Wed 10 Aug day 47 Wellington

Wellington, the capital city of NZ and a compact city . We have a day of sight seeing ahead of us and decide to visit the National Museum of NZ - Te Papa Tongawera- loosely translated as "treasure box. The building dominates the Wellington waterfront and is set over 6 floors - far too much for us to see or take in in one visit. We decide to follow the children's tour. Starting with the geological and earthquake section. The girls enjoy the earthquake simulator and the "how to earthquake proof" your house interactive quiz. It is a really hands on museum and so much to see and try. We spend an hour or so in this section learning more about the natural history of the country and the girls enjoy tracing our journey on a huge interactive floor map.

The afternoon was spent riding one of Wellington's most famous attractions - the little red cable car which trundles and clanks up the steep slope from the harbourfront to Kelburn, through the university area and on to the Botanic Gardens. It was built in 1902 to link the hill suburbs to the city and at the top we have a fantastic view over the harbour and the city.

We wander through the Botanic Gardens and find a playground so the children can let off steam before heading off back to Base.

Tues 9 August day 46 Goodbye South Island - Hello North Isalnd

Today we leave the South Island and head to Picton to catch the Interislander Ferry across the Cook Strait to North Island. The journey from Kaikoura takes a little over an hour and we pass through the heart of NZ wine country and the Marlborough region. There are fields and fields of vineyards and wineries along the way offering free tastings and wine tours. Sadly we dont have the time to stop and explore further, or room to store any purchases!

We arrive at the ferry terminal to find boarding closed and the place deserted. David has a minor panic about ferry times before we realise that  we are over 2 hours early and have a long wait ahead. The barrier lifts after half an hour or so and we are checked in and allowed to drive around to the holding area. This is a roadway in the ferry terminal where we must sit and wait it out - not the best of locations as there are no loos, not much to look at and the vending machine is not working - atleast the sun is shining and we are the first car to eventually drive on to the boat though. The girls spend the time completing the free children's activity booklet which we were given at check in and we have a little time to start the usual phoning around for a place to stay.

 

Wierdly we have to sail south to get to North Island and the 3 hour crossing takes about 3 and a half hours. Our ferry is an ex cross channel ferry and all the signage on board is in English and French! There is a restaurant, cafe, gift shop and information centre as well as a family room with kids and adults TV and a cinema. We arrive in Wellingtonand hit the rush hour - although our drive is not very far. It feels strangely odd but a little refreshing to be in a big city again and the hustle and bustle of traffic and people rushing about their business.

We find our backpackers -Base - a chain hostel squarely aimed at the younger market, but also one of the cheapest and newest in town. It is ideally located in the "restaurant" partof the city and also for the museums and some of the sights we plan to visit. It is HUGE though- our room is on the 6th floor (of 7) and the kitchen on the 1st floor is equally enormous. There are several industrial size fridges, all full of blue, padlocked "cool bags" from "Countdown" - our supermarket of choice. Evidently in such a large and "young" backpackers there is a risk that ones supplies may disappear into the stomach of another guest - a reminder that we are once again in annoymous surroundings where not everyone is as honest as we have been used to. Fortunately we have padlocks and a blue bag!
We decide to treat the girls and head out for only our second meal out in NZ - we head for Cuba Street and a delicious, if pricey, pizza. Worryingly on our return there is a toga party in full swing in the bar below the accomodation floors!