Singer had ‘gut feeling’ guests were on f light

SINGER Debbie Harwood said she had ‘‘a gut feeling’’ the Fox Glacier helicopter crash had claimed the lives of her guests Nigel and Cynthia Charlton.

Harwood met the couple earlier this month when they spent a night at the Hawthorne House bed and breakfast in Hastings, which she runs with her partner Paul Jeffery.

‘‘As soon as I heard about the crash I knew somehow that they were in it, way before the names

Nigel and Cynthia Charlton were released. I said to Paul, ‘I think they’re there’, and they were, which is awful,’’ Harwood said. ‘‘It was just a gut feeling that they were in it.’’

Harwood, a member of the group When The Cat’s Away, said the Charltons were ‘‘really fabulous people’’.

‘‘They had an absolute joie de vivre and passion for life. We hit it off straight away. They talked about their grandchildren a lot. They just adored their grandkids, they were the light of their lives,’’ she said.

‘‘We had a really strong connection. You get that with some guests, but not everybody. They shared a passion for gardening and had a great garden at home.’’

Nigel Charlton had recently retired and sold his dentist’s practice and their trip to New Zealand had been their big post-retirement trip, she said.

The couple were to be in New Zealand for about a month and had spent a week making their way south from Auckland before arriving in Hawke’s Bay.

‘‘I’ll be writing to their families just to let them know they did have a lovely time here,’’ Harwood said.