And finally, a ferry crossing

In Reefton, we took refuge at the Dawson’s Hotel, which was friendly, clean, and comfortable. Just what we needed. Dinner at the pub/hotel was ok, too – pleasantly surprised to find so many veggie options on the menu. Breakfast was another round of our MRE, leftovers from the hikes that did not happen – and at least I now know what I’m never going to buy again. .-D

Thursday morning, we took it easy and enjoyed the first half of the drive to Picton through the very scenic Buller Gorge with a cafe stop in Murchison. The second half was a bit of a bummer, we’d driven from St Arnaud to Blenheim twice already the week before, and third time wasn’t a charm really. But fortunately also not too long. In Blenheim, another stop at the chocolate factory to stock up on Macadamia Chocolate Biscotti – our big addiction this year. 🙂 Then for the final leg to Picton, more real fruit ice-cream, and a looooong wait for the ferry – to top it off, it was also delayed by more than one hour. So we walked around the harbour and hung out in the car in the parking lot, altogether not the holiday experience I had envisioned, but we were lucky to get a slot at all, beggars can’t be choosers.

We’d booked an ensuite cabin, which was a good idea, since the aircon was set to „antarctica“. Unfortunately, the cabin was dirty, especially the bathroom, but still better than nothing. The only good thing about the late sailing was that we got to enjoy the sunset over the Sound and Cook Strait from the boat – not too shabby! 🙂 Because of the delay, we got to Wellington really late, but I managed to drive the five minutes to our hotel without crashing – all’s well that ends well.