As promised the Haka picture. Need you ask if we are having fun yet!!!

I actually loved Wellington, or at least the parts we saw. It is situated around a beautiful harbour on the side of a hill. There is a public walkway around the harbour and there are museums, restaurants and theatres all along the path, as well as sailboats and working ferry terminals it is a major port as well. The day we were there was sunny and I could spend the rest of my life there.
We did the tourist thing and took the Wellington Cable Car up to the top of hill. It was a great view from up there. There was a botanical garden there on the hill. You had to walk down the hill to see it though and we had bought a return ticket and Barry did not want to walk down so we said we would meet him at the top. That meant that we had to walk back up the hill, quite a steep climb and challenging for Mom. I had to stop occaisionly so she would and we made it without too much stress. Good thing I have been walking up that huge hill in Opua for 3 weeks.

Check out the waves, the wind was just howling as we crossed Cook Strait. This point in the southern tip of the North Island. Apparently this was a good day to go across, the wind was only 30 knots!!
When we got off the ferry in Picton we took a drive up Queen Charlotte Sound, the scenery was fantastic. I will have to see if I can convince Barry to bring the boat down here.
The further south we went on the South Island the dryer it got. It felt like we were in the interior of B.C. around Kelowna. This is wine country, with Mom not drinking because of her medications and Barry driving we did not stop at any of the wineries.
Salt being extracted from sea water in giant ponds. Don't you just love the colour of the water.

We are about 150 km north of Christchurch. On the agenda tomorrow is going to the Museum of the Antarctic. We have perhaps the worst room we have gotten yet, carpets are worn, chairs have rips in seats and the bathroom had toothpaste on the sink!! Wonder if they changed the sheets??? Oh well, there is a gorgeous view out the sliding doors, mountains with snow on them. I think it has been since May 2007 that I have seen snow!!!