Our first stop, which we reached after two days on sea is Picton.
The very first landscapes we sailed through this morning we music to the eyes:
But the final view from our balcony was this:
New Zealand produces a lot of timber, the main consumer of which is China. Heaps of logs ready for shipment are waiting at NZ ports.
For a sightseeing activity we chose a visit to a winery and a chocolate factory.
The winery our bus brought us to, surprised us with its name:
The wine selection for tasting included 4 sorts of wine, from white through rosé and red to dessert wine.
Though the wines were not bad, Alan was not convinced 😁
A special non-alcoholic version was also there for babies (it’s called “water” 😉)
Outside it was pretty hot, so we didn’t stay there for long
We were also invited to have a look at the “backstage” of the winery.
This rather small production line covers up to 12 million bottles a year. The regular team of 20 people (+ a few administrators) gets empowered with 200-300 seasonal workers (harvesting grapes etc.). They ship their wine almost anywhere in the world. Amazing, isn’t it?
Next stop was a small chocolate factory (specially for Evelyn who featured a photo shoot while shopping 😁)
Then we had a short stop in a small town for an ice cream 🍦
It seems that riding an old-fashioned train to enjoy the landscapes is quite popular in New Zealand. We had a booking for such an adventure one of later days.
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