We docked at Picton, New Zealand this morning. Picton is a small town (population of 4,000) in the Marlborough Region of the South Island. The town is located at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound.

We took an excursion of the region to see some of the beautiful scenery in this area. Our first stop was at a sheep farm where we watched the farmers show how their dogs are trained to take out the sheep to designated areas, and then bring them back. The dogs are all guided by whistles with individual sounds for each direction that the farmer wants the sheep to go. Then we witnessed the sheep being sheered. A task that is completely manual and requires skill and strength.

We left the sheep farm and proceeded to the Marlborough wine country. Marlborough is home to New Zealand’s largest wine region, producing 77% of New Zealand’s wine and 90% of New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc. The winery we stopped at for viewing and tasting was Spy Valley Wines.