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Rachel's Travels...
Left Napier at 9.15am and got on the Intercity bus to Wellington, arriving about 3pm. The weather was awful - grey and raining, so the scenery didn't seem that great, so had a kip on the bus.
Am staying in the Worldwide Backpackers, 291 The Terrace, which is quite close to the centre of Wellington. Was given a dorm room with 5 other people, 3 blokes and 2 girls. The room absolutely stank. It was gross and also the curtains which were right by my bed had mildew on them. I wasn't impressed. Lonely Planet said it was a good hostel, but I didn't think so. Left to go into town. Wellington has quite a small centre so I managed to see quite a bit of it, but it very very disorientating at first. Bought the paper to try to find a flat, and went to see one in Oriental Terrace, which is very close to the centre. Didn't like it - someone slept in the lounge and the room was small and dingy. Also it was at the top of a very steep hill that was only pedestrian access.
Sunday - Asked to be moved to another room, and ended up in a nice twin room which didn't smell and was a lot nicer. Am going to stay in this room till I leave, even though it costs a bit more (a whole $3 more (about 1 pound 40). I had another look round the shops. Walked along Lambton Quay which was really nice and had nice shops and buildings, and the weather was actually quite nice! Decided not to stay in Wellington, but would go to the South Island in about a week. Did boring stuff like food shopping, and put all my Napier and East Cape photos on this site, which took absolutely ages.
Monday - the weather was crap - it tipped in down. Decided to go to Te Papa, which is a really big and good museum right down on the waterfront. It was a great museum, lots of stuff to see and do, including lots of information about the Maori and the signing of the Waitangi treaty (where the Maori agreed to become British subjects). There was also a big section on the earth - mainly earthquakes and volcanoes and what causes them. There was also an earthquake house where you could go in it and see what an earthquake would feel like.
Tuesday - Weather was good today. Went to see Parliament and the Beehive, and the buildings around there. Also went to the Alexander Turnbull Library which holds 100,000's of old photos (was looking for one that I thought dad would like, but they didn't have it). Then went up on the cable car. It was good fun. The view from the top is amazing, you can see all of Wellington. The botanical gardens are by the cable car so I went for a long walk (nearly 3 hours) in them. It was so hilly, with some of the paths very steep. Climbed up the "Druid Hill" which had a really funny sculpture on it.
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