So driving to Wellington, Josh our driver, bets us that we´ll see a trout fisherman on a particular stretch of river in Turangi....we don´t, he owes us a beer (which we collect later on). Stop off at another national park - do a beautiful 2 hr walk in the shadow of Mt Doom and another volcano-mountain. This is a prime place for skiing in the winter, apparently.

Stop off at Bulls....it is Un-bull-ievable how many signs have a bull-related pun in them. I have a subway....Meat-bull!

See Kapiti island.....used as Skull Island in King Kong - Peter Jackson loves his home country. Only 50 people allowed there a day/week...very sacred to Maori people.

Power through, electing to skip non-happening River Valley to go see a rugby football game. Get to town a little later than planned, dump the bags, taxi it to the stadium up the road and make it for the second half. See the home team lose (Hurricanes) but some good set pieces and random violence brighten things up, as do a couple of beers. Back to the hostel for some more beers afterwards and cheap pizza from Domino´s down the road.

The next day, after a little lie in, roam the streets of the capital. Pretty funky, especially near Cuba street. Btw, weather now calls for a jumper as we get closer to the antarctic. Nose around outside the Houses of Parliament, walk the waterfront, see some dragon boat racing, go to the museum - see the preserved but rapidly decaying Giant Squid! Good museum, very interactive in parts....examine insects and make a virtual squid. All in a day´s travels.

The following day revisit the Houses of Parliament for a free guided tour - very interesting....lots of areas to access, including the actual house....not allowed to sit in the chairs though.

Do some boring washing when we got back, miss the pub quiz, pack bags ready to head North again. i like Wellington - wear my FotC t-shirts especially...i am the Boom King!