Picton, Marlborough Sounds

So my walk along the Queen Charlotte Track was great, I just had to hurry at the end because the boat came to pick me up... I don't really look at the clock when I'm walking, it annoyed me in Germany when I had to sprint through the woods every time... So here, I take my time, enjoy the scenery, take pictures... sit down and have something to eat... and before you know it, time flies... not even enough time to pee because you can't just pee in the woods here... there are toilets along the hiking trails... and I have to say, they're really clean...👍

Anyway, I managed to make it in the end... and when they say the trail is easy here, well that's probably true for the New Zealanders, they hike pretty quickly... not all of them, but most of them... uphill, downhill, stairs up, stairs down and they're not even all the same height... my glute muscles are thanking me, finally they have something to do 👍😜 not just hanging around all the time 😂

Anyways, what happened next... hmm... Ah yes... food 🥘, as always, the happiness bringers... pasta 🍝 with vegetables 🥒 and tomato sauce... and of course a glass of this delicious 🍷...

The next day, I wanted to do a shorter hike, so it was time for another boat ride... the Marlborough Sounds... I love boating, and since I thought that wouldn't be enough for the day, I decided to do the track that starts here in Picton... and is supposed to be easy too...🤔Well, I did get lost, so I couldn't walk the entire track anyways 🚶 ended up walking 12 kilometers in the end, but I made it back to Picton...👍👏but it was nice...

And then in the evening, it was New Year's Eve, the nice thing here is that there's not a big fuss and commotion, there was a stage set up at the harbor, some bands were playing, lots of people... good music, I even took some photos 👏👍 and the atmosphere was great, at 12 o'clock there was a fireworks display 💥 for everyone... not everyone is setting off fireworks here...👍👏it was all over by 12:20 and everything quickly dispersed... except for the tourists, for them it really starts at 12 o'clock...

Of course, I stayed a bit longer 😜👏 and today is a rainy and stormy day, so I decided to eat up my supplies 🍝🥘 so I don't have to carry them tomorrow and have a cozy day in my squeaky metal bed 😘😁👍👏and tomorrow I'll continue on to Nelson and Motueka...