Masterton to Wellington

Went to the local Farmer’s Market first thing and had a wild boar pie. Really. The showground (fairgrounds) reminded me of the ones in Armstrong, BC. Bigger in area but no indoor arenas. I particularly liked the grass cutters – a pretty good sized herd of sheep.

After that, it was more grassland until the town of Martinborough. That is where all the wineries were - great. Unfortunately, none of them opened for another couple of hours and, to tell the truth, they looked like real home based operations. They weren’t what we were expecting. Onwards to Wellington.

One thing about this part of NZ is that there sure weren’t any tourists to be seen. It is kind of off the beaten track.

Hit another high hill road just before Wellington and spent the whole way up in third gear. Come to think of it, I spent the whole way down in third as well.

In Wellington, we are splurging on an upscale backpackers lodge with a washroom and shower in the room! It too is an old hotel but it hasn’t lost its touch – yet. First stop in town was Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand. It was quite large and really well done. Spent more than a few hours there and planned to go back for more.

We even ate that night at a great Thai restaurant where we could bring our own wine. Talk about splurging.

Next day was spent exploring the city on foot. Lots of nice districts with small shops and cafes. Looked at the particular interesting looking parliament buildings and took the cable car to the botanical garden. Lots of walking but worth it.