After another big breakfast at The Cornerstone, we walked to the Blenheim train station to catch the TranzCoastal once again but this time only for a short trip to Picton. At the station we learnt of the earthquake in Chile; the subsequent tsunami warning had meant the coast-hugging train was delayed by two hours leaving Christchurch. We couldn’t wait as we had a boat to catch so luckily there was also buses going to Picton and we jumped on.
After a quick look around Picton we boarded the Mail Run boat to take us to our accommodation in Bay of Many Coves. Being a Sunday there was no mail to deliver to the local residents so the boat trip turned into a bit of a scenic tour of Queen Charlotte Sound. First stop was Motuara Island, a bird sanctuary, where we were able to walk around and without much trouble at all see and hear lots and lots of birds.
Next stop was the pristine Ship Cove where Captain Cook landed a few times.
The boat is also used by walkers to get between various sections of the Queen Charlotte Track. We made about three stops in Endeavour Inlet, dropping off and picking people up before making our way into Bay of Many Coves and our accommodation for three nights at Craglee. We were greeted by Rosie, a cold drink and some delicious home-smoked salmon.
