Marlborough Sounds and Ferries

After we left Smith’s Farm Holiday Park, we were soon enjoying the beautiful views of the Marlborough Sounds from the Queen Charlotte Drive.

Just before we reached Picton, we stopped for a little while to watch logs being moved around in a giant logyard for shipment overseas. This machine could lift all the logs off a truck at once! The boys were excited to finally find out how the second trailer of a log truck is loaded on top of the first. We have seen these for years; when the trucks are empty they stack the trailers to go back to the logging site, presumably to save wear and tear on the second trailer. They have a framework that they drive under, which lifts up the second trailer, and then they back the first trailer underneath and drop the second one down onto it!

After watching the log trucks for awhile, we went around the corner to an overlook above the ferry docks. The Bluebridge was in, and soon the Interislander showed up. It was very cold and windy, so I mostly sat in the van with Little Miss. She enjoyed being outside for a little while, though.

Picton, from the overlook above the ferries.

Gayle badly wanted to see the train cars being loaded and unloaded, but the noon Interislander didn’t have any train cars. We learned that the 6:00 boat had them, so after we checked into our motel room that evening he took most of the family back to the overlook to watch that process. Esther and I stayed to cook a meal and get ready for the night, but someone got this picture of the ferry docks at night.