EXCURSION TO PICTON

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 83, 2 January 1930, Page 9

EXCURSION TO PICTON

ENJOYABLE DAY ON WAHINE SUNSHINE AND REGATTAS _ Shortly after eight yesterday morning the s.s. Wahine slipped from her wharf bound for Picton on a special holiday excursion. In spite of the ominous weather forecasts and the thick blanket of northerly clouds that gave the day a decidedly drab appearance, nearly 1400 holiday-makers took advantage of this extraordinarily cheap trip across Cook Strait. Early arrivals anxious to annex the best sites had started to appear only a short time after the Wahine had wharfed from Lyttelton. When she left on the excursion she was crammed with humanity ; lifeboats whose covers had been removed were packed with men, women and children; whilst the lower deck and the lounges had scarcely an inch of availably space for standing purposes alone. The sea was calm all the way across despite the strength of of the northerly which surged down the Strait at considerable velocity. As soon as the mysteries of entering Queen Charlotte Sound had been accomplished the clouds cleared away as if by magic. By the time Picton was reached at about eleven in the morning, it was so warm most of the holiday-makers had discarded all the clothing that they could. The quay was alive with summer frocks which shimmered light and filmy in the gentle breeze that blew the harbour into little wavelets.

The train for Blenheim was waiting at the wharf, and quite a number of visitors took this opportunity to pay a quick onehour vist to that town. The remainder of the passengers scattered over the town of Pieton until two o'clock, when the Wahine was due to leave for Wellington. Shortly after half-past one the army of sightseers began the process of reembarkation. A long snake of varigated colour crawled along the jetty to the ship. After a short delay of about half an hour the return journey was made in a cold southerly. Many of those on board were interested to observe the unusual numbers of bird life encountered across Cook Strait as well as in the Sounds themselves. Mutton birds rise in clusters from the bows and scattered away to safety with short, swift movements of their small wings. A giant petrel and an immature wandering albatross came in for critical attention half-way back; while the numbers of whale birds in the middle of the Strait was most noticeable. At half-past five the Wahine silently backed into her usual resting place at the wharf after a brief day in fairyland enjoyed by everyone on board.