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Hello Everyone,
After leaving River Valley early afternoon we headed through a town called Bulls. They had the ingenious idea of naming everything in the town after bulls - Banks are Bank-a-bull and the town hall was social-a-bull. Unfortunately the weather had turned for the worse so we grabbed some food and headed back on the bus to Wellington.
Finally after a 6 hour drive we arrived in Wellington. We were dropped off at our hostel on our own as the rest of the bus was staying at another hostel at the other end of town. We checked into our 4 bed dorm, put our food in the communal kitchen and headed out for a walk round the city. Wellington if you didn't know is the capital of New Zealand and even though small was very modern and up-to-date. The main city stretched around the bay from the interisland ferry terminal to the oriental bay. The city was beautiful and nice change from the rural, county towns we had visited since leaving Auckland. We got our bearings and decided to treat ourselves to a burger from Burgerfuel. They were amazing, huge and came with a burger holder to prevent toppings from falling out the back of the burger while eating. Full of food and after a long day travelling we headed for bed for an early night sleep.
On the first day in Wellington Started slowly with a much desired Lie in. Once up, fed and watered we went to finally collect our bank cards to our travelling account. It was a huge relief when the women came back to the counter holding two envelopes containing our cards after the disappointment in Auckland previously. After Sorting out the accounts we decided to go for a walk along the waterfront. Wellington has the reputation of being the windiest city in New Zealand and today certainly lived up to it. The water front was lovely and modern, littered with bars, museums, small shops and open communal parks. In the evening we had our complimentary meal from the bar next door before relaxing in the common room watching films.
The next day we woke to a horrible rainy, windy day in Wellington so we decided to go the Te Papa Museum which all bus drivers told us to visit. The museum reveals the treasures and stories of New Zealand's history. It was very educational and a great way to spend a horrible day. The highlights included a blue whale skeleton, a colossal squid and an earthquake room which shook so you could experience a 5.0 ricta scale quake. We spent most of the day in the museum before heading back to our hostel to cook dinner, relax in the common room and watch a couple of films.
The third day we went birthday shopping for Nikki in town. Wellington was the last big city we would be visiting before heading down the west coast of the south island so we thought it was the best place to get presents. It was a laid back day enjoying the city and shops which we haven't been able to do since Auckland.
The final day we headed up the cable car to the botanical gardens situated above the city in the surround hills. It was amazing; we walked down the main shopping street, down a small alleyway and jumped on a cable car straight up the hill. On route up the hill we passed Wellington University before reaching the botanical gardens. The gardens were a huge contrast to the busy city and very peaceful compared to the noisy city. It was beautiful day so we took our time walking through the gardens before stopping for a drink in the rose garden before heading back into the cable car. Once back at the hostel we did some washing, sorted our bags and grabbed an early night before our 7am start the next day.
From Wellington with Love
Ben and Nikki xx
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