Day 37 Picton, New Zealand

We left Wellington NZ at 11:00 PM.  The Amsterdam proceeded overnight to the Queen Charlotte Sound, the body of water between the north and south islands of New Zealand.  Jane and I were up and in the Crow's Nest (high deck at bow with all glass viewing) by 6:30 because of the spectacular viewing that would be ahead.  We saw a pod of about 30 dolphins playing alongside the ship. Later I went out onto the bow deck and took some pictures of the beautiful scenery.

   

By about 8:00 AM we came to the small port of Picton NZ where we docked and were ready to disembark.  Today would be special for Barry because Jonathan had arranged for a private tour for the two of us.  We would visit one of New Zealand's top wineries, Brancott Estate Winery.

Here is a picture of our hostess, with Jonathan sampling some of their best wines. (the whites were superb)

Then the main event would be a visit to an aviation museum near Blenheim, one of the best in the world, specializing in World War 1 aircraft with a few from World War 2.  What made these exhibits so spectacular was the diorama settings, which we were told, were prepared by the same people who filmed the Hobbit series.  Here are a few of these scenes:

  

The ones below are from the crash of the Red Baron's Fokker Triplane and his death, showing the Tommies taking souvenirs.

 

This diorama shows the first air to air combat using a rifle.

Curtis NC14 Flying Boat

Hawker Hurricane

German Stuka Dive Bomber