Our flight into Wellington was fantastic, as we flew in low over the top of the South island and so had a great view of the mountains and islands.We then came over the Cook Straight and saw some dolphins below, then a beach with surfers in the sea, before we hit the very short runway in Wellington.

As a capital city, it has a very small and friendly feel to it.We did a home stay here, which has been a great experience, as we have met some great people and got some good advice about both Wellington and the rest of our travels in New Zealand.(Anyone who wants more info on the home stay and how we organised it please send me a private message and I'll pass on the relevant details.)The house was close to the centre so we have done much walking around the city, even though the weather wasn't always great.They don't call it Windy Wellington for nothing, and today we had rain too.We have spent quite a bit of time in the outdoor clothing shops, buying some warm clothes ready for our next adventures in the south island.

We went to a few museums in Wellington - the City and Sea Museum, Te Papa and the Cable car Museum - all were free.At Te Papa we saw the Ura Tabu Polynesian Dance Company perform, as it was the Maori New Year festival so they had lots of special events on, including many Maori tattoo demonstrations.Whilst in the museum, we also found a video playing about Laceby in Lincolnshire, which then showed pictures of Grimsby and Cleethorpes, as they were talking about some immigrants from there, who brought the dish 'Fish and Chips' with them, so they think this is how the dish came to New Zealand!

We went on the cable car today, and there were some great views from the top.The Botanical Gardens are also up there, so we had a walk around - we were the only ones, due to the rain!The gardens were very beautiful; I wish we could have seen them in summer!There is lots of art and sculpture around Wellington, and the city has a really relaxed atmosphere, which we really liked.

So, we pick up the campervan tomorrow and have booked to go on the ferry across the Cook Straight at 10.30am to Picton in the South Island ready to start our travels down there.Graham is looking forward to being behind the wheel after so long, and it will be great to have the freedom to go wherever we want to.Plus, as it's winter, the campsites and tourist spots should be pretty empty.

Maggie x