Not so windy welly

It was a long drive the following day down to Wellington but as always in New Zealand we got to see some great views and listened to a lot of Ricky Gervais for the duration of the trip. We made it to Wellington in good time and the weather was glorious. We found a campsite in the centre of the city that was a little expensive but the location couldn't be beaten. The city centre of Wellington is really small and we pretty much covered most of the main high street. We took the famous cable car up to the botanical gardens and wished we had got a single fare as the every garden walk took you down the hill. We did a little bit, got the cable car back and went for some dinner. It was our first meal out in a while and it felt like a real treat. The venison couple were staying at the campsite too so we thank them profusely for the meat telling them how delicious it was and maybe we'll see them on the road soon, we still don't know their names!

We had booked for two nights at the camp site and we were pleased as the sun was shining on us again, who said Wellington weather was unpredictable and usually rainy. I was playing tour guide today using the walking tour guide from the book. First stop was the government hub of Wellington and after admiring some of the buildings and revolting at the beehive we decided to take the free one hour tour of the Government house. It was an interesting tour and our tour guide was a small bird like creature who was obviously very passionate about her job and the buildings but was slightly strange. There was also a couple on the tour who blatantly lied when the tour lady asked everyone where they came from, they said Spain but had very strong Leeds accents and I am pretty sure had just moved to Spain within the last month! The walking tour took us past the high street we were on before but we went inside the department store and I bought an evolve bracelet with 10% off. We went to Cuba street and I was a little disappointed as I had expected something a lot fancier. The Te Papa museum didn't disappoint but half way through the exhibitions we were both so tired we had to go to the nearest pub for a drink before finishing where we had started. We went out for another meal tonight in a different part of town that seemed pretty lively. We had spent enough money today though and just had some wine in the campervan-rock and roll!

The next day we had to leave the campsite by 10 but our ferry to the South Island wasn't until 1. We had planned to do a scenic drive to the suburbs but the weather had gone all Wellington on us and we didn't think we would've seen much. Rob gave us a ring and invited us to come for Brunch at their Uncle Pauls place just outside. It only took ½ hour and was lovely to see the motley camping crew. Elle was not best pleased to be camping and was so pleased to finally have a bed for the night. It was good to talk to them and they gave us some great recommendations of what to do when we come back to the North Island. Hiking up to some amazing lakes seemed to be their highlight, well Rob and Corey's anyway. Elle and Math had loads of blisters from the hike as Elle wore converse and Math borrowed Corey's basketball shoes that were slightly too small for him! They weren't prepared at all but when Corey showed us his pictures they realised it was worth it. Rob made us a lovely brunch that saw us right through to a late dinner. We wished we could've spent some more time with them but we had a ferry to catch.