you mean we don't have to carry our own packs...WHAT?!?!

Before I talk about our next hike, I must reinterate what great friends we met on our wine tour. We stayed with Allister and Heather for 2nights! We got a nice bed and wonderful hospitality. After we left them, we headed for Picton to catch a ferry to hike the Queen Charlotte Track. The track is 71km, 4days, and you need a boat to get to the start. We found out that the boat company will transport your luggage for you from place to place. We couldn't believe this! We could do a hike and not even carry our packs. This is such a foreign concept for me but of course we took them up on the offer. On the way there, we were followed by a pod of bottle nose dolphin. We started our trek. On this hike we overlooked the Marlborough Sounds as we hiked. There are great views all around. I need to take a moment here to talk a little about the lighting in New Zealand. There's something special about watching the light rays dancing on the water below us. Here and all over New Zealand, the light plays perfectly with the landscape. You can see every shade of green at one time...magnificent! The first night we stayed at a luxury resort but believe me, we weren't staying in luxury accommodation. We stayed in the backpackers accommodation called the Croft. The luxury part would be a great place to come on a honeymoon. In describing the place Sara said, "People like me don't stay in places as nice as this." I agreed. That night we met a group of ladies. One of them will turn 75 next week and is walking the entire thing. When I'm that age, I hope I'm in that good of shape. I'll start working on it now. The second night we stayed at Noeline's house in Punga Cove. We were greeted by a cute puppy named Tuppence. Noeline's an older lady that had scones and tea waiting for us as we arrived. It was a short hiking day s owe had plenty of time for a swim and rest. It was also St. Patrick's day so we headed to a pub that was literally on the water for a drink. The third day was the longest hiking day of 24km. We stayed at a family's home in Portage Cove. The bottom part of their home was converted into an apartment. There were also 5 other ladies staying there. They were all impressed with the food that Sara and I cooked. We had fresh vegetables and couscous. The last day we had a 21 km walk. For lunch that day, we sat at a place that overlooked the sounds. You could see lots of coves and boats racing around the water. I sat soaking in the grand views of the region. By the end of the hike, Sara and I were ready to be done. We both had sore feet after 4day wonderful days of hiking!