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Hi
After leaving Franz Josef we headed north to Nelson and then for our final stop in the South Island to Picton. We spent the night in Picton and then took the car ferry to Wellington in the North Island. The three hour crossing across the Cook Strait was quite stomach churning and we were very pleased to dock.
On arrival in Wellington we were welcomed by Motorways - what are they, we haven't seen these for months!! We attempted to drive into the city but the roads were far too busy after the tranquility of the South Island roads and so we turned back and headed half an hour up the road to Upper Hutt to meet up with Andys cousin Peter, whom he hasn't seen again since he was 6 years old! We spent a few hours with him and had a nice afternoon getting to know him and learn what he's been up to all these years.
Our next stop was to Palmerston North to meet up with Rochell and Shane, who we met on our Ayers Rock trip in Australia. Shane was serving in East Timore as he's in the Army but we had a lovely evening with Rochelle and her mum who was staying with her. We stayed the night with Rochelle (in a house which was a luxury!!) and then the next mornnging she showed us some of the sights of Palmerston. It was really great to meet up with her again and hopefully we'll be seeing them again soon when they come ti England for a holiday (isn't that right Rochelle!!).
The next morning we spent a few hours in the town of Taupo where they were holding a Art Deco weekend (random!!) Everyone in the town was dressed up in costume, they had vintage cars and aeroplanes on show. We ended up feeling a bit alien though as everyone was in costume but us, so we left and continued our journey to Rotarua, which is where we are now.
We've only been in the North Island a few days and have travelled quite a distance already. The North Island has a much faster pace to it than the South Island, but at least it will prepare us for the hustle and bustle of England when we return in two and a half weeks!!
Take care
Claire & Andy xx
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