More of the dogs we saw on the mail route in the Queen Charlotte Sound in New Zealand…we found this gentle giant, a shaggy Newfoundland Retriever, waiting on the dock for the mail boat and his cookie.

Once the boat pulled up along the dock, Matt the mailman rewarded this fuzzy guy with a big cookie for being so patient. Matt got a fair bit of slobber on him in return.

All the dogs along the route were waiting on the dock well before our arrival. I’m guessing it’s either they the recognize the sound of the boat or that they are conditioned to the time of the deliveries. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to ask Matt if either were consistent. Either way, it provided a lot of entertainment and the dogs were all happy to get a big treat.

This area was beautiful, ocean with mountains rising directly out of it, all covered with lush, thick jungle vegetation. You could barely see some of the houses. Most of it is only accessible by foot or boat. The famous Queen Charlotte track passed behind many of the mail drops. It is a 71km hike from the village of Anakiwa to Ship Cove, where Captain Cook landed several times. It’s a hike now added to our bucket list after we got a taste of it, sampling the beginning and ends of the track.