Where does the time go? It went to South Island. We took the train to Wellington (OK, that's on North Island), stopping at one of New Zealand's mountain national parks along the way. Wellington, New Zealand's capital city, is a wonderful, middle-sized city. We stayed at a great B&B upstairs from a lively pub.
Charlie took the opportunity to drop in on a parliament session in the famous Beehive building. He heard debate about the latest Shorelines Act, which we have heard mentioned many times in the press later on.We were in Wellington for Bill's birthday. Susie booked us at Charlie Bill Restaurant, but our Bill wasn't feeling too well. So we had to have his cake without him.
We caught a ferry across Cook Strait. It was a beautiful and enjoyable 3 hour trip. There's lots to do on the ferry and watch the beautiful scenery, so the time went fast. When we arrived in Picton, we picked up our tiny rental car, crammed ourselves and our luggage in and hit the road.
Our first night was in a pleasant country motel, in Blenheim, in the Marlborough wine region. Susie got some goodies at the store, and we ate outside our rooms.
The next day we rented bikes and set out across the country side. We came to a local Aviation Museum, but decided to concentrate on wine tasting. (Strangely, those pictures didn't come out)
