To the NORTH...

I did, indeed go kayaking in Abel Tasman, which was wonderful (I'll post pics later...random internet cafe), but I, of course, managed to get a horrific sunburn. That was 3 days ago, so it's getting better, but sleeping and carying my bags became quite challenging. The next day we went back to Picton to catch the ferry, but due to storms and rough seas over the past few days we were delayed 5 hours. So, we took vare of some errands and got something to eat before we set sail that afternoon. I don't generally get seasick, but there was decent enough motion on the boat to make me uneasy. Dad, who usually gets seasick, on the other hand, seemed to do fine. We sat at a table with some nice NZ and Austrailian folks who taught Mom and I a new card game... it's a blast.

The ferry got into Wellington on the North Island a bit after 6 and we found our way to the hotel. It was pretty standard, which is really all we need, but we've been so pampered on this trip with, well... basically self-contained suites everywhere we've gone this trip.

Wellington is a city. Some of you may have heard me say that aside from a few landmarks, in the Western World: A city is a city is a city. Not a whole lot in town that sparked excitement. I managed to find a neuromuscular therapist, which was a huge help at this point in the trip. Then Yesterday, we went to the Wellington Zoo which was great. It was built on a hill, which got tiresome, but they have animals there that I don't generally get to see in zoos, and since it was a cool weekday afternoon, the animals were basically out posing for my camera (I'll post some when I can). Today we are getting a rental car and driving up to Lake Taupo which is NZ's largest lake and a thermal hot-spot. I'm hoping to hit some mineral pools this evening!

Hope all is well...