We spent Friday afternoon in the Aquarium in Napier which was interesting - they had 2 kiwis on display behind soundproofed glass so you could see them behaving naturally, and a sort of conveyor belt through an underwater tunnel.. much fun! We said goodbye to Francie, who had been very lovely to us and given us some of tasty cakes for the journey, and headed down towards Palmerston North. We stayed in yet another town I can't pronounce the name of and in the morning took a tour of the Tui brewery located in the town. I enjoyed the tour and Billy claims to have, though I'm not sure he can remember much of it after the 4 'free' pints he sampled on an empty stomach!
We arrived in Wellington slightly worse for wear and checked into the giant 320 bed YHA hostel there - luxury! In the evening we went to watch Chiefs vs Hurricanes at the Westpac Stadium which was exciting. We each chose a team to support - thankfully mine, the Hurricanes, one - though Billy maintains it was a close match! On Sunday we explored Wellington, spending most of the day in the huge Te Papa museum before Billy talked me into going to the cinema to see Rango (starring Johnny Depp!), which was surprisingly good. Monday was spent driving around searching for sets from 'The Lord of the Rings'. We ended up in Rivendell where Billy enjoyed a freezing swim in the River, much to the amusement of the other, more sensible, tourists.
Today we woke up early and headed back into Wellington from our campsite in a nearby town to catch the ferry across to south island. This morning we took the Wellington cable car up to the botanic gardens which were very pretty. Billy took the opportunity to embarrass me, as ever, and enjoyed the children's playground - making loud 'weeeeeeeeee' noises down both slides and attempting to swing as high as possible on the swings, (Rosie enjopyed it too). When I eventually dragged him away from the glaring mothers we took the cable car back down, enjoying the great views of Wellington, and took our very scenic ferry ride over to Picton, where we are now.
Hope things are good at home,
Will upload photos asap,
Lots of love,
Rosie and Billy
xxx
bill... all these crazy places you're swimming. FANTASTIC, its like that book 'wild swimming' rosie i take it you are photographer?!
ReplyDeletehan would be proud
love
mum
x
I wish I was in Middle Earth. Well done for swimming Bill, I would have done the same, did you see any giant water horses? 4 Pints!? Thats more than the amount of milk I have a day. enjopyed - curious word this, new-zealish?
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