November 11, Sunday

November 11, Sunday           Remembrance Day !

There really wasn’t anything special to see in Nelson, so I decided to just head directly for the short drive to Picton.  It is raining again today.  I’m still driving on Highway #6 for about two thirds of the way.

 Along the coastal road, the north end of the North Island

It's raining again

I’m driving through the Marlborough Sounds area today.  “This area has been described by geologists as “drowned valleys”, formed millions of years ago by the mountains sinking and allowing the ocean to flood into the low lying areas.”

I stopped at the small town of Havelock for a late breakfast.  It was pouring rain, so I simply parked the car across from a restaurant and ran in.  I didn’t even ask to see a menu, I simply asked if they were still serving breakfast and ordered bacon, eggs toast & coffee.   While I was waiting for my meal I read some tourist brochures of things to do in the area.  Supposedly there is a really good restaurant here called “The Mussel Pot”; too bad it isn’t dinner time since this area is famous for its mussels.  After I finished my meal I decide to take a short walk around to see if I can spot this restaurant.  I was also looking for an ATM to get some extra cash, but the town was too small and did not have one.  I walked down the street for a few blocks then turned around and walked back towards my car.  I was almost at my car when I spotted the sign for that restaurant.

Guess where I had eaten my breakfast? 

 Yes, “The Mussel Pot” TOO FUNNY !  

From Havelock I had a choice of roads: I could stay on Highway # 6 for about 30 km and head south to Renwick, then east to Blenheim for 10 km, then north on Highway # 1 for 28 kms up to Picton, which would have formed a huge U. My other option was to take the Queen Charlotte Drive, a scenic route, which cuts across the top of the U. I found the entrance to the route just outside of Havelock and started up a long and winding hill.

 Looking back down to Havelock Harbour
The speed limit on this road was posted at 50km/hr, but it was so windy that the speed was more like 35 and 40 to be able to handle all the twists and hairpin turns. Beautiful scenery however. 

 Grove Arm

 The views were amazing yet again.  What part of New Zealand isn't !

Queen Charlotte Drive.  It's "a long and winding road"

 Shakespeare Bay,  and that is a LOT of wood logs sitting there waiting to be shipped to.... probably Japan!
 I turned the corner on the road from Shakespeare Bay, and there was the lookout for Picton and Picton Harbour.

 I reach Picton and get a great view from the lookout.   Queen Charlotte Sound & Picton Harbour  

 There's the Trans-Islander Ferry I will be taking in a few days
I got in to Picton in early afternoon and drove into the downtown area.

 Along the Picton waterfront

 Streets of Picton at the bottom of Main Street

 Beautiful little town.

 The War Memorial (WWI)
 Since Picton is where the HUGE FERRY terminal is located, I was expecting a fairly big town, if not a city. What a surprise to find that it was about the size of Smooth Rock Falls, my home town. Touring downtown didn’t take more than 5 minutes from one end downtown to the other.


I made my way to the Broadway Motel, which was advertised in one of my tourist brochures and was located at the other end of High Street.  They had a nice room on the ground floor ready for me to check in even though it was only 1 pm.  I was able to rest and update my blog. I’m still trying to catch up.