Windy in Welly

Sun 28th took The Overlander train from Auckland to Wellington - known as Welly by the locals (ex-pats at any rate) - a twelve hour journey with observation deck and viewing platform etc. Main meals were $8 NZ and edible !- obviously they haven't been trained by British rail catering staff !! Arrived Welly exactly 12 hours later - it has been described apparantly as the San Francisco of NZ (New Zealand) - and yes it is very hilly and has a fab bar/cafe culture but I have to say the wind factor (and it is VERY windy) reminded me of Chicago. Wandered on Sunday evening and took the longest route to ground level (discovered later that we had a hotel across the way with lifts to ground level, also they have staircases littered over the city) - well we needed to stretch our legs ! Found the Great India which proved to be one of the best indians we've ever eaten in - nan breads beyond compare and staff that explained all of the ingredients of every dish - impressive !

Monday did the circular bus tour to orientate ourselves, the cable car for the fab views, the Carter Observatory (to hear them snipe about the Auckland one) and the Botantical Gardens which were outstanding - the rose garden was unbelievable. (Pete Hulme eat your heart out !) Eventually grabbed some lunch by the waterfront and sometime later dinner in Logan Browns - this is a definite must do for Wellington - it is definitely in my Top 3 restaurants of all time - it was superb !! By the way we did not fall on this completely by mistake - I hd in fact made contact with a girl from my Irish home town who had emigrated there and she had kindly provided some suggestions of what to do etc.

Tuesday we did (a fraction of) Te Papa Museum - Wellington is the capital and the museum is NZ showcase for doing a museum properly. Free entry and four floors - all of which deserved a whole day each ! We limited ourselved to the foundation of NZ (Land & people (how immigration happened etc)) and a tad of Mauri history. In the evening we met up with Niamh (Irish school friend) and her husband. Niamh had assured us of a nice new place that had just opened only 15 mins from the bar we met in (obviously timed when she was out running her dog - but hey I needed a walk I'm sure !). Niamh and I had not seen each other for about 20 years so obvioiusly husbands were fairly superfulous (sp ??) as we tried to catch up in a mere few hours !

On Wednesday we took the ferry to Eastbourne, came back to Welly and did the Parliament Tour - a one hour (free) guided tour of the buildings and how it all operates. Most interesting was the demoncracy NZ have - it is the only place in the world where ANYBODY may request a hearing on any subject and are guaranteed to be heard. Less than 24 last year - so not largely taken up by the population, however one hearing consisted of a gospel choir who sung their petition ! (And all 25 members or so were accomodated). On the way back we stopped for a coffee and Alex met a girl from Arran (his favourite Scottish Island) - how small a world is it !!

We also discovered on Monday that the entire 16 teams playing in the Rugby 7's were staying in the hotel across from us (the one we used for the lifts). All in the bar at various stages drinking their energy replenishment drinks ! All very young and very fit looking.

Alex has given me a crash course on the 7's the 14's, international games and then the Black Caps etc - with a severe warning to check with him first before opening my mouth !! Apparantly getting the time/number of players mixed up is not good and trying to remember which sport I'm on are very important points - details, details and me on my holidays !!

That's all for now - will try and update again tomorrow with the hiring of a car to go rambling around.

Love to all

Ursula & Alex