Sunday 24th June 2007

We woke this morning and the sun was really shining - it was actually quite warm today. We were happy because this meant we could go into the centre of Wellington and have a look around there. Nikki made us some breakfast and then we set off...

Back at the camp, someone had recommended that we go to Te Papa (which is a museum). When we got there we were happy to find that it was free! We parked in the car-park (where we were allowed to leave the van all day) and firstly looked around a small market place, which was selling fruit and vegetables, before going in.

The museum was excellent! It had loads of exhibits on things that are found in and around New Zealand. There was a skeleton from a Blue Whale (which was HUGE) and other sea creatures found off the coasts. They also had a science-type section, which explained all about New Zealand's volcanos and why they get earthquakes (which happen quite often apparently). On another floor we were able to learn about New Zealand's heritage and the Maori people. For free, this place was definitely worth a visit!

We left the museum and set off, on foot, towards the shopping area - which took us through the harbour. It was buzzing with loads of people out-and-about, taking advantage of the sunshine! When we found the shops we saw the famous Wellington Cable Car and so caught one from the bottom of the hill to the top, where we went into the museum and then walked back down through the Botanical Gardens.

After another look around the shops, we headed back to the van - walking through the harbour again (which was still busy). We got in the van and headed towards our camp. Instead of going straight back, we went to see what was in the Hutt Valley area. We saw a pub that we considered stopping at but Nikki remember being warned off it by the staff at the camp. We found a cinema but our van was too tall to drive into the car-park so we called it a day and came home.

We need an early night anyway. We're catching the ferry for the South Island at 8.25am tomorrow and need to board the ferry at least an hour before (ha! we'll see).

Headed South for the winter!