We had a huge curry, played the 'who am i' game, and watched the live music and firework display for New Years last night.
It was difficult to make the most of it since I was still feeling woozy from the boat and we had to be up early the morning after, so come 12.15am we were in bed!
I was glad to see the new year in anyway - I text home which was nice but it was too warm to feel like a proper New Year!
We caught the ferry from Picton to Ship Cove at 9am. All was going well until the rain came in and the waves quadrupled in size - I had to hold on to the seats and keep my eyes shut so I couldn't see the sky appearing and disappearing out of the window.
We pulled in beside the jetty and I jumped out as quickly as I could - for once I was thankful for the cooler weather.
Luke followed me into the shelter where we had to make an emergency repair to his pack cover which had somehow lost its elastic and would no longer stay on his pack. We managed to just about fix it before braving the wind and rain - Marlborough is known for being the 'sunniest region in New Zealand and yet we arrive to start its famous Queen Charlotte Track in the pouring rain!!
The track is one of the Great Walks so the path was easy to follow and the short climbs that were at the very start were easy considering we had a fairly light pack. BUT when we reached Furnaux Lodge just 13km in, we still felt as though we deserved a nice hot coffee to take shelter from the rain for a while.
We took off our waterproofs and hung them up to dry (inside out since they were more wet from sweat than from rain!) and then headed inside for a drink... the fire was roaring, the lounge was heaving with people like they do at home in the pub on a snow day, and the hot chocolate was just perfect.
We couldn't help it. We were going to stick to our guns and enjoy the South Island as best we could... we booked a room! The dorm beds were quite expensive but since we had some money left over from Bumps' New Year curry, we thought it ok to indulge.
However, our luck was in. When we went to find our beds, they had already been slept in so we headed back to reception. The receptionist apologised and moved us to a cabin instead with a private bathroom, lounge and kitchen area for no extra cost - thank you, Bumps!!
We spent the evening with views over the water and card games in the bar with a baileys! I love how we've started the South - it feels like a holiday!
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