Back in the Coromandel!

3000 kilometers and 3 weeks later Tom and I are back in our apartment, at work, in the Coromandel. We had a fantastic time, but we are so glad to be back in our own bed, in the warm, a kitchen with a kettle and a hot shower! Today we slept in until 2! Bliss.

So from Ohakune we headed further South to Wellington. With a single night spent in another DOC campsite in the middle of nowhere - creepy, murder/horror movie kind of middle of nowhere - this one had no showers! - we finally arrived at our destination. 

Our first impressions of Wellington was - expensive. busy. beautiful. architecture. 

The first place we visited was Te Papa. A big museum which educated us on some of the biggest earthquakes and more devastating natural disasters to happen in New Zealand, also the dinosaurs and other extinct animals that once roamed these lands. There was a. Real life giant squid in a tank - it's the biggest squid which has been caught in this country - and although it was dead, it was pretty impressive to look at and was massive! On the top floor we learnt about New Zealand's role in wars. 

The museum was fabulous, we really enjoyed it and for what was in show we were surprised it was free entry!

I really liked these era boxes and thought I'd share a couple with you. 

By the time we had gotten finished in the museum it was almost 5pm and with the campsite an hours driving time away, the weather bitter and cold and our questionable hygiene becoming issues we decided to book into a reasonably priced hotel. This was major luxury for us mere backpackers! The room had a flat screen tv, a real kettle and a bath!! I got myself a bottle of red and a bar of chocolate from the nearest shop - that was me for the night!

The following morning Tom and I headed into the city centre in search of shops with winter clothes. It turns out that even though the North Island is steadily approaching the winter months, with the South Island already there - the shops here don't seem to stock many winter woollies! We did however enjoy a nice ride on the famous cable car!

The following day we had another Lord of the Rings tour booked, which I will put all of the details on in another post!

So our final day we were on a mission to get my Grandad a very important photo!

The Wellington cricket stadium, of course!

On our way home back to Tairua we had some spectacular views, take a browse.