Broadeaves Bed and Breakfast Wellington

... and not to mention free. Today I took a ride on the historic cable car, which is just like the ascensors Quinn and I rode in Valparaíso, Chile. It was built so the hillsides surrounding Wellington could be established as residential areas. It now drops you off at the entrance of the Wellington Botanical Garden, which has some pretty nice walks and views. There are a couple of observatories at the top, but they were closed so I wasn’t able to ...

... was funny feeling to leave the North Island after such a great month of touring. Watching it recede, we thought about the many areas we didn't make it to and places we'd wanted to explore but turned away from due to time and weather. At the same time we were both so amped for the South. The Southern Alps, Fjiordland, Abel Tasman and all the other areas we'd been reading about for weeks were soon within a few days drive. It was fun to see our ...

... live shows to keep it fresh. You never want to overindulge even on your favourite band but this worked out nicely. I also got to stay in a room with a girl who is almost as much of a West Wing fan as I am. She had only seen each episode three times though which is nowhere near often enough. All I need now is a taxi driver who's a lifelong QPR fan and I'll have the full set.

Next time; All Being Well (and that basically means weather permitting) I shall be jumping out ...

... to home.

We checked out of the cupboard and loaded our cheap and battered hire car (affectionately known as Skanky because it was!) only to find that it had finally bitten the bullet and given up the ghost. After a swift rendevous with the AA, we limped it back to the Skanky Hire Company for it to be replaced by an even Skankier car - which of course became known to all and sundry as....Skanky 2. Skanky is dead...long live Skanky!

Today we finally picked up the guinea pigs Millie has been looking forward to for 2 months now. The drive back from Paraparaumu was interesting with the two guinea pigs in a cardboard box on Millie's lap. They squealed like, well ..guinea pigs a lot of the hour long journey.

They have now been named - Millie's is Lillibet and Dylan's named his Hider Mr Man Raindrop Smashabomb. I think Hider for short

... a good start also for Isaiah my 2yr old. He loves being at EduCare and being one of the 'old hands' he loves being of help to the new kids and to anyone else for that matter. He misses Cooper his best friend from last year but has made fast friends with Italy Collings, another kid from College. Talei my 10yr old has also had an awesome start to the ...

... and there are even a few small towns that were established there before the park was formed. But that's not to say the track isn't great (indeed it is one of ten Great Walks in New Zealand). Even so, getting back into the city of Wellington was still a bit of a shock to the system. We were in Wellington for one week of classes and assignments and then headed off on our North Island adventure, which was full of adventures and will be my next entry. Until then!

... another treat as a number of the passengers were putting on a 'Talent Show', a very entertaining and comprehensive show with performances ranging from Vera Lynn songs, a young Japanese family singing a song in their native tongue, a lady reciting a 'Monologue', two separate gentlemen doing comedy acts - all very well performed and very professional - we didn't realize how much talent we had on board the ship.

... to walk the Tongariro River Lookout Track. It took us a little under two hours, so it wasn't epic, but it was a good remedy for the day's driving. Then it was to the DOC site; a field with a 'drop toilet' in the corner, for a basic night's sleep. As it happened, there were three other groups of people there, so it wasn't particularly secluded, but it was still a nice stop. The next day was our big day; we had another long distance to cover, but ...

... at the track end. The lovely people at the hut gave me some food and a plastic bag to sleep in (!) that made such terrific noise that I didn't dare turn over; and it wasn't exactly suitable insolation on a friggin' cold night as the one we were having. So I was glad when the sun rose and I could wander on to Whakapapa Village early the next morning where Kathryn was to meet me. I passed the waterfall where Gollum is captured by the Gondorian rebels under Falamir (LOTR ...