Picton, NZ – February 11

Picton, NZ – February 11

Picton is a cute little resort town surrounded by mountains and water at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound. The town itself is much like resort towns anywhere it's the surrounding area that makes it special. It is served by several very large ferries that were filled with people, motorhomes and regular cars and trucks. The waterway in and out is as beautiful as any of the fjords we've ever seen – 20 miles of mountains coming down to the sea, islands and hundreds of little fingers leading off in all directions. It's easy to understand why it's so popular. I'd love to come visit and explore it by boat for a couple weeks.

We were visited by a bunch of dolphins both on our way in and again on the way out. There were at least a hundred of them and the water was so clear you could see them swimming along the side of the ship.  In the last shot here I happened to capture three mothers with their babies all jumping at the same time.

We start the trip across the Tasman Sea tonight as we head up to Sydney. Our last trip through here in 2009 was some of the worst seas we've ever had – nearly as bad as crossing the Drake. This time it is predicted to be much better.