WE ARRIVED AT THE SOUTH ISLAND!!!

Queen Charlotte Runway

Day 59: January 8

We took the 7:30am ferry after deliberating the night before whether we should stay in Wellington one more day (having already rolled two zeros). It turns out that objects in motion stay in motion…

We walked to the Wellington train station where we boarded a bus that took us to the Islander ferry terminal. I didn’t really think about the fact that we wouldn’t be able to keep our bags and would have to check everything. I handed the agent my hiking poles and told her to protect them with her life while I wrapped them in the fragile marking tape.

The ferry sailed smoothly, pun intended. It was fantastic to arrive in the Marlborough Sounds with a clear blue sky and the most beautiful view of the start of the South Island. A bit of foreshadowing?

They dropped us off, we swam and then started walking the grueling FIVE KILOMETER day of hiking.

I set up camp by the water and had dinner at a picnic table right next to our site. Dinner was great as we met new people and we were all excited about what the South Island had to offer as one of the guys had walked with NOBO and was joining us on the last night of his walk before heading back to the UK.

Snoring tends to be a hot topic of conversation at the TA because of the cabin system. People don’t want their precious rest to be ruined, which is fair? I didn’t think there was anyone in the world who didn’t care if other people snored…

Now I have learned to think of snoring as waves crashing on the shore. Thank you Grace.

Day 60: January 9

I went up Mount Stokes with a guy who was going to a pub for a drink and he offered us a lift up the gravel road (thank GOD for that). It turns out this man is receiving guidance from someone online, a membership trial that gives hundreds of people access to Zoom every day. During the walk he shared that “the future and the past are not real.” They are just stories because they are retold and each person experiences them differently.

I find it very interesting and almost addictive to learn how different people live and what passions drive them. It’s great to be able to meet people you wouldn’t necessarily come into contact with in your daily life and I think that also broadens your own interests and ways of thinking.

Day 61: January 10

Very calm day of walking. Ended up in Cowshed Bay. Good night at the table discussing/destroying dating profiles. What is the correlation between hiking and being single?

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