Hypocrite alert! I have said in the past that i cannot condone the captivity of marine mammals and would never pay to enter such a place. For today i changed my mind (temporarily)! 'Marineland' was right opposite my hostel so i couldn't resist at least a look. It is research facility primarily and the animals are very well looked after, their welfare and stimulation being the primary motivations. However which ever way you look at it, it's still wrong to ...

I am in Napier right now working my way back up to Auckland. What a stunning town! It was razed by an earthquake on Feb 3rd 1931 - New Zealand's largest natural disaster - and rebuilt in the Deco and Spanish Mission styles. AND there's a Dutch cafe that sells poffertjes, chocomel, croquettes and apple tart! Oh my word! x

So i drove like a maniac away from Wellington in tears and more hungover than i thought possible. It was very rainy and i was very poorly. I got a bit lost but finally managed to find Cameron's house where i had arranged to wwoof for a few days. He runs Timeless Horse Treks beneath the Tararua wind farm and has 20 horses including 5 Clydesdales. He really is a legend in my eyes. A cabinet maker by trade he taught himself to ride at 20, built a gypsy caravan, bou...

The day finally arrived and my stay in Wellington was at an end. Sadly i didn't have much work in the last week (just a day and a half) and felt unsure whether to go and getting on with some wwoofing or stick it out till the weekend. The lure of a little leaving do proved too tempting and everyone was only really up for it on Friday night so i stayed. I spent the day making nibbles (palmiers, sausage rolls, garlic bread and toffee apples - all home made!)...

So back to Picton and on the ferry for the crossing FROM HELL! The boat soared up into the wind and, shuddering, plummeted down into the huge waves, which crashed over the TOP of the boat. The worst weather Cook Strait has seen in years but (typical NZ!) the sun was shining too. Weird! It was torture. A boat full of puking people. Dan slept. i didn't puke. The journey took an EXTRA HOUR. Nice. So Dan's time to leave had arrived. We did our last bits of shopping...