Sunday was when we finally left Queenstown which was great fun, heading north to Lake Tekapo. En route we stopped in Cromwell for a supermarket stop before arriving in Tekapo by afternoon. I obviously stayed here about a month ago although it was nice to return with a lot less snow than the time before. As it was a relatively nice day we decided to go up Mount John for the view, and the path was a lot less icy than last time and we got to the top with some great views of the lake and mountains. Come evening the weather turned a little although we still went to the hot pools nearby the hostel which were nice and relaxing, before I had an early night as I didn't get much sleep the previous night!
The following day was back to to Christchurch, although it snowed overnight all be it a sprinkling which made Tekapo all nice and white again. Luckily this didn't affect us getting over the snowy Burkes Pass, soon arriving in Geraldine for a break. From here we cruised straight into Christchurch by about lunchtime although it was a little rainy which wasn't so good. After checking in we therefore just went down the local pool hall before just chilling out at the hostel as obviously Christchurch CBD is effectively a building site so there wasn't much else to do.
Tuesday we continued heading north towards Nelson, a drive we did previously although it was necessary to do it again to get to North Island unless we flew there. It was a nice drive however going over the Lewis Pass due to the ongoing problems in Kaikoura meaning Kiwi Experience stop in Nelson instead. En route we stopped in Culverden, and also went for a short walk to Maruia Falls which was better than the walk last time when our driver tried to do a bush walk but actually took us to the toilet! We arrived in Nelson by mid afternoon so it was pretty long drive.
As we had a few hours daylight to spare in Nelson we decided to do a walk to the so called centre of New Zealand which was a small hill overlooking Nelson and apparently the geographical centre of New Zealand. God knows if it actually is or not. It was a nice walk though going through Nelson town centre and along the river before a short and steep climb up the hill to the summit, some great views because of the sunny weather. After heading down we headed back through the town before getting fish and chips as it was nice evening and a good sunset. We then just chilled in the hostel which was good as it had plenty of games and even a sky TV!
Wednesday was the last day on South Island, leaving Nelson for the relatively short drive to Picton and the ferry terminal to get to Wellington on the North Island. En route we stopped at the Pelorus Bridge which was nice location, recognisable from the Hobbit movies. From here we continued to Picton where we had a couple of hours to kill before the ferry left. It was just nice to walk along the waterfront as it was a really sunny day. The ferry left by 2 and it was a beautiful ride as it weaved through the Marlborough Sounds before reaching the Cook Strait where North Island became visible. We arrived in Wellington at sunset. After checking into the hostel we just went out for a few beers, including a quiz night which we came last in.
After a pretty late night we headed out to explore Wellington the following day, taking in the harbour and main city streets, eventually ending up at the beehive home of parliament. We somehow ended up going inside and sitting in the gallery where we watched a live debate although the prime minister was getting destroyed by the labour party which was funny. After the debate we headed back through the town to the cable car which we took up top to get a great view of the city skyline. The botanic gardens were also up here. From here we headed towards Cuba Street which is probably the most famous street before heading to the Te Papa museum. As it is such a big museum covering 6 floors we only managed to do a few of the exhibitions. We then headed out for another pub crawl and another late night.
Come Friday we decided to head up to the summit of Mount Victoria which provided some further great views of the city skyline, before heading over the other side towards the Wellington sign. The sign makes fun of Wellingtons common nickname wet and windy Wellington. We then headed to the Weta Caves which are home to the film studios used in many of Peter Jacksons movies including Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, Narnia, and King Kong. This small museum is home to many props, costumes, and behind the scenes film footage so it's an interesting place to explore. After catching the bus to Wellington we went back to Te Papa to explore a few more exhibitions, before returning to the hostel. There was another quiz night however, this time at the hostel and we did better coming in third. We then just headed out for a few drinks.
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