Got up this morning at eight o’clock. We were not due to dock in Picton, on the south island of New Zealand, until 11.00am but we didn’t want to miss the sail in, as we were due to take the pilot on board and sail into the Marlborough Sounds from 8.30am onwards. Marlborough Sounds consists of sheltered inlets, clear waters and sandy bays fringed with pine forests and mountains. We imagined it would be somewhat like the Norwegian fjords.
The month of March is autumn in New Zealand and, as Picton was situated in the south island, it meant we could expect it to be rather cool, made more so by the cheeky little cold wind that comes up from the Antarctic.
After breakfast in the Ocean View buffet as usual, we therefore returned to 3142 and I put on my Craghoppers puffa jacket as well as a woolly hat. Instead of flip-flops, I wore trainers with socks and we made our way up to Deck 15, at the top of the ship.
Wow! There was a clear blue sky with nary a cloud, and the calm sea winked and sparkled under the bright sunshine. Rugged hills and mountains reared up in the near and far distances, their sides coated thickly with pine trees. Blue was the prominent colour and the whole effect was soothing and wonderful.
As the Edge glided slowly through the Sound as the sun shone down, I actually felt overdressed and I took off my hat and opened my coat. As we walked around the ship, taking photos from all angles, we came across some elevated hot tubs; if you imagine a giant golf tee shape rising up from the pool deck, the hot tub forms the ‘cup’ part of the tee. How unique! Trevor and I will absolutely have to give this a go later on in the cruise. 😊
Gliding along with this beautiful scenery passing by on both sides made us feel glad to be alive. Home had never been so far away; in fact, it was over 11,500 miles away! I had a dual clock on my phone and I was still tickled pink when looking at the time difference; here we were, 10.15am on Saturday, 16th March, but it was still “last night” back in Blighty; it was only 9.15pm on Friday, 15th March. 😊
By now, we could see a town coming into view, and Google Maps told us it was Picton, our destination. As we approached, we could make out an undulated light brown landscape; it was only as we got closer we saw that it was endless stacks of sawn logs as far as the eye could see. Piles and piles of perfectly cut logs, all in neat stacks. We found out later that New Zealand is one of the biggest exporters of timber in the world. 2022 figures showed that the total exports of forestry products from NZ for the year were over $6.64 billion. Wow! Of the total of timber exports, 54% went to China where it was turned into paper and furniture. As the ship slowly approached her berth, we could even smell the scent of newly sawn pine logs.
Making our way back to 3142, we decided that the weather was warmer than we’d expected, so I changed back into my flip-flops (I actually hate the feel of socks inside trainers!) and decided my denim jacket would be warm enough. Instead of my woolly beany hat, I decided to wear my khaki wide-brimmed “Celebrity Cruises” hat that I’d bought on the Celebrity Xpedition when we went to the Galapagos in 2017. 😊
When we set off to the deck on which the gangway was situated, we were reminded of the number of passengers on this ship; the queue was enormous. It extended all the way back along the corridor, all the way around the perimeter of one of the restaurants, and all the way around the massive casino. Another very good reason why Trevor and I, on the whole, prefer smaller ships!
Although the queue was constantly moving, it still took a good half hour before we reached the gangplank, and then we set foot in New Zealand for the first time – our 93rd country. 😊
Because of the proximity of the timber yard and the number of heavy vehicles associated with it, passengers were not allowed to roam freely around the dock area, so we had to stay within the barriers as we queued yet again for the shuttle bus into town. It was only a 20 minute journey into the main town centre, and then our time was our own.
As we alighted from the bus, the sunlight winking off chrome caught our eye, and over the road we saw a guy astride a large motor trike that had room for a couple of passengers. He looked as if he were waiting for some custom, so we strolled over and asked if he was offering tours. He quoted us a price of 90 NZ dollars each (about 45 quid) for a 45 minute tour of Picton, including taking us right to the top with amazing views over Shakespeare Bay and Queen Charlotte Sound.
Compared to the extortionate prices they charge on the ship for excursions, we thought that wasn’t too bad, and it sounded really fun being passengers on a powerful motor trike (Trevor said it had a V8 engine!) so we agreed. As Trevor only had 100 bucks cash on him, our driver, whose name was James, took us to the office where we could pay by credit card. Then we were good to go.
It was brilliant! The sun shone down brightly as the wind tugged at our clothes and hair; I was glad my hat had a secure chin-strap otherwise I would have lost it! We passed the War Memorial gate and James took us along the coastline, before weaving his way along the tree-lined winding roads as the powerful motor trike took us ever higher, the incredible views opening out below us.
Our first stop was over the other side of the bay from where the Edge was docked, and here we alighted as we looked across to the woodyard and our ship, partially hidden behind a large clump of greenery. The air was fresh and cool and it was simply exhilarating. James used my phone to take some good photos of Trevor and me together, in our cradle seats on the trike.
Continuing on our exciting ride, we passed white-painted single-storey dwellings; how it must be to live here with these views! We soon came to another lookout point, which a large sign proclaimed to be Karaka Point Reserve, and once again we stopped and took photos of the wonderful scenery, as we basked in the sunshine and the clean, fresh air.
James asked me if I wanted to sit on the driver’s saddle on the trike to have my photo taken, as if I was riding it. It had huge wide handle bars and footrests. I am less than five feet tall (James must have been about six feet six; in fact, he said he used to play rugby) so my little legs stuck out the sides and it would have been impossible for me to apply the brake, if I had been driving! 😊
After our photo stop against a fabulous backdrop of blue sea, mountains and pine trees, we continued on our way. The 45-minutes soon passed by as James had to return us to our starting point. We sped through the winding roads, passing picturesque little houses on the way.
Soon we were back where we started, along a lively road with many shops, bars, cafés and restaurants. We decided to buy some postcards and find somewhere to write them out. We found one of the typical touristy shops selling postcards, fridge magnets, sunhats, sunglasses and all the usual holiday ‘tat’. We bought three cards and the stamps to go with them. By now, a cold beer was in order, and we went into a place that had live music on, in the shape of a bearded guy in a bandanna singing and playing the guitar. We each ordered a pint of the local beer, and I used the time to write out the postcards and take advantage of the free wi-fi in the bar, as the ship’s wifi is outrageously expensive for the premium package ($33.00 per DAY!) and the classic package, which we had, was abysmally slow.
After finding a postbox and sending our cards on their way, we continued walking around and came to the marina and the beach. Like most seaside places, as many people owned boats as owned cars, and lots of small and large boats bobbed and clinked gently in the harbour. What an attractive and charming place Picton was! 😊
It was about three o’clock when we returned to the Celebrity Edge. We had a bit of a wait before we could board; the trouble with nearly 3,000 passengers is that queues are inevitable. In addition, the gangplank to access the Edge is actually placed quite high, so you actually have to climb two gangplanks at right angles to each other; one gangplank lifts you to the level of the second one, which you then climb to reach the ship. They were both fairly steep and I wondered how those less fit on their legs could manage.
Eventually we were back on board, and we went along to 3142 to dump our bags. We thought we’d have a look on the Magic Carpet, but when we got there, despite the sunshine, it was too windy to be comfortable. After a look at the programme, we saw that there was a quiz on in Eden at four o’clock, so we went along there to take part and enjoy a cocktail each. 😊
Rather than go for dinner in the Tuscan Restaurant before 6.00pm, we decided to give the Ocean View buffet a go. There is such a huge selection of dishes in there you could have something different every night! I fancied a good old Indian ‘takeaway’ so made my way to that side of the buffet and I chose beef Madras, some chicken tikka masala, vegetable pillau rice and lime pickle and mango chutney. The sauces were nice and spicy, and I enjoyed it a lot. Trevor decided to go Mexican, and he had chilli con carne. It was all washed down with cold water and house rosé wine. 😊
By now, the Celebrity Edge had put to sea once again and I had wanted to get a great ‘sunset at sea’ photo, but there were still several mountains at the horizon, and the sun dipped below one of them; I still managed to get a nice photo of an orange-tinged sky.
We then hotfooted it along to the theatre to be sure of getting our ‘regular’ seat at the front; the theatre always fills up quickly so you need to be there half an hour beforehand to get a seat. Before the show started, Giuseppe Moshella, the cruise director, came onto the stage in his usual ebullient way; he had a unique way of stopping his intro music by kicking his right leg into the air! 😊
Showtime tonight featured a Kiwi singer called Will Martin who had just joined the ship today. He was a very versatile singer who could perform a bit of classical in a power tenor as well as sit at the piano and do a bit of Billy Joel or Elton John. He also played a fantastic rendition of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on the piano, using only two fingers! A camera projected a close-up of his hands onto a large screen; they looked almost a blur as they danced across the keys. Wow! That got a huge cheer and round of applause at the end!
We enjoyed Will’s performance very much indeed and looked forward to hearing more from him later on in the cruise. So far, all of the entertainment we have seen has been excellent. 😊
Afterwards, we decided to go along to The Club, where they were holding a game show called “Guess It”. There were several categories, and you were given the initials of 15 things in that category, and you had three minutes to name them all! For example, in the category Celebrity Ships, you might see the initials “C”, “S” or “X”, and you would guess that they were Constellation, Silhouette (or Solstice) and Xpedition (or Xploration). Each contestant was allowed to have help from ‘their’ side of the room (either port or starboard) so there was much shouting out of answers and cheering.
While we were there, we enjoyed a cocktail or two. The included classic drinks package allows you to have any drink up to $10.00; if your drink costs more than that, you only pay the difference. So it only cost me a dollar for my Aperol Spritz. 😊
We then stayed for the Pub Quiz, but many of the questions were movie-based once again, and that is definitely Trevor’s and my weakness. Many of the movies or actors we hadn’t even heard of; I mean, who on earth is Margot Robbie ?!
We finished a lively evening off by going to Eden, that gorgeous green frondy-plant room at the stern, where we enjoyed a low-key singer and acoustic guitar in the dimly-lit room while we had a night cap.
We’d had a lovely day, and a great introduction to New Zealand, and we couldn’t wait to explore our next port of call tomorrow.
For once, I slept extremely well, the best night’s sleep since we arrived Down Under. 😊
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