All Aboard

We boarded the ferry with the car for passage across the Cook Channel to Wellington.  Jan spent most of the time out on deck enjoying the water and salt air.  And me... well, they had WiFi on board the ferry.

Then on to Upper Hut, where Derek and Rae live, to meet them and their friends for lunch at a local pub.  Clockwise from lower left... Bray, Rae, Lorraine, Jan, Dave, Papa, and Derek.  We had met Lorraine, the sweetest person you'll ever meet, and her husband Dave on previous trips to New Zealand and we always enjoy their company.

Seeing Lorraine always puts me in mind of the Uriah Heep song, 'Sweet Lorraine, Let The Party Carry On'

Then on to Rae and Derek's home and their familiar guest bedroom with a thousand eyes... Rae collects stuffed bears and the room is lined with shelves holding hundreds of the bears she has collected over the years... including one Derek got in Colorado at 'Build A Bear' when he visited us in 2002.

Papa and Charlie and Name having a nap in said room

We stayed with Rae and Derek for 12 days this trip, always the highlight and reason for our New Zealand trips.  We feel welcome and comfortable in their home which is always alive with chatter and laughter... and dogs and cats.

Name

And the inimitable Charlie

Whenever Rae takes a rare break from taking care of everyone, you're sure to see a dog or two on her lap.

Derek has always had a fascination with the American Old West.  Apparently I won the argument here as I'm wearing his beloved cowboy hat.

When Derek visited us in Colorado, I took him up to Idaho Springs for a buffalo burger at the Buffalo Bar.  Cowboy that he would be, he declined to try the Rocky Mountain Oysters!