Picton, New Zealand

Tuesday we had our last stop in New Zealand, the lovely town of Picton on the south island. Our original tour to the sheep farm was cancelled, much to mum's dismay, and our second choice was already full by the time we were notified of the cancellation, so we ended up on our third choice tour of two wineries in the Marlborough region. As we got off the ship we were met by a couple of ladies from the tourist bureau who presented us with a corsage of local flowers. After a short bus ride we arrived at Montana Winery where we were given a tour of the facility and participated in a wine tasting session. Unfortunately we arrived just a couple of days before they were to start harvesting the grapes for this years vintage, but it was interesting nonetheless. Our next stop was at Forrest Winery where we were given a lesson on the various pruning techniques used in the vineyard. And then – more wine tasting! For two non-drinkers, it was a lot of alcohol first thing in the day! Mum is pleased to now have some idea of what kind of wine to buy for her book club meetings!!! We decided that since we have a long way left to travel and only limited luggage space we couldn't bring any wine back with us, but I will definitely be on the lookout for these two labels back in Canada. Our final stop was at a small shopping centre where you could purchase woolen goods, books and souvenirs, and then it was back to the port where we staggered back on board and had a little nap – I wish I was kidding, but I'm not! We awakened in time to sit on our balcony and enjoy our departure through the lovely Queen Charlotte Sound and out into the Cook Straight. We were very sad to say goodbye to New Zealand – it has been our favourite place so far. The waters have been surprisingly calm for the most part as we sail toward Australia. Tomorrow morning we begin our overland adventure to Ayer's Rock, Alice Springs and Cairns. Mum is looking forward to being on solid ground for a few days! Unfortunately I do not have a proper adapter for my computer, so I'm not sure how much computer access I will have in Australia. We rejoin the ship on March 18^th (our time) which would be St. Patrick's Day for you, so Happy St. Paddy's Day!