We made our way to Wellington where we were staying overnight with Ron & Dot who are family of some close friends of Casson's mum and dad.

We arrived looking a little worse for wear as we hadn't showered for a few days and had zero clean clothes as we also hadn't done any laundry but we couldn't have been made to feel more welcome! We had soup and bread for lunch (both homemade) and to Casson's delight homemade chocolate brownie, which has to be said could quite possibly be the best brownie either of us have ever tasted. After being away for over 3 months you can't underestimate how good it is to have some home cooked food!

We'd had a parcel sent over from both sets of parents so Casson had an obscene amount of chocolate, a North End top, a courteeners t shirt (his current one had been shrunk in the dryer and now resembled a belly top) and his Pringle cap (which he left at home by mistake) and I had some tetley t bags! It's the little things you miss, you can't beat a good brew!

That first afternoon we went to Mount Victoria lookout, it had great views of the city but it was freezing up there! After that we went for a drive along the coast and then we walked along the beach to where there were loads of sea lions, it was a really nice walk. That evening it was another home cooked meal with a few beers and a proper (and comfy) bed to sleep in. Terry's pretty comfy but you can't beat a real bed.

We were only supposed to stay 1 night but we'd left it too late to book the ferry so it was full the day we wanted to sail so Ron and Dot were happy for us to stay another night which was lovely of them. However, conveniently when Ron asked us what time our ferry was Casson suddenly needed the toilet and left me to explain that it wasn't until the Monday!

On our second day we had a walk along the harbour, walked through the local farmers market and then headed to Tepapa Museum which was really interesting and topped the afternoon of with a curry!

As it was Anzac week when we were there was a light and sound show that evening at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, this was about remembrance including the Gallipoli campaign, the Anzac relationship, and their history of conflict, resolution and peacekeeping. It was pretty moving to watch.

On our last morning we headed out for a drive, did a communal Pak N Save shop, went to an Asian specialist shop for what turned out to be some pretty tasty curry mixes and then said our goodbyes and headed for the ferry to take us to the South Island

We had a lovely time in Wellington and can't thank Ron and Dot enough for giving us a bed for a couple of nights, feeding us and making us feel so welcome. If you're reading this, don't forget to call in and see us if you're ever in our neck of the woods when you're in the UK.

General points
1) Casson didn't manage to polish off all the brownie whilst we were in Wellington (probably out of politeness) so he was like a wino at a free bar when Dot gave us what was left to take with us along with homemade bread, teacakes and pâté! It kept us going for days :-)

2) The amount of chocolate our mum's sent is obscene, let's see how long it lasts ....