A reasonably early start today, as once again, we have a travel day, this one shouldn't be too bad though, once we get into town, we have about 2 - 3 hours on a bus to Picton ,and then get the Interislander ferry across the Cook Strait to Wellington.

The bus trip flies past, mostly because I manage to sleep through the majority of it, but I think because it's a familiar trip, basically the reverse of what we did coming into Nelson a few days ago, except that after we stop in Bleinham briefly, we ae off on the same bus for about twenty minutes more before we arrive in Picton at about 1040.

Our ferry is scheduled to board at 1300, for a 1345 departure, check in takes no more than five minutes and a nice surprise is that we are upgraded on the sailing, with use of the private lounge on board, which gives us free wifi, hot lunch and drinks. We hadn't been upgraded free of charge, I had booked it at the time that I booked the crossing, but over the last year, had forgotten about it, so it was a pleasant surprise on the day.

Walking round the ship during the sailing, I appreciate the upgrade even more and would totally recommend it as without it we would have had to find a seat somewhere in one of the public areas which were a little crowded at times, and the drink and service I the regular bar were definitely of a different standard.

The sailing is so smooth that at times you have to look out the window to remember you are moving. In no time at all, we are arriving into Wellington. The only delay being while we wait for a departing ship to clear our berth.

After clearing baggage pick up in a few minutes, we are in a taxi to the Hotel Willis. This takes about 20 minutes, the hotel being on the far side of town, but still about as central a you would like to be, so as not to be kept awake a night by the buzz.

We check in and go for a walk, to try and find a bar to watch tonights game (South Africa v Namibia), and after a brief time, we settle on a busy Irish bar by the name of Molly Malones. Cheap food, at under $15 for a main, and a great atmosphere, with the game being shown on a number of big screens around the venue. The game itself is what was to be expected, a walk over, finishing 87 - 0 in favour of South Africa.

After the game, we head back to the hotel and make the decision that tomorrow will be about seeing what the city has to offer, before we head to the stadium in the evening, where we will be seeing Australia v USA.