zero day

Yesterday, Alex and I took our first zero day (no walking) of our backpacking honeymoon. A 20-year old German girl gave us a ride to the town we are in now on her way to her new job at a dairy farm. We catch a bus in an hour to the trailhead to start our next hike. It's beginning to rain as I write with forecast calling for heavy rains tomorrow. (Maybe another zero day on the trail?)

Hey Everybody! This is Alex writing now-- I want to wish my mother a happy happy birthday (our today--her tomorrow)! The last week and a half has been so so fun! It's been so great not being a dish washer and not having to wake up at five am every day... Antarctica feels like a dream now...
Our last hike, the St. James Way, was beautiful and right at my fitness level (easy walking--only 66 km. We spent the night yesterday with two Antarctic friends that picked us up from the trail head. We've been letting go and letting God when it comes to our transportation from town to town and it's working out pretty well so far. Lucas and I take five minute shifts standing out on the side of the road and trying to hitchhike. I get really bashful asking people for a ride; I think Lucas is a bit more of a natural, but he would disagree. Yesterday, it only took us eight minutes from first thumb out to getting in a car!

We are leaving soon for the Leslie-Karamea tramp that will surely kill me. It is seven to nine days of walking on some rough, mountainous terrain with a pretty intense river crossing (wet boots and hopefully not a wet pack). This hike will put us in a good spot to get up to the Abel Tasman region where we will do a lovely 5 day sea kayaking trip and we can get a tan and look healthy again.

We won't be able to blog for the next ten days or so (maybe twelve if the rain keeps up)--All our love, Alex