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Today was a gloriously sunny day from the start for my last day in the North Island.
Having had no breakfast, I stopped off for a brunch in a bakery.
Once I had got to Wellington and found somewhere to park, I wandered through the city to the cable car, which was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century to enable the city to expand to the new suburb of Kelburn. It climbs 120 metres in just 4 minutes and was hugely successful as it meant people could live just outside the city and yet have a very quick commute. It's not the suspended cable car but actually a funicular railway. At the top is a little museum with a couple of old cars.
I wandered back into the city via the beautiful botanical gardens, which are dramatically set on a steep slope.
I then sauntered along the harbour to The Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa. As there is currently an exhibition commemorating 75 years of Air New Zealand, they have set up a nose of an old jet outside so I queued up for all of 10 minutes to sit in the cockpit and marvel at all the k*** , dials etc. The exhibition itself is very interesting. They have a simulator of what they imagine flying in the future may be like, e.g. being able to immerse yourself in your own virtual landscape!
The museum is free and has loads of great exhibits and displays regarding all aspects of New Zealand life, so I spent a couple of hours there before taking a break for tea at a pub called The Pub in a road called The Terrace. There I had a proper gourmet burger with cheese and bacon, and wedges. No dessert as I'd had ice cream earlier.
On Thursdays the museum stays open until 9 so I was able to pop back for a couple more hours.
Then it's the overnight Bluebridge ferry to Picton, in the South Island. Although the ferry departs at 2.30am, as I have a cabin I'm able to board early and should be asleep well before it sets sail. I will need to set the alarm though, so I can marvel at Queen Charlotte Sound as we sail into Picton.
Today JB had an easy day, covering just 105km. Overall, in the North Island we did 3430km in 11 days.
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