Last night, Aaron went to grab a snack at the local cafe.  When we asked what was in a certain pastry, the first girl said “I don’t know, maybe dates.”  She then asked the next girl who said, “It’s a magic bar.”  When Aaron asked the next girl what was in the magic bar, she responded “I don’t know, maybe dates.”  Obviously we are sure of one ingredient…magic!

We woke up early this morning and got on a water taxi headed for Ships Cove to hike some of the Queen Charlotte Track.  Ships Cove is where James Cook, the first European to visit NZ, landed his vessel in 1769 and also the start of the track.  The boat ride through Queen Charlotte sound was beautiful and was a great preview for the hike ahead.  When we were dropped off though the weather was a little cold and windy, although that soon changed as we hiked up through jungle forest filled with ferns, birds, and haunting insect sounds.  The track followed the edge of the sound passing through beautiful cove after beautiful cove.  Around ever corner was another magical vista of the crystal clear waters of the bay and mountains in the distance.

We reached a lookout point early on where the Weka birds,  without shyness, were scrambling among the hikers eating lunch picking up their crumbs.

As we continued, the beauty continued and we almost became desensitized…another magical view, more gorgeous ferns, etc.

We arrived 15km (9mi) later at the Ferneaux Lodge, a isolated resort lodge in the middle of the Endeavour Inlet.  We had a great lunch and beer on the deck of the restaurant before heading back via water taxi to Picton.  On the boat ride back, we passed through a pod of Orca whales swimming with their cubs in the middle of the day; a rare site…some would say “magical.”  Aaron of course screamed like a girl and almost pushed a few children overboard in his way to catch a glimpse of passing mammals.  He thought that his commands of “Jump, Jump!” would inspire some kind of free willy moment from the whales, but I think the reality of his skills in whale whispering are less than he imagines.