We boarded the ferry that would take us to the start of the hike. There were about twenty people on the boat, but we were the 'crazy' Americans that stood outside while everyone else huddled inside in the warmth. While the wind was cold, the views were too good to pass up. Mountains surrounded us in every direction and the sun reflected off the water. Along the way we saw seals, two different types of Dolphins, and Blue Penguins. It was incredible! Anthony took close to 200 photos on the ferry alone.
As we got closer to the hike we dropped off a number of passengers at a different island so they could visit a bird sanctuary. Due to Brit's deep fear of birds (see earlier post for an example… But it is lifelong) we were bypassing this part of the trip. Only four of us got off at the start of the hike at Shipcove Inlet and it really was in the middle of nowhere. There was a forest ahead of us, but no sign of people. We started the hike at 10am, after exploring the cove for a bit. The first three kilometers of the hike were basically straight uphill, which was taxing on our already sore calves. We still had not fully recovered from our hike two days ago.
Although buried in the forest, when we reached the top of the hill we were greeted by a beautiful outlook on both sides of the trail. The greenish/blue water was amazing to see at the foot of the rolling hills of the land surrounding the Marlborough Sound. Our hike ended up being four hours over gently rolling hills with a number of stops for pictures along the way. The weather, that was originally forecasted to be cloudy and rain in the afternoon, ended up being perfect. It was warm and beautiful out!
At 12:30pm, with just about an hour and a half left we came across a picnic table and bench with stunning views. We sat down to enjoy our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and were soon joined by two Kiwi birds. Birds make Brit nervous, and she wanted to avoid a second attack of the trip so we finished our lunch and quickly started up again.
We continued down a gentle descent until we got back down to the waters edge. After a short walk through the backyards of some beautiful vacation properties where we fantasized about owning one, we came to the Lodge. With two hours to kill, we ordered some delicious cold beverages and walked down to the beach. Anthony took a dip and we sat relaxing. The Mosquitos were bad and we ended up walking back up to sit on the deck of the lodge. We enjoyed some delicious fries and our beers and sat soaking in the vitamin D. At 4pm we headed down to the dock to wait for our ride home - it didn't end up coming until 5pm so we all ended up getting pretty relaxed. As you all know Andy falls asleep really easily and it wasn't long before he woke himself up snoring. After being picked on by Brit, Anthony, and a few strangers ("sounded like a sea lion jumped on the dock"), he went back to sleep without an issue until our ride showed up. The ride back was relaxing and we once again enjoyed beautiful views on our ride back to Picton.
As we arrived in Picton Harbor, Kendra, who not only had done everything on the list, she had also gotten a massage and a solo six-hour pub crawl, was waiting for us. After quick showers we headed out to Mikey's Bar for some burgers and beers. After a delicious meal we returned to the hostel to book a few reservations for the days ahead. Finishing off a final load of laundry, we turned in early after a long day.
Tomorrow we are planning to make our longest single day drive of the trip, we are making our way to the West Coast.
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