to Bob’s Bay and spent a leisurely half hour there before heading back and checking in.

From the end of the Sound and into the Cook Strait

The ferry journey through Queen Charlottes Sound is stunning.  It takes a little over an hour for the ferry to reach the open sea but in that first hour we meandered and negotiated our way through some fairly narrow passages.  The only thing that would have made it better was brilliant sunshine reflecting on the water.  Once we were out to sea it was like any other channel crossing and I went to find a comfy seat to have a nap.  Age is catching up with me!  To be honest, I set the alarm last night because we had to get up early, and as is usual in such circumstances, I lay awake most of the night worrying as to whether I had set the alarm on my phone correctly.  I needn’t have worried.

kite boarder on Froxton Beach

Wellington was looking very dull and there were raindrops on the windscreen as we left the city.  In the distance, in the direction we were going we could see lots of clear blue sky and late afternoon sun.  By the time we stopped for a short break at Foxton beach, a beautiful sandy beach, the sun was shining brightly and we enjoyed watching a kite boarder testing his skills on the beach.  It was quite windy.  The beach seemed to go on for ever in either direction and it is so for much of this coastline, that it is one very long beach.

Eventually we found our accommodation for the night just behind the beach at Wanganui – small, basic, simple yet comfortable. 

Angela’s Bit

Didn’t sleep too well.  Woke with a sore throat but we had things to do and places to go so no time to linger.  The winding road to Picton took its toll and I was not looking forward to bobbing up and down on the sea!  As it happened our ferry was cancelled and we eventually left at 1.15.  By which time we had had a good walk around the bay and I was feeling much better.

We drove for 2 and a half hours along the west coast of North Island to reach our overnight stop in Wanganui.  Stephen is with us so plans are afoot for big walks and bungee!!!!