Picton

We took the bus from Nelson to Picton. It was our first view of the marvelous Marborough Sound. Arriving late morning, we were dismayed to find Picton being blown by an icy wind. Also we found that our B&B was further from town than the map showed it. A mistake in the guide book. But our host has been mysteriously showing up since to chauffeur us around. Good host. We went back into town for lunch only to discover that we were going to see our second Santa Parade. He arrived in Nelson as well. These are funky parades that are mercifully short on schmaltzy Xmas music but long on funkiness. Seem to be promoting sunscreen which was being freely dispensed, and kids rugby teams. We moseyed across the bay to a boat that our guide said was a great place to drink beer on the deck. See below!

So we went for a trek on a track called the snout. "Only 3 hours" said the perky info lady. More than 3 hours later we still were away from the snout tip. She had for gotten to tell us that the time was from the car park, not from town. Exhausted we forgoed the tip and bought grocery supplies, thinking the unit had a burner. Creative John cooked steak, potatoes, and asparagus in a microwave. I was almost too tired to take a bite.