THURSDAY – JANUARY 2, 2014
BOTTOM LINE: Drove from River Valley to Wellington, (NZ
Capital)
BACK STORY:
The lodge
accommodations were totally cozy for a wet, stormy night. We were put up a steep set of stairs in the
peak of the A-frame.
We seem to be bonding
more with our tour group, as they seem to be searching us out for conversations
and to also check in on the “seniors”…giving us help when they think we need
it! Ha!
We ordered and shared a
breakfast from our favorite Irish cook.
It was more than enough for two.
The first order of
business for the day was to haul our things back down the steep steps and onto
an open bed truck that would then shuttle them up to our bus at the top of a
very steep hill. We were all to then
hike up the hill to take everything off the truck and stow our things in the
storage compartment under the bus. This
kind of travel is not for the faint of heart!
Luckily the morning air was cool after a night of rain and the climb was
doable. I would compare the incline and
length to climbing up to Coit tower from Grant Street in SF twice. Hearts pumping, it was a good way to get some
exercise!
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| Steep morning hike to bus |
Our driver announced to
us that our day would be one of driving.
Aside from a “tinkle” stop as Scotty referred to it, our big stop for
lunch and shopping was in the town of “Bull.”
The town’s claim to fame is in its name. All business names seem to play off the town’s
name. EX: Police="Consta-bull",
Toilets="Relieva=bull", Pharmacy="Dispensa-bull", Deli="Delecta-bull", Information
center="Informa-bull", etc.
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| Bull signs 1 |
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| Bull signs 2 |
One thing that was new to us is New Zealand has a country holiday for New Years on the 1st and 2nd. Any goods and services consumed or purchased on those two days incurs an additional 15% surcharge as a means to supplement the pay to the employees that work on either of those days.
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| Holiday surcharge on goods and services |
We arrived to the
Capital of New Zealand, Wellington about 2:30 pm giving us time to check into
our Backpackers Base Hostel and do some sight seeing. Sunset is getting later which makes for a
full day of exploring.
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| Wellington hostel |
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| View from hostel room |
Once again we had requested a double/private room. We were graced with a room on the 7th floor with a huge balcony and view of the City. Amazing and all for $60/night!...or so we thought!!??
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| New Zealand Parliament and Beehive |
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| San Francisco-like building |
On the way into Wellington our driver/guide made the comment that the national museum is not to be missed. We headed to the museum before it closed. It is a totally free museum except for special exibits within the complex. It was Thursday and was open until 9pm.
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| New Zealand national museum |
We emerged from the museum 3 hours later feeling fully educated on history, geology and indigenous people of the country. We were both hungry so a hunt for a place to get dinner was top priority. The restaurants that were open all seemed to require reservations. After being turned away we settled on a corner pub where we enjoyed an amazing meal at minimal price.
When we returned to our
room where we spent time organizing our luggage and packs for our ferry ride
the next morning. A storm was brewing
outside and the howling wind coming through our French doors were a bit
unnerving. Every time the wind would blow,
the gust somehow would cause the wall of our headboard to move.
With us needing to be
picked up a 7am the next morning, I knew it would be a night of light sleeping.
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