We arrived in Wellington about 5pm and made our way into the town centre by shuttle and local buses. We met Tara (who was on the tour in China) in one of the main shopping streets and walked back up to their place. After dumping our stuff we went back into Wellington and met Justine who had just finished work (at 7pm!!!) and had dinner in an English pub accompanied by a Guiness (it was St Patricks Day!). After that we went to the Irish Pub next door and then went back to bed feeling totally worn out for the day.

Next day we woke up to muffins and a smoothie made by Tara which were delicious!!! We then went down to the harbour front to visit the Te Papa mueum which was amazing. There was so much information on the history, geography and geology of New Zealand as well as a temporary Monet Exhibition. There was a skeleton of a Blue Whale and a Giant Squid amongst other things that caught my eye.....and who knew that Kiwi Fruits are actually from China and were originally called Chinese Gooseberries?!?! Also Vegemite was originally called Parwill to compete against Marmite....Ma might...Pa will....get it?!?! It didn't stick though and the term Vegemite was decided by a competition! We spent a good 3 hours in there as there was so much to see and the way it was laid out meant it appeared more interesting (to me at least!) than usual. By the end of it we were completely museumed out!!!!

We had lunch and then walked around the town looking at some other sights - The 'Beehive' by the same architect who designed a lot of the buildings at Sussex Uni - Sir Basil Spence. We popped in to see Justine at work, went to the tourist information and then went to Tara's work to get a cupcake! She works in the most quaint tearooms - they were adorable. Then we all headed back to their place, relaxed for a while and then came back into town to meet Justine for a Thai meal which was delicious....almost on a par with the thai food in Thailand!!!!

Our bus was due to leave at 2pm so the next day we got up early and went down to the cable car as it is called (but I think it is more a funicular railway) and saw the views over Wellington. We walked through the Botanic Gardens on the way back down and along 'The Terrace' which is just a street of posh bars and restaurants catering for the business district. It almost reminded me of the area around Wall Street in New York. Then we headed back to Tara and Justine's place and got our stuff together before leaving to catch the bus down to the Train Station where our bus to Napier was departing.

It was lovely to see Tar a and Justine again, so big thanks to you both for letting us stay - we had a great time!!!!!