Thanksgiving in Picton

Robin and I "celebrated" Thanksgiving with a day off in Picton. Picton is on the South island. It's considered the portal to the South Island, because of the ferry between Picton and Wellington (on the North island). I met Robin here to go WWOOFing, but our hosts delayed by a day so we got to chill in town. This was not a problem. The hostel we stayed at is laid-back, with lots of couches and sunny nooks. The weather is beautiful. And hey, it really was a holiday.. kinda. Since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, and we're one day ahead, it was hard to decide which day was "thanksgiving." Started our day with a free breakfast at the hostel, which we were very thankful for.



Then we wandered into town, checked out the post office (where I picked up a postcard sent to me from friends!) and wandered into the shops. At the secondhand store, I bought myself a tea spoon and Robin got a shell. Having not "shopped" for a loooong time, it definitely felt like Christmas! X-mas music played in the shops. As the decorations go up, the sun shines warmly, and next to the Santas, the shops display their summer wares: jandals (flip flops) and togs (swimsuits)..'



We had a picnic on the marina and laid out in the sun. Hummus, crackers, and yummy treats from the bakery including a ginger crunch slice, my new favorite Kiwi treat!




Later we went on a long hike to get a view of the harbor and the islands. Today, we are heading off to somewhere out there (in the Marlborough sounds). We're getting picked up by boat, and have no idea where in the sounds we'll be. So it was fun to gaze out into our unknown future home away from home. The water is aqua blue and the islands are green. For variety (so as not to over-do the landscape photos), here's a drawing that Robin did.




One of the shops in town had a little gallery. I love the traditional Maori portraits. Old men and women with tattooed faces and pipes in their mouths.



After our hike, we had a backpackers "thanksgiving" dinner. It wasn't really Thanksgivingy. We're saving ourselves for Christmas. It was backpackers budget and energy. It's hard to cook anything too elaborate in a hostel kitchen with ten other people around and never enough counter or stove space, so we had a nice bean and rice salad.



This was followed by the hostel's special, Hot Chocolate Pudding and ice cream, which they serve every night (for free!) at 8pm. We followed our pudding with a soak in the hostel's spa. Did I mention that it's a really nice hostel? (Sequoia Lodge, if anyone's interested)

i