Blogs from Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

First off I would like to say I'm sorry for not updating this sooner. I got pretty busy with school work and writing a blog just didn't appeal to me. Anyway, for the second part of my break (which was almost a month ago) I went to Wellington. Wellington is more of an artsy town so I wasn't really a fan of it. It was nice and cute, but I couldn't live there. It is also the Captial of New Zealand. While I was there I went to the Te Papa Museum which was massive. It's the museum of New Zealand and has six floors. It took me awhile to go through everything but I enjoyed it, especially the section that contained Maori information. I also went to the Wellington Museum of City and Sea. This ... read more

After 6 1/2 weeks on the South Island we have crossed Cook's Strait and are now sitting on the docks in Wellington. Since our last blog we visited Hanmer Springs - a small alpine village whose origins go back to the late 1800's when the benefits of the natural hot springs drew people 'to take the waters'. Shortly thereafter, a sanitorium was built and its main feature was to provide therapy and convalescence for emotionally stressed returning soldiers starting with the Crimean war, up to and including World War II. It is now a tourist destination where the hot springs have been commercialized, but are not lavish. We enjoyed soaking in the various hot pools and sulphur springs, especially the private pools that people can rent for 30 minutes at a time (sorry no photos!). Continuing ... read more

Wed 28/Thu 29 Mar -------------------- Two days in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. A little longer drive of about 4 hours, but partly due to a detour because the main road through a gorge was closed so we had to go a longer way round. Stunning scenery along the route. Staying in an Ibis hotel and room is a little smaller than we have been used to but it's OK. Think we have been spoiled a bit. A bit quiet for a capital city although lots of students here. Very nice place with lovely buildings. On Wed evening we went to the cinema to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". It was very good and we both enjoyed it even though there was a guy sat next to us who must be the Wellington town ... read more

Left Napier in the sunshine on Wednesday and took the road heading to Wellington diverted through the back roads to see the longest place name in the world. Twice on this road we had to stop and wait for hundreds of sheep to clear the road. Had lunch on a deserted beach at Herbetville and then continued on our way hitting Wellington in the rush hour!! Found a cheap and cheerful hotel in the city just opposite the botanic gardens and close to the ferry for Friday. Thursday morning we headed into the gardens and then took the cable car down into the city to walk around the Maritime Heritage Trail. A much nicer city than Auckland. We also found the cathedral which had a large quilted altar backdrop and a piece of ongoing tapestry which ... read more

We boarded Air New Zealand for our 12 hr flight from Hong Kong to Wellington, via Auckland. Wellington is the capital city and second most populous urban area of New Zealand. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. It is home to 393,400 residents. In 1865, Wellington became the capital city of New Zealand, replacing Auckland, where William Hobson had placed the capital in 1841. The Parliament of New Zealand had first met in Wellington on 7 July 1862, on a temporary basis, but Wellington did not become the official capital city for three more years. The area has high seismic activity even by New Zealand standards, with a major fault line running through the centre of the city, and several others nearby. Several ... read more

Our first day in Wellington was pretty chilled. We had a wander into Eastbourne and let the kids run round the playground for an hour or so. Mike, Hayley, Andy, Shona and the girls came round for dinner and it was great to introduce the little man, and see everyone again. I know we all hated hearing it when we were teenagers, but I can't get over how much Ashlee and Logan have grown. Makes me kind of sad that we miss out on so much of their growing up... Day 2 was like no other. I think the bus finallly hit me, and I could not stop sleeping. Day 3 was much the same... We managed to catch up with Joshua and Flynn, now 8 and 10. Very gorgeous boys I must say. Day 4 ... read more