Woke to blue skies & sunshine - a glorious morning! Packed & ready to leave by 10am, but hung around for another half an hour, using the free wifi! Lovely drive along the coast for 20 mins to Mapua, & Danny's house. Good to see him again - had a long chat about what we'd all been up to since leaving S.E.Asia, & looked at all of his photos & momentos, in his home. Took a walk in the sunshine around the wharf & coastline of Mapua, & learnt about the local area, & some of the changes that he'd seen over the past 20 years. Then back to his place for a bite to eat, & by 1pm we were waving goodbye, and heading east.

We stopped in Nelson to make enquiries at the i-site about the timings & cost of the ferry, & then spent an hour in the library, reading, & buying books, & using the free wifi to book the 6.25am ferry.

The SH6 took us east to Pelorous Bridge, where we walked along the river & climbed on the rocks. Then to Havelock, to come off the main road & follow the narrow, windy, Queen Charlotte Scenic Drive towards Picton. Stopped at a lookout for views of Havelock (have-a-look) & Mahau Sound, & again at the other end of the road, to view Picton & the Queen Charlotte Sound. Drove through Picton to Waikawa, & got a cabin at Parklands Marina Holiday Park. M wanted to go in the pool, & wouldn't be dissuaded by warnings that it was going to be cold. When she eventually dipped a toe in, she became more reluctant, until (at her request) D threw her in!

After tea (roast kumara, spuds & chicken) we got ready for a very early start, as we had to be at the ferry check in at 5.25am at the latest. Made breakfast & lunch sandwiches, packed car, set alarm for 4.45, and went to bed!