Giving It Welli with Annie!!

Sorry for the long absence old chums, but activity has been rife and communication tools scarce. So what have we been doing since we last spoke? Well the day after our intrepid adventure over the Tongariro Crossing we made our way down from Taupo to Wellington (a nice easy 6 hr bus journey) accompanied by our new and wonderful friend Annie (who is off to the Cook Islands today I believe - you lucky thing, enjoy!!). On arrival the bus driver was kind enough to drive us to our hostel where we presented ourselves to the staff of the Welli YHA, a grand establishment on all accounts. And here we were to stay 3 nights. After settling (ie. dumping our stuff) into our room, we got a rather strange concoction of food for our tea, and headed down to the Reading Cinema to see Brokeback Mountain ( a brill film - go see it). The next day (the 15th so you know where we're at) we had decided to 'do' Welli, and so we got up, had a lovely breakfast outside St. James' Theatre on Courtenay Place (thanks Annie) and took a walk around the centre and harbour, before getting the Cable car up to the view point. We then leisurely wandered back through the botanical gardens, through the city, and booked ourselves a table for dinner at a little place called the hummingbird. Very funky music selection, good wine, good conversation, and very nice food. Sally was brave enough to swallow a few oysters, although she didn't seem that enamoured with them. It was a fab evening, definitely one of our best so far (and one of our saddest, as we had to say farewell to Annie). The next morning, she left us, and above Sally will continue our story. xx