Day 3 - 23 Feb
Up at the crack of dawn - taxi we had booked to take us to the railway station arrived late which caused some anxiety and we ended up sharing with a girl also waiting for a booked taxi going the same way.
Long queue but very efficient boarding for the KiwiRail service: the Coastal Pacific Christchurch to Picton - and we were in our seats with 10 minutes to spare.
It was certainly scenic, if somewhat cool in the open carriage at the rear. We passed through the Canterbury Plains into the Marlborough wine region with gorges and coast as well as pastoral country; we even saw large pods of dolphins!
The Canterbury Plains are renown for braided river systems which are quite rare: these are channels across a wide gravelly riverbed [NOT my photo]:
We arrived into Picton close to 1 pm (a bit later than scheduled) and after a coffee and lunch at the bakery we checked into our hotel with its very nice views out over the Marlborough Sounds!
We spent the rest of the day relaxing after checking where to go in the morning to start our walk and buying groceries for breakfasts and lunches on the trail.
After the most delicious fresh seafood meal (orange ruffy for me) at a waterside pub, we walked to Bob’s Bay along the edge of the Sound as the light faded.
We managed a tad over 9 kms today somehow - must have been the tracking backwards and forwards on the train to the viewing carriage.
Am sitting outside on our balcony watching the lights coming on across the town. Hot chocolate. Lovely.
(But still need to pack for the start of our walk tomorrow …).
Full moon tonight!
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