Wellington 4-9/1

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At sydney airport we found out the plane we were supposed to be on was overbooked so we had to fly on a different plane to wellington via auckland. This was ok though as they upgraded us both to business class. This involved free champagne before the plane took off and food which was actually quite nice. Also it was very comfortable with lots of leg room. Also the guy came round and shook your hand and addressed you personnaly by name.

When we arrived in wellington, about an hour later than we were supposed to, we found out our bags had not arrived when we had. This also worked out quite well as they were on the plane behind us and in the intervening 30 mins we got a free sandwich. After checking in to the hostel we had a look around and ended up having fish and chips at the harbour.

The first whole day in wellington started with a free bagel breakfast supplied by the hostel. After this we went to te papa, a very good free museum. This had an exhibition on about collossal squid and they actually had a real specimin to look at which was very cool. After this we walked to oriental bay and then part way up mt victoria along the southern walkway. We ended the day having a quick look around the shops.

The next day we went to the botanical gardens. These were probably the best botanical gardens we have been to yet. We also did the sculpture walk which is a short walk around the edge of the botanical gardens that goes past quite a few sculptures. On our way back from the botanical gardens we bumped into two girls from the oz experience bus which was a bit of a surprise.

The next day we tried to go to a few places that were closed because for some reason places in new zealand seem to have an exceptionally long holiday. We ended up going to the museum of Wellington which was quite good and we got a picture of the foot pippin wore in lord of the rings.

This day was my birthday. We went for a $10 curry for lunch which was really nice as neither of us have had a curry whilst away. We then walked up to the top of Mt Victoria. This was really good. The views on the way up and at the top are amazing. After this we had tea which involved a new zealand cheese called kikorangi which is a very nice cheese and by far the best one I've had whist travelling. After this we went out for a couple of drinks. First we went to the only Welsh pub in the southern hemisphere and then we went to a kiwi pub to try a kiwi beer. When we got back we had a slice of birthday cake before bed.

On the last day in Wellington we took a walk along the coast and relaxed ready for our first day on the kiwi bus.

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Comments

[Gareth and Barbara]

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Dave. Hope you had a great one.