Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, kia tere te karohirohi i mua i tou huarahi. ~ Maori Proverb
– May the calm be widespread, may the sea glisten like the greenstone, and may the shimmer of light dance across your pathway. –
A beautiful sentiment. That is our wish for all of our readers, as well. And so we spent our last day in the country of the indigenous Maori, in the gorgeous, utterly charming vacation port of Picton. It is 40 miles across the Cook Strait from Wellington, with a population of about 4,500. Today, though, there were two cruise ships in port, roughly doubling the town’s population. Every store, restaurant, and cafe was in a you-could-barely-squeeze-by state.
The first two photos were taken from the stern of the ship, and show Cook Strait and beyond. Then, the picture-perfect town, including the front and back of the welcome arch that is also a World War I Memorial. The Interislander ferry is huge, as you can see, and takes both foot passengers and vehicles back and forth between the North and South Islands. And do you know what a “trundler” is? We didn’t know, either, but when you see the photo, all is instantly revealed. Our word for the same item is half as long….a four-letter word! And the last photo?…..well, one of the signs that we love. Some women might ask, ONLY 10 am until 1 am???
