It All Went So Fast

A view from Mt Cawte.

And now we're home.  The last few days went so fast that I scarcely had time to take it all in in let alone blog about it.  After our hike in Abel Tasman National Park, we did some exploring closer to our cottage.  We drove further up into the sounds one day.  We were debating whether we would go kayaking or go for a drive and we stopped to talk to Vik on our way up to the car.  He checked the weather and said that even though some weather was headed in, we wouldn't get any of it.  We chose the drive and it was a very good choice.  After running to Linkwater to grab some beer we hit a hail storm that was so heavy that we were whited out!  Very crazy!  Kayaking in the hail would have been very horrible.  As the storm backed down to a drizzle we headed out into the sounds.  There was much to see and we stopped at a beach after about 30 minutes or so of driving.  The rain had stopped and we explored the beach, finding quartz, shells, weird birds and a little cave.  After a good walk we got back in the car and decided to head back to the cottage for some rainy weather snuggling.

Mike carefully inspecting dirt.

Saying goodbye atop Mt Cawte.

We finished out our week, with an attempted kayaking trip, a hiking jaunt and our last trip to Blenheim.  We attempted to kayak, but there was too much boat traffic and therefore too many waves.  Also, Mike was just too big for the one person kayak we hauled down for him!  It was definitely one of the most hilarious situations we were in the entire trip.  If someone had only video taped us, it would have been a youtube comedy hit!  Then after cleaning up we headed to Blenheim via Havelock Waterfall hike.  We grabbed groceries and a bit of internet in Blenheim.  Friday, our last full day on the south island was our clean up/pack up day.  We cleaned the cottage, packed up our stuff, did one last hike up Mt Cawte and made dinner for our hosts, Yvonne & Vik.  Being the fantastic people that they are, they brought down some drinks and fruit for dessert.  I made chili, rice (Moore style) and beer bread for dinner and Mike made yummy chocolate chip cookies (called biscuits in NZ).  We had a lovely dinner together and they invited us up the next morning for one last hurrah, breakfast.  Mike and I did dishes and relaxed that night wishing we didn't have to leave.  We gazed out the bedroom window at the sea of stars for an hour at least chatting about nothing before we drifted off to sleep.

Flowers at the cottage.

Mike's baking.

The next morning was one last breakfast with the Kollers.  Vik made eggs, bacon & tomatoes on the barbie.  We look forward to the day that we get to cross paths with them again for they were truly wonderful people.  Off then for the curvy drive to Picton and the ferry ride over to Wellington for the last time.  

France vs Tonga

Arrival in Wellington was good and we found a way to avoid the game traffic to get to our hotel.  The game that day was France vs Tonga.  France should have steamrolled them, but Tonga played excellent and France's response was lackluster.  Surprising performance, since they are now in the Semi Final game vs Wales.  I will root for Wales, so sorry to any Frenchies reading.  Tonga celebrated in grand fashion, as well a tiny island nation of 100,000 people should when they beat a nation of 62 million!  It was a fun game to be at.  Later that night we walked down to a pub that we had found after another game, but it was already packed to the gills, so we had a quick pint and wandered back towards where we were staying, window shopping the entire way.  We happened upon a pub nearby and grabbed a pint and a shared table to watch England vs Wales.  We began to chat with our table mates and they actually became our mates by the time the night was over.  A father and son that had a great lot to say about many things.  They were immensely fun and they generously bought us some pints!  It was a very good night all in all.  The next day was our much anticipated last game... New Zealand All Blacks vs Canada!

Waterfall hike in Havelock.