My precious…. the juicy details…. yesterday we took a small boat named “The Cougar” (no joke) to the edge of the Queen Charlotte sound where Captain Cook first landed in an area called Shipwreck Cove. The boat takes people who want to hike (or tramp which Kiwi’s call it) and it also delivers mail and supplies to the remote cabins and resorts along the Queen Charlotte hiking trail. Chris told me that the trail was along the beach and was a scenic, flat beach walk which would be fun and easy (first lie). The boat dropped us off at Shipwreck Cove and it was raining, cold and just plain ugly outside and we were supposed to hike for 5 hours till we reached the pick up pier approximately 15 kilometers away. The first hour was all uphill in a rain forrest setting and thankfully the rain stopped 15 minutes into the hike but my complaints to Chris did not. I was cold and expected a flat, scenic beach walk. We continued to hike on and the scenery kept getting better and better. The crashing waves of the beach were below us, the tropical forrest was around us and the tall green mountains were above us. We stopped for a candy bar break (the popular chocolate covered hokey pokey which is like a honeycomb flavored cracker). We stopped again along a lovely vista of an inlet and rested on a bench. We just sat there taking in the view and taking lots of pictures. Chris said something about the nice view and had his hand in his camera case. Earlier we ran into some friendly locals who were nice enough to point out some native birds on the trail, which included a Wica which is known for pickpocketing everything from food to socks so naturally I thought Chris was just fumbling in his camera bag to protect his camera from the Wicas which were all around us. But he pulled out a rock of a ring and asked if I would marry him!! I was shocked and not at all prepared for this. My nose was running like a facet and I was covered in sweat and mud from hiking- not my best look. I really don’t remember the exact order but I said “really??? really?? are you for real??? OMG!” and he had to ask again for me to finally comprehend and answer YES!! By this time I didn’t care about the sweat, mud, cold or wind and we both raced down to the pier with only 10 minutes to spare to meet the boat and get to cell phone reception to call our parents!! The ring is amazing! He did such a good job and along with Katy (who tricked me into telling her my ideal ring months ago for some “spreadsheet for single friends”) and our concert friend, who unbeknownst to me, sized my finger at the Will Hoge concert a few weeks prior. Chris was even a southern gentlemen about the whole ordeal and asked my Dad for permission before since he knew it was important to me. Chris also picked the ring himself (with our friend’s wonderful guidance) and had it shipped from L.A. (nope, not forged in Mordor thankfully)days before our trip. He hid it in a black garbage bag duck taped to the bottom of his camera bag till he found the perfect spot. This whole thing was organized by Chris with only my Dad and our friend knowing about the ring. I am overcome with joy and feel so happy and blessed to have someone as wonderful as Chris in my life and I can’t wait for the future! and now the girly ring details: It is a heart-shaped diamond supported with antique scroll-work on the sides and pave set diamonds along the sides. Like I said before, he did an amazing job in finding this unique ring and it is oh so sparkly! So New Zealand has been amazing so far even without the big news. Two days ago we took the Interislander ferry from Wellington to Picton with an amazing sunset over the Wellington Harbor, then our big hike around Queen Charlotte sound and today we took a bus to Kaikoura for a llama trek. I have some great pictures of Chris herding llamas! The llama trek was fun and interesting with stops for tea/cake and picture taking. Tomorrow we are supposed to go swimming with the fur seals, but if the weather doesn’t cooperate, we’ll have to settle with hiking to a beach they frequent. Thanks for all the love and blessings on facebook, we are limited on internet but I wish I could reply to everyone. The Kindle’s internet browser has been a lifesaver! Love ya’ll!!! - from a very happy and excited Cress!!!