As if proving a point, the second that we leave Nelson the weather turns bad - we procede to drive all the way to Picton in rain and grey cloud!!! The drive however is amazing as it takes all the way through the Marlborough Sounds and we stop over and over to take in the views. We stop the night in Picton ready for our ferry the next morning.

We're greeted by fog the next morning. Damn. The crossing is obviously essential, but so much more enjoyable on a good day. We mosy around the town in the morning willing the cloud to pass. Amazingly it seems that luck is on our side and they do. We procede to have an amazingly clear and calm trip - thank goodness, we've seen some horrendous pictures of boats out in the Cook Strait during storms and I really don't feel like being one of them!! We soak up the sun and catch up on some reading.....

Having found ourselves a campsite in Lower Hutt we decide to leave the van and take the bus into Wellington - the thought of navigating around a city after spending 3.5 months in the peaceful south island isn't all that appealing. Nor are the parking charges! What we hadn't banked on was having such an amusing bus driver - she proceded to share every moment of her private (?) life with the bus during an extremely loud conversation with her friend!!!! Not to mention the changes she made to the route - we're just glad she stopped for us!

After safely disembarking we head to Te Papa, the capital's all singing all dancing museum. It took 5yrs to build and cost a whopping $317m - we're definitely going to have a look!

The museum itself is huge and we start in the earth section. Here the dynamics of the country are explained in words, pictures, films, interactive displays and so on - plenty to keep us occupied. The volcanoes, lakes, mountains and earthquake zones are explained and for once it's quite interesting seeing as though we've been to most of them in the south island. There's even a mock house set up to simulate how an earthquake would feel.

Next we head into the Maori exhibition. Here we find a most impressive waka (war canoe) on display. It's absolutely huge and I can only imagine the amount of work that went into carving it! The rest of the displays are much the same as the other museums we've been to, just bigger and more in depth. However this does have one more special feature, it's own marae (meeting house) This is actually used for ceremonies and combines traditional Maori themes with European influences to symbolise the unity of the country.

Next was probably the most fun part of the day - a murder mystery who-dunnit zone. Here adults and children are encouraged to piece together the clues to discover who murdered the professor! Clues are hidden in various places and are all related to poisonous plants and creatures. The aim is to note the answers and solve the crime. It's a great way to learn about new things without it seeming that way at all. A trait the museum has down to a fine art.

After a well needed coffee break we head back out to see the most controversial thing in NZ - the treaty of Waitangi (an elargement of it at least). Here the 2 copies are displayed opposite one another with a list of the "discrepencies" inbetween. We make note to remain impartial and move on.....

An interesting display next, the history of immigration to NZ. Amusingly we started with a test to see if we would be eligible - absolutely not was our answer! Disappointed we continued, reading the stories of numerous families from all over the world that fled to NZ for a better life (sounds familiar.....) It was however quite interesting, and there were more interactive segments to keep us amused.

Last on our agenda was the NZ art section. Again the traditional elements of the country were mixed in with a more modern them. A surf board made entirely from paua shell and a car from corrugated iron were our favourites!

After a thoroughly exhausting day we headed back to our campsite, hoping not to come across the same crazy bus driver!

The next day, feeling brave, we opted for the bus once more - far more entertaining than driving! This time our target was the Wellington market which we'd found in the lonely planet. Sounds good we thought. How wrong we were. It turned out to be a back alley jumble sale with some less than hygenic food stalls scattered around. Hmm, maybe we'll get lunch elsewhere......

After stopping at the DOC centre to arrange our permits for Kapiti island - another of NZ's islands turned into a bird sanctury - we made our way to the famous cable car. Although it looks a tiny attraction in a big city it's actually a massive part of Wellington. At the top there's a museum explaining the history of the cable cars themselves - their beginnings, owners, building, renovations and restoration. It's suprisingly interesting and we spend a good few hours wandering around. It also displays the locals that have had their own installed to combat the extremely hilly terrain - nice if you have the money! We head back down to catch the bus back to the campsite and get the Bongo back on the road......