Queen Charlotte Track

One of my favorite things about traveling is the people you meet. I don't do well with the young backpackers that want to go on a pub crawl every night, but I love talking to the older crowd. On the track I did a home stay the first night and stayed with a lady named Noeline. Noeline is 82 years old. She has been a widow for the last 19 years and has had her home stay set up for the last 18. At 67 she decided to start traveling because she had never left NZ. In the past 15 years she has been to over 60 countries. She has never been to the US or the UK, other than layovers, and has no desire to go because she says the culture is too much like her own. Instead she has been on trips to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, rural parts of Asia and Africa and so many other cool places. I was so fascinated by her story and the fact that at 82 years old she is traveling to 3rd world countries.

There were 3 of us staying the night with her and I was the first one to reach her place so we spent a few hours talking. We watched 'Millionaire Hot Seat' together and talked about the latest gossip in her celebrity mags. Before I went to bed she told me to make sure I woke her up the next morning if I was ready to go before she was up. She said she must say goodbye and give me a hug and a kiss before I ventured on. She was full of wisdom, knowledge and a great amount of love. People like Noeline inspire me and bring a smile to my face every time I think about that mere few hours we spent chatting and hanging out.

70km/52mi is a long walk and my feet were feeling it at the end, but the views, the company and the peacefulness were all worth it! Had my legs allowed me to run when I saw the sign for 1km I would have been sprinting.