Thursday, 17 March 2016

Christmas 2015 part 3 - Wellington and Queenstown

DAY 10-12

My parents and Ian left for Queenstown on the South Island the day we got back from Bay of Islands so we had a couple of days with Luke and Nathan before they left for their backpacking trip around Taiwan.  We took them for a hike by Piha which we've posted about recently, but black sand beaches are a New Zealand specialty on the west coast so we had to take them.




I'd like to say we built the sand couch but I'd be lying.  But it made for a cool photo opp.



Luke and Nathan met their friend Dirk in Tailand where they spent New Years.


Learning Chinese characters
Meanwhile, on the South Island, my parents enjoyed an overnight cruise on the Doubtful Sound.  I'm very jealous because we didn't get there on our trip.  But if it was anything like the Milford Sound I'm sure it was incredible.  Ian also went paragliding over the city which he thoroughly enjoyed.


















Sheep shearing
Cottage  at the holiday park




While all this was happening we had a break for a day then headed to Wellington.  Wellington is on the southern tip of the North Island and where the ferry leaves to cross the Cook Straight to the South Island.  It's about a 3+ hour boat ride that is GORGEOUS.  The ferry itself was like a mini cruise ship with cafes, movie theater, magician for the kids, playground, and various sitting rooms with views.  Crazy beautiful.


Wellington

The Wellington waterfront is perfectly suited for tourists and locals alike.  The Te Papa Museum is nationally known and Kiwis are very proud of it. It's free and you can spent a lot of time in there if you have more than a day (which we didn't).  We also took the cable car up to the botanic gardens with views of the waterfront.










 Next stop, Nelson!

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