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Published: February 11th 2015
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Before leaving Rotorua we stopped off at Wai O Tapu to visit another geothermal park. Tom wanted to see the Lady Knox Geyser which erupts at 10.15 everyday. It was only when a warden appeared with a microphone and put a packet of detergent into the mouth of the geyser that we understood why it erupted at the same time everyday! Tom was mightily peeved!! From Rotorua we drove south to the capital of New Zealand, Wellington to spend 4 night of R&R in YHA Wellington - this travelling is hard work you know!! This is luxury hosteling and comparable to many hotel rooms we have stayed in for twice the price. We had a double room with queen sized bed, wet room, tv, tea and coffee making facilities with a cafetière and a bag of fresh coffee, towels changed daily and free wifi. Luxury!! The supermarket was literally over the road and so was the marina. On Monday we drove around the coastline, taking in the views as it was our last day with the car and it was raining. By the time we had dropped the car off it was gloriously sunny again and we walked back to the
hostel to avail ourselves of the wifi and start planning the next stage of our adventure in Australia. Tuesday was a lovely day so we walked around the marina to visit the NZ Parliament Buildings. The new building, where the MPs reside, is known as the Beehive. The older building is almost like stepping into the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. There is only one house which is called The House of Representatives and they operate Proportional Representation, other than that it is the same as the British System. On the morning we were there Philip Hammond Defence Secretary had been to deliver a plaque to commemorate 16 NZ servicemen who were awarded the VC during WW1. He also presented the NZ people with one of the Tower of London Poppies which we saw. At the end of the tour we sat outside and ate our sandwiches. By the fleet of limousines outside it was obvious he and his entourage were due to leave so we waited and duly saw him depart. Tom pointed out how ironic it is that we could get within feet of one of our ministers in Wellington but in London we would not have been
allowed anywhere near. From the Parliament we walked back along the quay and took a boat out to Days Bay where we walked along the coast towards Eastbourne, bought an ice-cream and sailed back. It was so nice to see so many children in the sea and jumping off the jetty - just having unsupervised fun! It was interesting that there were also children on each crossing travelling home from school. Back to School has begun in NZ!Weds was really windy so it was fortunate that we had decided to spend our last day in the Te Papa Museum. Funded purely on donations, it is one of the best museums I have ever visited. There are the main exhibitions and interactive displays on 2 floors. On floor 2 we spent ages in the Geology exhibit which shows what Earth is composed of and then demonstrates how the Plates were formed and subsequently volcanoes and earthquakes. There is also a really interesting Māori exhibition and a natural history section with one of the
world's largest squid measuring 4.2 metres and weighing 495kg, a Colossal Squid, which is the world's largest invertebrate. It's eyes are the size of footballs!! Not something you'd want to come close to when you are swimming!
Thursday we caught the Interislander Ferry to Picton where we picked up another car for the drive to Blenheim. We spent 2 nights in a vineyard in a self contained property called Na Clachan. We had the warmest welcome from Wendy and it was made clear that nothing would be too much trouble. There was tea, coffee and milk fresh from the cow in the fridge. The accommodation was spacious and we soon felt at home. On Friday Wendy collected us and took us to an aviation heritage centre which was fascinating and well worth a visit. The exhibits are owned by Sir Peter Jackson, director of Lord of the Rings. There are lots of airplanes, including a biplane and triplane which still fly and take passengers and war memorabilia includings items belonging to The Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen. It is a fascinating place to visit and brought to life by the guides. <br style="color: font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; line-height:
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