Mount Aspiring National Park, New Zealand - Polarsteps

This morning wasn't our best. Somehow Pete and I managed to stayed in a state of complete slumber while Ben apparently tried to get us out of bed (none of which we actually recall). Once we actually did gain the ability to remove ourselves from the warm Jucy beds Mr. Burkey was wearing some new brand of peppy/annoying/grumpy pants. We were comforted by the fact that today was our last day with Ben so we should appreciate his company in all it's richness. Headed into the forests of middle earth to Lake Sylvian. We toke a muddy treacherous way there though chose a lovely gravel route back in order to peace out in order to get Benjamin back to Queenstown on time. He found an old metal wheel set thing which he picked up naturally due to the fact that it resembled a set of rusty, medieval dumbells. Headed back to our lil campsite area, my favorite camping spot of the trip where Pete stared off into the distance, Ben washed his hair in the river and I think I went pee slash got out of my PJs. We stopped at the location of Isengard so the boys could geek out one more time. Indulged in a quick lunch at a Thai restaurant in town, which ended up being extremely yummy and affordable. Next stop was the airport, we sent Ben off to Melbourne for his math exam.. Pete and I headed back to Starbucks, AKA planning headquarters, to figure out what they heck we were doing with the next leg of the trip. I skipped the bucks and went next door to Cookie Time to get a long black coffee and a warm double chocolate vegan cookie... Ugh... So yum. Forever dreaming of you NZ chocolate cookie. A plan was established after a little deliberation and grocery shopping, onwards we went towards Catlins National Forest Park for night. The car ride felt a bit odd with the new duo dynamic but there was lots of farm animals to see along the way. Pretty sure we almost ran out of gas, which may become a reoccurring theme from this point on. We enjoy the adrenaline rush of almost being stranded in the middle of no where with no cellular reception. Parked the Juce in a lot right near tomorrow's hike. Cooked up dinner in the back, the usual rice/beans/corn/broccoli for my self. Then caught some ZzZz's. Highlights of today: - Ben's dumbells - dat cookie tho - car ride chats w/ my boi pete - sheep and lots of em - 3 cheers for not running out of gas