Since leaving sunny Taupo, we visted the considerably less sunny River Valley. As the name suggests, River Valley is essentially a valley....o and theres a river that runs through it! The lodge we stayed in was placed in a rather secluded spot right next to the river! It was a really nice day, topped off with an early morning suana session followed by a quick dip in the river...Okay perhaps it was too cold to swim, but I did give mi ankles a brief soak... Note to Father: New Zealand doesnt have an o-zone layer, I fully plan on keeping mine in-tact-hence not going for that freezing dive into the river!

As nice as River Valley was, I was eager to get to another city; Since Auckland we haven't really had the chance to spread our wings! We arrived in Wellington (The nation's capital) late wednesday evening. The first night Hannah and I took full advantage of '$4 Wednesdays' at the near by backpackers bar. The next morning we took advantage of not having to get up for the bus...

On Thursday we headed to the 'Te Papa' Museum, a free museum in which we could have easily spent all day wondering the many levels. The most intresting part to me was the section that focused on the 'Treaty of Waitangi'. The treaty between the British and the native Mauri was signed in 1840, fundemently brought New Zealand in the British Empire. I find learning the history of how New Zealand came to be far more intresting and relevant to the British than that of the French Revolution- makes me wonder why we didn't learn about this in school instead. I can only presume it's because we 'Pakeha' (white man) dont come off too well...

After a day exploring windy Wellington (You know its a windy day when the foam from your coffee is 10 meters down the road), we found out a folk gig at a near by bar. It was nice to relax and listen to the band, made me miss my band very much though. Boys if your reading this BOOM BOOM BOOM THE HAVE IT YOUR WAYS SAY EH OH...

Really enjoyed spending time in the capital, you could say- 'I know this is where I wanna be'...

Regards

Oliver James Kenneth Smith