Day 75: Taupo to Wellington

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Day 75: Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Taupo, New Zealand to Wellington, NZ.

Per Contiki brochure: "The mountains of Tongariro National Park provide a spectacular sight on the way to Wellington, New Zealand's capital city. A scenic waterfront drive to the top of Mt. Victoria acts as the perfect introduction to this cosmopolitan city famed for its cafes, restaurants and trendy bars."

The day starts with what has become "our song": "Hand in My Pocket" by Alanis Morisette. The words are quite fitting for this trip (especially the "broke but happy" part!) Along the way to Wellington, the landscape changed many times. From desert to green rolling hills to snowy mountains in the distance- bizarre, but beautiful! Mikey & Emmo pulled the bus over at one point so we could take pictures of the mountains that were used in the LOTR movies to portray Mt. Doom (Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu). Back on the bus on our way to Wellington, Alex, Danni and myself try to pass the time with a bubble blowing contest (New Zealand is awesome in many ways but most importantly because they carry my grape Hubba Bubba!)

We get to Wellington and drive up to the top of Mount Victoria which has a great overlook. At our hotel, the Abel Tasman, I'm rooming with Nicole and Lisa and while they go out to explore Wellington, I get some laundry done. I'll have a week in Wellington when the tour ends so I'll explore then.

That night was a "mandatory excursion" which is what Emmo called it when he realllllly recommended an excursion. This one was to a bar/restaurant called "Blend" where they even had a Contiki menu for us. A few games were played with winners winning shots for their table. It was fun and the food was good... but it was a little slow in getting to us and my nerves were done. I decided that I'd rather have fresh night air than dessert so I took off early and headed back to the hotel.

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Photos

Tara's always grabbing her ass... it's an issue.
Of course, she'll tell you that she was one of the few left standing in a bar game, but we all know the truth.

Alex decided her AA meeting wasn't necessary.
(it was water)

Comments

[Chris]

You blew bubbles at Mt. Doom?
Grape is the best travel companion out of all the artificial flavors.