Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Getting Into Picton
Hi there!
It’s been a while, but really… that’s a good thing! We have plenty of stories to tell. The last few days we spent in Picton, the first town we hit on the South Island. That’s right; Francesca and I have left the North Island. The first ‘big migration’ on our trip. Let me take you back to a Sunday morning in Wellington.
We had set our alarm for 6:30AM to make sure we had plenty of time to grab a bite and the bags, grab a cab and jump on the 8:00AM ferry. We even booked our taxi in advance to make sure we’d leave no loose ends. We fell asleep pretty early to get some rest for the long day ahead. Around 7:20AM I woke up, thinking it was strangely light outside. I checked the time and found out the alarm hadn’t gone off. Francesca ran downstairs to get us a cab whilst I got the bags ready. In record time we made it downstairs with all our stuff, and as I brought the last bag outside the taxi showed up. Perfect timing! The driver got us down to the terminal as fast as he could, but we were not wholly sure where to go… I ran into the first building, and sure enough, the lady even knew my name from the one booking that hadn’t made it yet. Francesca and I literally got on board as the ferry was leaving. At least we got to sleep in!
On the ferry we had some breakfast (finally!) and made ourselves comfortable. After a few sandwiches we went to the deck to check out the stunning view of Wellington behind us and the inlets beside us. It got a little too windy after a while, so Francesca and I headed back to our seats. Francesca heard a movie in the background, which she wanted to watch, so we changed seats to enjoy it. The whole crossing took little over 3 hours, so we saw most of that movie (something about evil inventors and Igors) before we got to Picton.
Picton is a pretty small town with a fairly limited population and thus pretty much no activities. However, since we were one day ahead of the next Stray bus, we had to stay anyway. Francesca had looked up a nice hostel for us in the Lonely Planet, which I booked for us that morning. The owner even came to pick us up! When we looked around us, after picking up our bags, Francesca pointed out the rooftops of the hostel right in front of us. It proved that our hostel was literally right across the street from the ferry terminal! Still, very nice of Lynne to come grab our bags.
Our hostel for the day was called Tombstone Backpackers. The owners took the theme from the street it can be found on: Gravesend Place. Also, right next to the hostel we saw Picton’s cemetery. The hostel itself has a coffin-shaped door, skull-key chains and a cool black and white theme going on. The room we got was absolutely lovely, with the most comfortable beds we have seen so far. Everything was spic and span, even the kitchen shone. To top that off, we heard we’d get free breakfast, free spa and free pool. Heaven!
We didn’t feel much like sitting in today, so I unpacked quickly and grabbed our camera. Francesca wanted to check out the cemetery, and thus we spent an hour checking out the gravestones. We found old graves from the people that died in the 1880s, WWII victims and the newly deceased. A quite eerie and spooky, but also quite wonderful cemetery, due to a beautiful location.
Following our walk with the dead Francesca wanted to check out town, so we made our way down to the main street of Picton. We found a bakery called “Picton Village Bakkerij,” which was supposed to sell Dutch delicacies, but it was unfortunately closed for renovation. Missed chance for me! The place was decorated nicely though. Making our way down the street, Francesca and I checked out some stores and eventually found ourselves near the seaside. An archway commemorating the local victims of several wars led us onto the beach. I skipped some stones, and taught Francesca how to do it too. She was elated when she found out she could make them skip a few times as well!
After an hour in the harbor I spotted a mini golf course and asked Francesca if she wanted to play. We grabbed some clubs and started our 18-hole-duel. We had a lot of fun going around the course, looking at each other whilst we were sometimes getting off amazing shots, other times amazing flukes and of course also some amazing misses. Francesca claimed victory due to a disability bonus for being verticaly challenged. Francesca celebrated by having an ice cream.
On our way back to the hostel we picked up food at the supermarket. I made Francesca pasta, which she described as extremely tasty. Francesca and I watched a movie and fell asleep in our fantastic bed. The alarm went off pretty early the next morning because we didn’t want to miss free breakfast. Whilst contemplating what to do next Lynne came by and told us about the Queen Charlotte Track. I had heard of this great hike before, and as she talked to us I got quite excited about going. I convinced Francesca and together we did some research without making up our minds. I cooked again and once more Francesca loved it.
The next day brought us more great weather and this pushed us to go out into nature. We made the decision to get started on the Queen Charlotte Track the next day. Preparations were made as Lynne made some calls to check for places to stay. We decided to take 3 days (out of 3-5 possible days) for the hike with 26.7 kilometers (17 miles) on the first day and following days of 23 and 21 kilometers (15 and 14 miles). Not sure what to expect we packed our daypack with food and plenty of warm extras. We spent the rest of the day loafing around the hostel and in town. Francesca got her nails done, which was a warm welcome for her, since her nails had suffered from all the outdoor activities.
We got up the next morning and put our hiking clothes on. Lynne’s husband, Gordon, was in the kitchen and told us the weather was going to be really bad that day. It pretty much ruined our plans, so we decided to move our plans one day forward. In the meantime Picton was getting pretty boring. We realized that Stray didn’t stop here for a reason, and, if not for Tombstone Backpackers, Francesca and I would’ve left pretty quickly as well. Instead, we had a quiet day, playing Monopoly again and watching more movies. Francesca and I fell asleep knowing we’d go hardcore the next day…
It’s been a while, but really… that’s a good thing! We have plenty of stories to tell. The last few days we spent in Picton, the first town we hit on the South Island. That’s right; Francesca and I have left the North Island. The first ‘big migration’ on our trip. Let me take you back to a Sunday morning in Wellington.
We had set our alarm for 6:30AM to make sure we had plenty of time to grab a bite and the bags, grab a cab and jump on the 8:00AM ferry. We even booked our taxi in advance to make sure we’d leave no loose ends. We fell asleep pretty early to get some rest for the long day ahead. Around 7:20AM I woke up, thinking it was strangely light outside. I checked the time and found out the alarm hadn’t gone off. Francesca ran downstairs to get us a cab whilst I got the bags ready. In record time we made it downstairs with all our stuff, and as I brought the last bag outside the taxi showed up. Perfect timing! The driver got us down to the terminal as fast as he could, but we were not wholly sure where to go… I ran into the first building, and sure enough, the lady even knew my name from the one booking that hadn’t made it yet. Francesca and I literally got on board as the ferry was leaving. At least we got to sleep in!
On the ferry we had some breakfast (finally!) and made ourselves comfortable. After a few sandwiches we went to the deck to check out the stunning view of Wellington behind us and the inlets beside us. It got a little too windy after a while, so Francesca and I headed back to our seats. Francesca heard a movie in the background, which she wanted to watch, so we changed seats to enjoy it. The whole crossing took little over 3 hours, so we saw most of that movie (something about evil inventors and Igors) before we got to Picton.
Picton is a pretty small town with a fairly limited population and thus pretty much no activities. However, since we were one day ahead of the next Stray bus, we had to stay anyway. Francesca had looked up a nice hostel for us in the Lonely Planet, which I booked for us that morning. The owner even came to pick us up! When we looked around us, after picking up our bags, Francesca pointed out the rooftops of the hostel right in front of us. It proved that our hostel was literally right across the street from the ferry terminal! Still, very nice of Lynne to come grab our bags.
Our hostel for the day was called Tombstone Backpackers. The owners took the theme from the street it can be found on: Gravesend Place. Also, right next to the hostel we saw Picton’s cemetery. The hostel itself has a coffin-shaped door, skull-key chains and a cool black and white theme going on. The room we got was absolutely lovely, with the most comfortable beds we have seen so far. Everything was spic and span, even the kitchen shone. To top that off, we heard we’d get free breakfast, free spa and free pool. Heaven!
We didn’t feel much like sitting in today, so I unpacked quickly and grabbed our camera. Francesca wanted to check out the cemetery, and thus we spent an hour checking out the gravestones. We found old graves from the people that died in the 1880s, WWII victims and the newly deceased. A quite eerie and spooky, but also quite wonderful cemetery, due to a beautiful location.
Following our walk with the dead Francesca wanted to check out town, so we made our way down to the main street of Picton. We found a bakery called “Picton Village Bakkerij,” which was supposed to sell Dutch delicacies, but it was unfortunately closed for renovation. Missed chance for me! The place was decorated nicely though. Making our way down the street, Francesca and I checked out some stores and eventually found ourselves near the seaside. An archway commemorating the local victims of several wars led us onto the beach. I skipped some stones, and taught Francesca how to do it too. She was elated when she found out she could make them skip a few times as well!
After an hour in the harbor I spotted a mini golf course and asked Francesca if she wanted to play. We grabbed some clubs and started our 18-hole-duel. We had a lot of fun going around the course, looking at each other whilst we were sometimes getting off amazing shots, other times amazing flukes and of course also some amazing misses. Francesca claimed victory due to a disability bonus for being verticaly challenged. Francesca celebrated by having an ice cream.
On our way back to the hostel we picked up food at the supermarket. I made Francesca pasta, which she described as extremely tasty. Francesca and I watched a movie and fell asleep in our fantastic bed. The alarm went off pretty early the next morning because we didn’t want to miss free breakfast. Whilst contemplating what to do next Lynne came by and told us about the Queen Charlotte Track. I had heard of this great hike before, and as she talked to us I got quite excited about going. I convinced Francesca and together we did some research without making up our minds. I cooked again and once more Francesca loved it.
The next day brought us more great weather and this pushed us to go out into nature. We made the decision to get started on the Queen Charlotte Track the next day. Preparations were made as Lynne made some calls to check for places to stay. We decided to take 3 days (out of 3-5 possible days) for the hike with 26.7 kilometers (17 miles) on the first day and following days of 23 and 21 kilometers (15 and 14 miles). Not sure what to expect we packed our daypack with food and plenty of warm extras. We spent the rest of the day loafing around the hostel and in town. Francesca got her nails done, which was a warm welcome for her, since her nails had suffered from all the outdoor activities.
We got up the next morning and put our hiking clothes on. Lynne’s husband, Gordon, was in the kitchen and told us the weather was going to be really bad that day. It pretty much ruined our plans, so we decided to move our plans one day forward. In the meantime Picton was getting pretty boring. We realized that Stray didn’t stop here for a reason, and, if not for Tombstone Backpackers, Francesca and I would’ve left pretty quickly as well. Instead, we had a quiet day, playing Monopoly again and watching more movies. Francesca and I fell asleep knowing we’d go hardcore the next day…
1 Comments:
Hey!! levensgenieters!!!
Wat hebben jullie het heerlijk, met een lach heb ik jullie verhalen gelezen..
Wat een wandeling weer.. de natuur is amazing.... en jullie kijken zo happy op de foto's!!!
Wat is die fran ook fotogeniek!!!;)
Love you both!!
Mams
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