Had a great time and weather in Wellington over the weekend. Went up to the Botanical gardens via the cable car and had a picnic. Then we walked to Oriental parade which is along the harbour and decided to treat ourselves to some very yummy ice cream. After stuffing ourselves we hiked up Mt Victoria to look out over the city and didn't realise how far it actually was. We got to a look out point thinking that was the top but saw the peak just that bit further. After our trek we went out for dinner as a treat I had sirloin and mary had pork belly with some lovely local red wine. On Sunday we spent the morning in the museum Te Papa which had some great displays of New Zealand geography and history. We then took a walk to the Old Government building via some window shopping - if only we had room in our bags and money of course! Checked out the cafe culture along Cuba Street indulging in some chocolate cake. Cooked up a scrumptious sweet chilli stir fry for dinner and then had drinks in the bar. Yesterday was an early get up to catch the ferry to south island. We thought it was going to be rough but it was a mill pond! Got transfixed with the world cup final and made use of the reclining seats for a snooze. We awoke to find we were sailing through the Malborough sounds into the port of Picton. Got straight on a bus to Nelson (where Mary will be for her next placement) admiring the large vineyards along the way. A lovely town, we decided to walk along the river and explore. In the evening we went to the cinema and saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Before we went into the film i had a huge BOWL of hot chocolate - it was divine. Today, we set off again very early for our 10 hour journey to Franz Josef - saw some beautiful scenery and checked out the Pancake rocks at Punakaiki - great coastal geology! Recently arrived at our hostel called Glow Worm Cottages - very sweet and homely. We may have to try the free spa. Hopefully do a glacier walk tomorrow weather permitting and then heading down to Wanaka on Thursday for some skiing!