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We didn't depart River Valley until midday, however we had to check out at 10am still which meant we were waiting around in the lounge area for two hours twiddling our thumbs (well I went on my net book) while two people from the bus were out horse trekking with Poncey, who was to be my driver for the second day running! One American chap decided he wanted to play the nine hole golf course, which was more like pitch and putt as all the holes were all par 3 and it was in terrible condition! However he only got to play about 6 of the holes as the heavens opened and it threw it down, so he was quick to run in, still drenched through though!
Once midday came around, it was still raining heavily and we had to walk up a really steep hill up to where the bus was parked, it took between 5 and 10 minutes to walk the hill, and the ground was becoming really mushy as it was all sodden wet! The bus couldn't get down to the Lodge that we stayed at as it was too big for starters, plus there were sharp turns around the corners and I doubt it would have managed to get up the hill, and there was nowhere for the bus to turn around at the bottom! Once at the top all of us were knackered as it was a tough incline we had to climb, whilst carrying our day bags and our food bags! There was a small cart that brought our backpacks up the hill, which we then had to put in the luggage compartment of the bus! We did have to walk down the hill when we arrived in River Valley to get to the lodge but going down was nowhere near as hard as going up obviously, and the weather was so much better when we arrived! Once we were all on the coach and settled we set off towards the gumboot capital of New Zealand, Taihape! We didn't stop here, we just drove through but the driver was lecturing us about how much more manly the New Zealand word for 'Wellies' sounds, as they call them gumboots and there were loads of shops selling them! The town Bulls was only a short drive from Taihape, and this is where we stopped for lunch! As a method of luring tourists to the area, the town decided to name all its shops and buildings that ended in 'able' with the word 'bull' or 'a-bull', so it was pretty cool to wonder about the streets to see what wacky names each shop had even though the weather was nasty! A few examples are 'Relieva-bull' which was the name for the public toilets, 'Consta-bull' which was the name for the police station and 'Edi-bull' which was the name of a cafe, there were many more but I would be here all day listing them! The group of people that I was with decided to go to a local bakery for lunch, and I brought a delicious piece of chocolate mud cake, to accompany the sandwiches that I had brought with me! A few of the other guys had pies and ice creams, which it definitely was not the day for! After spending about 40 minutes in Bulls we were back on the bus which had been refuelled while we were off of it!
From here we made our way to Wellington, the drive there was dominated by the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges and rolling farmland! Not too far from the city we hit the Kapiti (Cup-of-tea) Coast, most of which was wrenched out of the sea by a large earthquake in 1855. Kapiti Island is a native bird sanctuary that has a very successful kiwi bird-breeding program. It was once home to one of the most feared of all Maori chiefs, Te Rauparaha and his band of warriors. Wellington is located directly on a major earthquake fault line. Wellington's biggest earthquake was recorded in 1855 and measured 8 on the Richter scale. There is a lot of seismic activity in the area!
After passing through the towns of Levin and Paraparamu we eventually arrived in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand at about 5pm, we got dropped off just down the road from BASE which is where the majority of the people on the bus were staying then walked up and got checked in, which always takes so long when there is a big bus load of us that turns up, once I found my room, I chucked my bags in then met a few of the guys I had met on the bus as we headed to the supermarket together! The nearest supermarket was one called 'New World' so we went there to get our supplies! Whilst there the people I was with talked about making a curry together so I told them that I would chip in, and have curry with them that night! So I walked round the supermarket with them to help get the ingredients that we needed for the curry whilst also getting bits and bobs that I needed like milk etc! The guys insisted that I didn't pay them there and then for the ingredients but wait until later when we were back at the hostel, so I did wait! We didn't get back to the hostel until gone 7pm, but we were straight up to the kitchen to get the curry underway! The people I was with made the curry and I just sat back and waited for it, along with an American guy who also didn't have a role to play in the making of it either! The guys making it were all English with an Indian background, and they seemed to be experts in making the curry as all of it was made freshly, with natural herbs and spices, nothing was out of a packet or jar! They even made pilau rice....that's right the yellow one, out of ordinary white rice, by adding turmeric, I was truly amazed!
After more than two hours of cooking and preparation time, the curry was complete and we all had huge platefuls of yummy food! The guys brought naan bread to go with the curry that they made! Plus they had orange squash which they shared amongst us! The curry was absolutely delicious and totally worth the wait, we were all stuffed once we had wiped our plates clean, and I thought it was only fair that the American dude and I did the washing up considering we had this magnificent feast made for us! The fact that they had managed to cook such a good meal in such poor facilities was remarkable, the kitchen was tiny compared to how many people were staying there, so it was very chaotic with very little space, and also very dirty and in a right mess! After dinner we went into one of the dorms that a group of people from the bus were staying in and we played a few different alcohol related drinking games, before we got taught how to do this dance to Indian music and then we performed the dance whilst filming it! Then we hit the BASE bar downstairs, where it was pretty dead, I have to say! Hence the reason I didn't spend too long in the bar that night and was in bed by about 1am, ready to check out by 10am!
I only booked one night's stay at BASE because I was getting sick and tired of them, because they are always such poor hostels with terrible kitchens and a basic dorm room if you were lucky! So I decided to check into a different hostel for my remaining three nights in Wellington aka Welly or Wellywood! The hostel that I checked into was called Wellywood Backpackers and the main reason I chose this hostel over any of the competition was the fact that they offered free internet and wifi, which I was finding a real rarity in New Zealand! They let me check in at just after 10 which is when I arrived, which was good as most hostels make you wait until at least 1pm before your allowed in your room, so I went in and got settled, before having my breakfast, and then heading out for the day! I decided to go to the Te Papa museum, which is New Zealand's national museum, and is their largest cultural attraction, the museum was also free which tends to be the main reason many backpackers go there but to be fair it was well worth the afternoon that I spent there, some very cool stuff including the world's largest squid that is on display! There really was something for everyone at the museum! I left late afternoon, early evening and sat by the waterfront which was just outside before I got too cold as Wellington lived up to its reputation as being very windy, which made conditions very bitter! Then I made a quick call into the supermarket on the way back to the hostel where I just had a very chilled out night, and made the most of the free internet which I had not had in a very long time so used the opportunity to upload my photos and videos! I was brought back to reality with my pasta and sauce for dinner that night opposed to the curry that I had the night before, which I never did have to pay for as the guys insisted they wouldn't take any money for the ingredients so it was free as well which was even more of a bonus!
The next day I was up early in order to Skype the family, this meant getting up at 8am....which was not nice! Seeing the family was though of course :P After spending a good couple of hours chin-wagging, we said our goodbyes and they were off to sleep and I was off to get breakfast, I had my usual cornflakes and sat and watched a bit of the masters golf while I ate it, then when I went back to wash up my bowl, I noticed that loads of food had been left behind by this big group of people on the kitchen worktop, and after asking a few people, I was told that the people that had left it there had said that anyone can eat it, so I took advantage and had a second breakfast, this involved many a cake, doughnut, sausage roll, bread and butter and sandwiches as well as a cuppa tea with SUGAR, which they had also left behind, so it was more of the golf while I worked my way through that lot!
I then had a shower before I went out for the day, first up on my itinerary was to go to the Parliamentary buildings! Part of the building is home to one of New Zealand's most unusual pieces of architecture, called the Beehive! I'm now assuming you have a pretty good idea why it's called that! It was designed by a British Architect, Sir Basil Spence, who came upon the idea for the design over a couple of gin and tonics one night (too many some say)! He looked at a box of matches and decided that the design on the front of the packet would be fitting for the offices of the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament in New Zealand. And goodness knows why but the Kiwi's accepted the design! I took an hour long tour around the parliamentary buildings, which departed from the beehive; we had to go through airport style security before having to hand out bags in at the front desk! Then we watched this sort 8 minute clip on the history of the buildings and New Zealand Parliament! The tour then started after this, there were about 25 people on my tour, with the majority being Kiwi's and only a handful of us being foreigners! I didn't expect to like the tour that much, I just turned up as it was free and something to do but I have to say I actually really enjoyed it, it was so interesting, and quite cool to know you were standing in the same vicinity where the Prime Minister of New Zealand made so many important decisions! It was also cool to go into the Houses of Parliament to witness where they carry out their debates, and also to see the dining areas which were all set up in style ready for the next event, we were also told where various famous people had sat down the years when they had visited the buildings! So it was thoroughly enjoyable, which was completely different to how I perceived it was going to be!
After collecting my bag from the old dear at the front desk, I made my way to the Wellington Botanical Gardens, although only a short 20 or so minutes walk from the Parliamentary buildings, the majority of the walk was all a steep hill! Eventually when I made it to the entrance I headed straight for the iconic cable car, and was lucky enough for the cable car to be leaving the station just as I arrived so I was able to get the famous shot of the car going down the track with the Wellington city centre in the background! From here I had a minutes wander around the cable car museum as spending more time there was not worthwhile, so after that I went for a stroll around the gardens, and ate my lunch here, before heading out of the gardens and back down to the city centre, where I had a walk to see the Westpac stadium which is where the local rugby team plays and is going to be one of the major grounds for the rugby world cup in New Zealand next year!
I then made my way back to the hostel after calling in at the supermarket, and had another chilled out evening, in front of the TV, and on my netbook, as well as having a cool conversation with this Italian dude that was in my dorm! Dinner tonight was the same old pasta and sauce!
The next morning I was able to have a lie in, which I really did appreciate! Then after having breakfast, (which today didn't consist of a second breakfast of cakes etc because the ungrateful people didn't leave any out for me :P) and a shower I decided to go the Wellington City and Sea museum! I was in there for about an hour and a half, and it was pretty cool in there, it was a lot smaller than Te Papa, the huge national museum of New Zealand that I had been to see a few days before but it was still a worthwhile visit as it taught me about the history of the city surrounding various topics, it also had a couple of short clips on about the city! The one thing that did catch my eye was the section in the Museum that detailed the sinking of the ferry on the 10th April many years back when it was crossing the cook strait, this caught my attention because....I was crossing the cook strait the next day....and the date...well it was the 10th April of course, which got me a little worried, that history would repeat itself :O So after freaking out over my ferry ride the next day, I was quick to get out of the museum, so from here I walked to Oriental Parade which was a cool walk along the Wellington harbour and then past the beach and loads of bars, shops and restaurants! So I had my lunch on the beach front in baking hot sunshine then started my lengthy climb up to the top of Mount Victoria, it was hard work but so worthwhile as the panoramic 360 views over the whole of Wellington from the top were absolutely stunning and because it was a lovely day weather wise I could see for miles! After spending a short while taking in the views I started my walk back to the city and had to call in at BASE to buy my ferry ticket for the next day's travel to the south island as that is where Kiwi told us to get it from...probably as they got commission out of it! Then I made my way back to Wellywood backpackers!
Upon entering my dorm, I was greeted by 3 new roommates, who were from a place called Palmerston North which is 2 hours drive from Wellington and they had come down to Wellington for the weekend to have a bit of a booze up! After chatting away to them it became very clear that they were all batting for the other team....Yes I was in a dorm with three gay blokes for my last night in Welly! As bad as it may seem however they were really cool blokes and a right laugh, it was a little creepy when they told me to keep my shirt on when I went to sleep so that they weren't turned on lol! They also asked me to rank them in order as to which one I thought was the gayest! They were also asking me lots of weird and wonderful questions such as 'do I look at the toilet paper after going for a number two (poo)'. After my dinner this night I went on my netbook to make the most of my last use of the free wifi, whilst the gay blokes were drinking the night away, so they were pretty wasted really early into the night, but when I came off of my laptop at 11pm and was going to go to bed because I had to be up at 5.30am, I saw them and they told me to sit with them, apprehensively I did, but it was so funny, I sat with them for a good hour and four free drinks down from them I was starting to get a little tipsy, they were all so loud and really couldn't give a damn what people thought about them! I went back to my dorm just after midnight and they came into the dorm and were chatting away to me and this other English bloke who had just quit his job as assistant grounds men at Chelsea to come travelling, then they were off out, they did ask us if we wanted to go with them, but the fact that they were going to gay bars sort of put me off! So off they went very loudly already totally drunk! Which made it very peaceful in the dorm, I was chatting to the ex grounds men and asking him loads of questions about Chelsea as he knew loads of inside information and found out that Drogba is apparently a really nice bloke, and he just changes into someone else when he is on the pitch, apparently his kid gets loads of stick at school because all his mates hate him for his on field antics! I finally got to sleep at 1.30am and had to be up four hours later in order to meet the Kiwi bus for the ferry crossing, however by 3am one of the blokes was back from his night out and mad a racket coming home and then snored so loud that there was no chance of getting any more sleep, then by 5am the other two were home and started hitting their mate who was snoring, they were all so loud and chatting to me until 5.30 when I got up and I found out that one of the blokes pulled in the gay bar! So at 5.30 I had to get up and showered after literally no sleep that night, but what a night, such a laugh, I'm never going to forget the night in Welly when I had to share my dorm with three gay blokes...certainly an experience, but that's what makes travelling so much fun!
Love Toby xxx
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