On the whole the New Zealanders were kind of quiet about the holidays. There were decorations, but until a few days ago, the carols in the hotels hadn't started yet. But, in Blenheim, on Christmas day, it was VERY quiet. Everything was shut. We had breakfast at the hotel, and, there were lots of people eating.
This was the only morning that I was a bit concerned with timing. Our Intercity Coach was to leave Blenheim at 11:55, take 30 minutes to get to Picton, and we had to check into the ferry at 12:30. A bit close.We were to get the Super Shuttle to the Intercity Coach at 11 AM, and had to check out at 10. We had asked for a little extra time, but were told that there was only one maid working the whole hotel, so we really had to leave. Another couple with suitcases joined our lobby wait. At 10:50 precisely, a guy came in and took them to the local airport. Hmmmm.... No one came for us. At 11, we asked the concierge to call the Super Shuttle people. He said that he'd call, but was afraid no one would be around. He was right. No one answered. Just as I was preparing to drag my suitcase the few blocks to the railroad station, the hotel manager told us he'd drive us over. What a treat. On the way over, I asked if there'd be a problem with the Intercity coach. Not at all. Not only was there no problem, but the coach showed up 10 minutes early. We easily made it to the ferry. All was well.
We had seats in the fancy ferry lounge, and got food for "free". Because the boat was considered off license, we couldn't get wine. But we ate a lot, and the food was pretty good. I kept zipping outside to take pictures of the ride. Just as we left Picton, we traveled through several small islands. About 1 hour or so, we entered the Cook Strait, and then onto Wellington.
Fancy lounge on the ferry
Leaving Piction - the town in the background
Charlie on the ferry
Me on the ferry
Scenery around little islands on way to Wellington
Fish farm
More scenery
Last of the little islands then out into Cook Strait
Light houses near Wellington
When we got to Wellington, the Super Shuttle guy that took us to the hotel, turned out to be the owner of the company (no one to work on the holiday). He took us around Wellington on a wonderful mini tour. The governmental buildings, the old church, places that were getting earthquake retrofits. The area around the harbor, and much more. We went to the Rydges Hotel, checked in and got a great room. We went downstairs to find out about dinner for tonight. The hotel was offering a buffet at $120 each! Gak. We could get room service, but that always seems kind of depressing. We decided to walk around the harbor and into the city center. Our stroll would be for tourist purposes, but also, we might find an open restaurant. We wandered through an almost empty city center, and while walking up Taranaki Street, found a Shanghai Restaurant open! We got a seat, and had a wonderful Chinese meal! Not only were they open, but the food was great. While we sat there at least 40 people came to try to get dinner. We were lucky that we tried a bit early!
View from our hotel room
DECEMBER 26, PART I - WELLINGTON
On yesterday's tour I had seen the old St. Paul's Church. It looked beautiful, and I wanted to get a closer look. Charlie and I didn't have to get to the airport until 12, so we had lots of time. We wandered past the government buildings, and then on to the church. It's not in service any more, but is one of the prettiest churches I have been in. We then walked down to the harbor again. Wellington's harbor is lovely. We walked to the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand. Out front, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Air New Zealand, they had a cockpit of a 737. We stood in line, and then went inside. Plane cockpits always seem hopelessly complex to me. Back to the hotel.
This was on the French doors to a restaurant along the harbor. Wellington, the windy city, apparently bashed people who tried to get into the place. It was closed on Christmas AND boxing day.
Our hotel in the center
Another hotel view
The Beehive - a government building
Inside old St. Paul's
Outside old St. Pauls
Views of government buildings - hillsides beyoned
The exhibition
"Pilots"
Charlie outside the museum
View across Wellington Harbor - bald patch - Mt. Victoria overview of the city. We didn't have time this trip to get up there.
We packed up. Got to the airport for our journey from Wellington to Auckland. Easy flight. Our bags got checked all the way through to LAX - so we didn't even have to bother with them. What a treat.
DECEMBER 26, PART II AUCKLAND - TO LA
We opted to walk from the domestic terminal at Auckland to the International terminal. Our plane left on time. We landed at LAX at 10:20 AM (we had left Auckland at 7:30 PM). We got a taxi home. I'm glad it was a quiet day, our taxi driver was a bit of a wild and crazy guy. Picked up Wally. Went grocery shopping. hmmmm.... back
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