Thursday night the church hosted a dinner to thank the volunteers, and they made it a Thanksgiving dinner in honor of the Americans. They had turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and a pumpkin pie made from real pumpkin (not the canned stuff, they don't have that here!). Leigh even made us a large brownie with the American flag on it! Everyone is so thoughtful, and we're grateful for their efforts to make us feel at home.
Since Kris' birthday was the 27th, we decided to take a trip to Nelson, the sunniest place in New Zealand, on the South island. We took the train to the ferry, and rode the ferry 3 hours from Wellington to Picton. It was neat seeing the Harbor and the coastline, and you see how close the 2 islands are. It was a gorgeous day! As we entered the Sound, we were in awe of the landscape--green hills rising steeply from the turquoise waters, dolphins swimming along side the boat. We docked in Picton, a cute tourist town, and we rented a car that had a sticker on the dash reminding drivers to "Keep Left"! We drove through the Marlborough region, which is a valley of vineyard after vineyard, then through some windy mountain passes. We arrived in Nelson, a neat hilly town on the Tasman Bay. It has a great downtown, and a really neat Anglican cathedral up on the hill that we walked through. Our accomodation, the Golden Lodge, was a neat old Victorian home made into guest rooms, on a hill overlooking the city and bay. It had great character and was a neat place to stay a night; we enjoyed sitting on the balcony looking over the city, talking for a long time as the sun set.
The next morning we had crepes for breakfast at the famous Farmer's Market. Then we hiked up a hill to the geographical Centre of New Zealand, with amazing 360 degree views of Nelson, the Tasman Bay, and the valley. Again we spent a long time just talking as we enjoyed the sunshine and the views. From there we drove to Cable Bay, a small sheltered area where we would love to come back to someday with sea kayaks! On the way back to Picton we stopped for lunch in Havelock, the mussell capital of NZ. We ate mussell chowder at the Mussell Pot cafe, and it was sooooo good (my first mussell experience). We took the scenic route back to Picton, winding along the "fingers" of the Queen Charlotte Sound. We got to Picton early and just enjoyed watching the people and sailboats on the waterfront.
Our ride back to Welly was on a much smaller ferry, and though we had blue skies, this time we could really feel the waves rocking the boat! Our stomachs were ready to be out of the Cook Strait and back into the protected harbor again! It was neat coming back as the sun set, and seeing the cities on the harbor with the lights at night. Overall, it was a lovely trip and we would love to go back and take Kris' parents and my Mom, and also go to Abel Tasman National Park.
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