Tuesday 15 February

Today we travelled from Millar Road to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island, a distance of some 320 km. We saw some beautiful scenery but with most NZ trunk roads being something like those in the UK before any motorways were built, it took most of the day.

Since we arrived we have done our best to see what we can of Wellington in the very short time we have here. So first we travelled on the cable car to the top of the Botanical Gardens. From here there is a great view over the city and bay. Then we walked back down to the city through the gardens and a rather interesting old cemetery. We took an instant liking to Wellington and from the little we have seen it looks like a very interesting place and certainly worth staying longer than the one night we have available which is a real shame.

The hotel where we are staying in recommended a Thai restaurant for dinner. We got talking to the waitress and discovered that her grandparents live in Harkstead just a few miles from where we live in Suffolk. As they say, it's a small world!

On a domestic level we nearly had a disaster this evening. After a quick swim in the hotel pool we put our “cossies” for a rinse and spin in the washing machine and when we got back 3 hours later they were still tumbling and very hot but fortunately the same size!