Visiting relatives in Wellington

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That morning we set off from Phakapapa towards Wellington. This was the first time the van wouldn't start straight away and we also noticed a considerable amount of smoke for about 20 minutes while the engine presumably warmed fully. At the time I commented that there may be a problem with one of the piston rings and set about explaining the internal combustion engine to Sarah while we drove.
By lunchtime we were very close to Palmerston North and a quick look in the guidebook told us there were some award-winning gardens there, so we made for the town centre and had lunch out in the open before visiting the rose gardens and heading on towards Wellington.

Our intended destination in Wellington was the home of some relatives I hadn't met in a long time - since I was a wee bairn, in fact. Ian and Joyce were their names and we found their house no bother. Ian is my dad's cousin - making myself and Ian second cousins.
We were made extremely welcome and had a lovely 2 days with them - on Sunday after visiting the interesting "Te Papa" museum in central Wellington we met up with the rest of the family, Chris, Lou, Ali, Paul, Alex and Kayla - various second cousins removed at various confusing levels! We had a great time there, having dinner and wine at Chris's place overlooking part of the harbour, in classic Wellington weather - windy and a bit wet!

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Photos

Maori Marae with Barbershop Group
Not a sight you see every day!