Brick House Bed And Breakfast Wellington

... not knowing a soul because we are still brand new to Wellington, but we definitely met some interesting and fun people that work within the Trinity Company or it's bars and restaurants. We were quite surprised and happy to be put on the guest list for this party (it really felt like an exclusive party) especially because it made our whole night free of charge. We also danced the night away with a live band. So fun!

... up as we descended back into Napier and took the walking tour round the central business district (as they call downtown) to look at the Art Deco buildings. As I said yesterday, Napier was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1931, and many of the buildings were rebuilt in the Art Deco style. Somehow they have survived and remain to this day. With pedestrianised streets it makes for a very elegant town centre.

But we had to get moving again - a lot of clicks to cover today and ...

... right in to the glacier, climbing ice steps using hand rails and the crampons they gave us for our boots. When were at the top a guy proposed to his girlfriend which was fun, on the way down the path we had come up had melted away with the heavy rain and one had flooded so that it couldn't be crossed, so the tour guide had to hack out a makeshift path across the glacier edge. I also rescued a girl when the thin layer of rocks over the ice gave way and she was falling down the ...

Weather: grey grey grey
Mood: excited, almost can't stand it, despite the weather

Today is all about preparation (for me) and just making it through the last workday of the week (for Steve and Ange). We've booked a place wine country in Martinborough. We're going to be touring vineyards and tasting wines on Saturday morning and early afternoon. Then I'm going to fling myself out of a plane at 12,500 ft. around 4 p.m. that day ...

... Mate's Vineyard 2007 (Kumeu, NZ)

Venison short loin with celeriac & pistachio gratin, broad beans, sour cherry marmalade & poivrade sauce

- Moana by Escarpment 2006 (Martinborough Terraces, NZ)

The expensive chocolate dish (Chocolate delice, vanilla ice cream, chocolate fondant with foam

- Church Road Reserve Noble Sémillon 2004 (Hawke’s Bay, NZ)

Espresso

... tide times and arrived about 9 am which would give us time to get up and back. Young adult female blue whale was 21 metres long, weighing 80 tonnes. Its tongue alone weighs several tonnes! There was evidence of bite marks, probably from a great white shark, and it had collapsed somewhat and was smelling a little. We really enjoyed the walk back to the car, through a labarynth of rocks and canyons, and long stretches of sand.

... Chinese Terracotta Army. They had shipped in 60 of the statues, obviously replicates, but perfectly realisticly created by some Chinese conservationists. It was very interesting reading up on the Chinese dynasties and seeing the statues was cool. Would love to go to China to see the real thing ;-} After that, we ended up doing a few hours in what is possibly Wellingtons best museum (our NZ's?), Te Papa. A totally interactive museum telling the NZ story of everything ...

... mon premier bus mais que je n'ai pas vu depuis Raglan, c'est d'ailleurs sympa de se rerouver !!) et je me reposerai quand j'arriverai a Abel Tasman.... :o)... . Cette petite ballade sur Mt Victoria est vraiment a faire: ca prend 30 minutes environ et du haut on a une vue impressionante de Wellington!... Nous allons aussi au Musee de Te Papa - encore un Musee qui vaut vraiment le coup d'aller voir: de la culture, histoire, a la geographie, geologie ...

When leaving kaikoura we went straight thru the ferry port at Picton and arrived in Wellington that afternoon! Well for the first time in months we had another long trek to the hostel! (Well it wasnt long but everything seems long when you have 20kg on your back!) So we finally get there with not much time left in the day! The next day we wandered around and went to Te Papa the famous ...

Day 46 Monday 16th Feb - Queenstown to Christchurch to Wellington Woke up at 5am and packed away our stuff, quick bowl of cereal and then we had to hit the road at 6am to get back over to Christchurch for our flight at 2pm as it was about a 5/6 hour drive. We went a different way that was quicker but less scenic (although I wouldn't really know too well as I slept most of it lol ...