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Today is our 36th anniversary.
We are on the South Island and the trip over by the ferry was so beautiful. We spent the whole time on the upper deck outside in the wind to see the views. Coming into the South Island you go through an hour of winding around the land to reach the terminal. The water is the beautiful green/blue as in the Floridia Keys. We did have a few dolphins for a brief time. Again I can not over state the beauty of this land.
The ferry we where on was the largest one between the two islands. There where 10 decks, two movie theaters, a recliner lounge, cafe, and private rooms. I think it could hold 1,600 people.
We left the rental car on the North Island because it is cheaper to pick up another one once on the South Island. It is different when turning it in. You just park it in a lot. No one comes to look at it for damage or gas. We just turned the keys over to the person selling the tickets for the ferry. I was very happy that they had a car ready for us unlike the three hour wait at the Auckland airport.
Our destination today is Motueka where we will spend two nights. The roads are just as winding here and narrow. The hills are rolling but more steep and higher. The bays and inlets along the way are beautiful and peaceful. In the small townsthe homes are wider and more spread out. We stopped in Nelson to eat but ran into the 3 PM closing again. Someone recommended one place that was open all the time, The Vic which is a Pub. We had a good lunch and then only about 45 minutes away to go hang gliding.
Allen wants to go up in a microlight and fly over Able Tasman and I want to hang glide. When we arrive we see them taking someone up to hang glide. They are towed up to about 3,500 feet by an ultralight and then released to soar down slowly like a bird. We are to go next but are told that the winds have increased and they asked if we could come back tomorrow. We ended up scheduling for Wed. morning. We sat around with the pilot and his wife and friends having a beer for about an hour.
We found our next stay, the Foley's Creek, a self contained place big enough to sleep 6-8 people. There is a tree growing up in the eating area, so unique.
In the morning, 8:30, we will be taking a cruise all the way up Able Tasman and then dropped off about half way back where we hike along the beach and forest area for 3.5 hours.
There is no internet service here so will send our next message from Hotika when we arrive there. I hope everyone is getting the blogs because we are not getting messages back from you.
Blessings to all.
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