We spread the drive over two days, passing several small towns on route and stopping one night in Pahiatua on the way.
One unexpected bonus was stopping at Pukaha Mount Bruce and seeing a kiwi in their nocturnal kiwi house … and not just that, but the only white kiwi born in captivity – no pics though as she was lit by red light only. We also saw one of the baby kiwis being fed and a very rare kakariki.
We decided to stay just north of Wellington, pretty much in a motel car park for campervans with facilities which was perfect as the bus stop was just 5 minutes away, and a 20 minute ride to the city. Having done our washing we headed for the bus and went for a wander, finding the evening market in Cuba Street lined with stalls selling every kind of food, Chris had a falafel wrap and I had Sechuan noodles, then we walked to the waterfront which was windy and not very exciting.
Saturday we planned sightseeing, but instead awoke to another campervan problem, this time with the power. Wilderness found a RV place to have a look, but he couldn’t help, then an electrician was sent out to look. He tightened some connections and said that might do it! Already afternoon and impatient to see Wellington, we hoped he was right. We went to Te Papa which translates as Our Place and is the national museum, almost getting blown over by the afternoon wind, then took the cable car to the top of the botanic gardens and walked back down, then past the parliament building called The Beehive.
The very helpful bus driver called Liz recommended Hell’s Pizza for supper and we ordered and collected fab pizza from just up the road.
Later when we plugged in the kettle for a cuppa and it didn’t work, we realised our earlier optimism was hasty! By this time we were pretty furious as we still had a van with electrical issues, tickets for the cricket the following day, and a ferry to catch to South Island first thing on Monday. After leaving a phone message and calling in the morning, it was arranged Wilderness will meet us off the ferry on Monday with a replacement campervan, so relieved we went to watch the cricket, England v Sri Lanka. It was a lovely sunny day. England lost again, but Chris says they haven’t really won anything since 66 and that was with the help of a Russian. He said the best team won and he enjoyed the experience. I’ve mentioned I won’t be going to another cricket match.
Overall, we couldn’t get very attached to Wellington, maybe we weren’t here long enough, but of the two cities, we far preferred Auckland.
So in the morning we are up early and on the 8am sailing South …
Off Travelling Together 