Wellington — 4 February 2001

The end of our stay in Auckland as we prepared to travel down to Wellington. It took us all of four minutes to check out of the hotel and get a cab! Remarkable. Our check-in at the train station (8:10am sharp) was also very smooth. The ride took all day and offered spectacular scenery. Our favorites were the views from the long viaducts. We saw many animals on the journey, including lots of cows, sheep and magpies as well as a big black bunny hopping in a field.

On the train we talked with Debra and 8-month-old Gavin, who were heading off to their home in North Palmerston. Originally from Dunedin, Debra was able to give us travel tips as well as her parents' number if we needed a ride. (She also warned that her father is Scottish and difficult to understand.) Later in the conversation, she asked if Gavin was making us "a bit clucky" (translation - baby lust). At her stop, we helped get her bags down to the platform.

We arrived in Wellington in the early evening, with the train kissing the coastline at the bottom of the North Island — using the rail system allowed us to see some beautiful scenery. A very brief cab ride took us from the station to the Shepherd's Arms on Tinakori Road. Tinakori Road is a pretty, upscale suburban road with boutique shops, ritzy cafes, small art galleries, antique stores, MANY Victorian-era homes...and the Prime Minister's house, all within a couple of blocks of our hotel. After checking into our luxurious room, we wandered around, then stopped into the Tinakori Bistro for a wonderful dinner (mmmm.....fish). After a European-style meal stretching late into the night, we ambled back to the room, soaked in the huge spa bath and sacked out in the four-poster bed.