CHAPTER 16Even in the off-season, the Marlborough Sounds on the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island was a delightful place to visit. The inter-island ferries travelled the three-hour journey across Cook Strait from Wellington every few hours and the terminus at Picton catered for the passengers and freight including railway wagons that moved between the islands. At this time of the year, most travellers just drove through town to head three hundred and forty kilometres south to Christchurch or close to seven hundred kilometres to Dunedin in Otago.
For local farmers, fishermen and batch owners, local boats including water taxies were used to access the homes in the sounds. For many even on the mainland, there was no road access and the small boats provided access to town. One such c
