Wellington

After a 6+ hour bus ride from Taupo to Wellingon I finally arrived. Found my way to the hostel, got checked in then headed out for dinner. A man in Auckland had said that although Wellington was significantly smaller it felt more like a big city than Auckland. As I walked from the train station to my hostel I understood what he meant. Everyone was in a rush to get somewhere and get there quickly. High heels and business shoes clicking and clacking down the street around me. It definitely had te hustle and bustle vibe I didn't get in Auckland. I was scheduled to have dinner with a gal in Wellington I had connected with as I researched the trail. We met up at a pub, had dinner and a good chat! Then it was bedtime for me. I am not the night owl type these days. 

The next day was my LOTR tour around Wellington. I figured a tour was the best way to see a lot in my one full day in the city. I got picked up in a little can. Our tour had one guide and only 6 passengers so it was great and personal!  We went to Mount Victoria, WETA cave and a tour, all around the coast line, a river, a rock quarry, and a park or two...4 all filming locations for LOTR movies. The guy had stills of movie scenes to compare to what we were looking at. We stopped for tons of photo opportunities, posing and acting like the characters. He had good ideas for poses and those of us not there attached to another person he helped with photos. We had lunch and an afternoon tea snack included in the tour. It was a wonderful experience with Wellington Rover Tours and worth it. 

I decided to take it easy when we got back. I hit up a food court and had some chicken noodle soup in an Asian style and then saw the Hunger Games movie before coming back to crash in bed. 

So the next step of the trip is a 3 hour ferry trip from the North Island to the South Island. I take a 5-6 hour bus ride to Christchurch to spend the night before heading on to Queenstown. The days are too short and the time I have left remaining in this country are coming to an end far too quickly for my liking. Back to reality soon.