Today we awoke to bright sunshine and incredible scenery in Picton, our first South Island destination. It was almost too beautiful to believe! And so warm that we were able to breakfast out on the terrace area. Here's Karen taking in the view.
We ate, did our stretching class, and got on the shuttle bus to the heart of the town. The bus let us off by a gorgeous beach and shopping area. Here are a few of the pics we snapped from there.
We decided that since we've been eating a bit too much lately, we would find a nice hiking path and work off some of those extra calories this morning. There was a lovely trail to a venue called "Bob's Bay" a mile or so away, so we took it. Several other couples from the ship joined in, and it turned out to be a fun outing. Here's part of the trail where there was a very cool tree canopy atop us.
And here was our first glimpse of Bob's Bay. Bob sure knew how to pick them! A really pretty beach tucked away and hidden from everything.
Our only companions were the many jellyfish covering the pebbly beach.
We hung out here for a while, then decided to walk back to town along the beach rather than returning on the path by which we had come. This turned out to be a very adventurous decision! There were several areas where we had to climb rocks, walk on slick mossy paths, and pass through areas of high tide with very little beach at all. It was a bit scary in spots. The other couples that were with us were all geezers (okay, more geezery than us!), and they weren't too happy with us for choosing the adventurous route! But we made sure they all got through it safely.
Oh, here's a picture of the ship David snapped as we were making our way back...
After our hike, we found a restaurant with an incredible view of the bay and enjoyed some fish and chips and a local hard cider for lunch. The restaurant had free WIFI (a big treat, because WIFI is costly and rationed aboard the ship), so we spent some time catching up on emails and news. Then we just sat on the beach until it was time to board the ship again.
We had another wonderful dinner. This time it was prime rib for David and wiener schnitzel for Karen. Then it was time for the evening's entertainment. There is a performance group of singers and dancers who put on several different shows during the week. This evening, it was a tribute to Broadway. They performed songs and dance numbers from Chicago, Les Miserables, Evita, Mama Mia, Man of La Mancha, and a few others. It was wonderful! Truly Broadway quality.
Tomorrow we are off to Akaroa/Christchurch. Actually we sail all night to get there and arrive about 8 in the morning. Night all!
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