So after we'd rested our weary heads, it was time to head down to Wellyboot and catch up with some family in the shape of my cousin, David and his wife Rachel and their 2 kids, Fiona and Sam, who'd very very kindly offered to put us up, despite literally just arriving back from their 3 week trip round the south island the same day - we were looking forward to some top tips from them.

Stayed with them in Churton Park, just north of the city, and loved that they lived just off Middleton Road (family surname for those not in the know...)

Had a frantic first night game of Monopoly Deal (we both seem to remember individually winning - not sure who was the uber victor) which is ace - and we are now gutted that we didn't bring our own set of cards (thanks Hasbro) on the trip. It's very addictive! We then spent the next day on a whirlwind tour of Wellington courtesy of our hosts, with a walk along the quay front along side the old fishing huts, and spotted filming for the Bollywood version of The Italian Job! Lunch was just off Cuba Street, and visiting the incredible Te Papa Museum in the afternoon - this is a big must do for anyone heading to Wellington. We caught the cable car to the top of the Botanics and indulged in a spot of tree climbing, with Sam making like a monkey and getting all the way to the top in record time.

We then headed home for a quick supper before we were off again with the family to the Botanics for an evening concert... which unfortunately didn't materialise as Mondays turned out to be the rain days if earlier concerts are rained off... and it hadn't rained.

Not to worry, we zoomed off to the western beaches to visit the seal colony via a serious bumpy off-road track (eeek David) and were rewarded with an up close and personal view of 2 fat lazy seals chilling on the rocks. We were there long enough to see a beautiful sunset before we headed off to check out the wind sculptures out by the airport and finished the evening with a wee wander through some woodland to see hundreds of glow worms by a stream. Fiona and Sam were very tolerant of being dragged round the sites by these boring tourists.

This was to be our last night on the North island, with a big slog back up to Auckland in the morning to return the car and catch our flight down to ChristChurch that evening. On reflection, despite this being cheaper option, it's a shame we didn't get to jump on the ferry to Picton. Maybe next time...