Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve in Nelson. After our thirteen mile hike through Abel Tasman the day before, we didn't know how up to an evening of celebrating we would be. Um, we were up to it.

We enjoyed a late dinner at a Malaysian restaurant -- we figure that we should learn a little more about Malaysian food before we get there in another month and a half -- and then walked through downtown Nelson to find a good bar. We wandered passed a place called Liquid a few times before deciding that the music was just too good to pass up. We felt a little under-dressed in our travelling clothes but quickly relaxed into our usual bar role of critiquing the other patrons.

We lucked into sitting with three Brits, Jenny, Sarah, and Mike, for much of the evening. Jenny and Sarah are twins and are both doctors; one works in Christchurch and the other in England. Mike tags tuna for the UN. Very cool people, witty enough to spend many hours drinking and dancing with. Our evening ended at about 3am, right when many of you were getting up to enjoy your New Year's Eve day. We hope that our New Year's Eve experience sets the tone for the forthcoming year.

We wish all of you back home a happy, healthy, and exciting New Year.

Erin