To the North Monkeys

Right, time for you land lubbers to be updated on our quest for world domination.
Hanmer springs was the last entry so ill try and speed you all through what we have done in the last few days.
We departed Hamnner on the 27th and drove through the rain to a place called Nelson in the North of the South Island. The drive took us about four hours and when we got to our destination, the sun came out and it all looked rather nice again! We found a campsite quite close to the town centre and after taking some advice, we set off to look for somewhere to celebrate my oldness!after muc umming and arring we settled on a thai restaurant called the Golden Orchid (or something golden.. maybe Bell!) anyway, i wont bore you with what we ate but it was nice, the place was a little busy so the service wasnt great but hey, we are on holiday! Back to the campsite and Pol had bought me a choccy cake so we scoffed most of that and went to bed full and content! We have since turned our back on Chocolate and havent eaten any in nearly a week! (wow i hear you all say!) Saturday took us East to a small town called Blenheim, Small being the operative word as when we got there around three pm.. all the shops were closed (And this was on a saturday!) this led us to think we wanted to leave the primitive south island and head to the sun and intelligence of the North! We therefore called our van hire company who booked us on the South to North Ferry leaving at ten.. BONUS no 1: When we took the van, we were told that EZY would pay for the Ferry for the van only and it would cost us $60 each... when i arrived at the Ferry terminal, the man told me that our fees had been paid by EZY too! What a bonus.. kerching.
Pol slept on the Ferry while i entertained myself with Dead Men Dont Wear Plaid (Steve Martin film from the 1980's - Matt S) and by the various random comments coming from a very tall cross dresser sat in the corner of the lounge!
our first views of Wellington were pretty much the same as our first views of everywhere in New Zealand, through rain lashed windows.. however, when we went out to explore the city the next day, it was rather nice (albeit, rather wet) We met our Swedish friends in the Te Papa musuem and spent an enjoyable three hours wandering around the various exhibits and pressing buttons etc... highly recommend it if anyone decides to go there. Mooched around the shops all afternoon and went to bed early.. (very exciting i know!)
We then decided to drive up to the Tongariro National park and do some walking for a couple of days to save some money. It was spectacular! the Volcano was snow capped and as the ski season had just ended, all the mountains still had a touch of the white stuff... needless to say we went for a walk in it..(how bizarre!)
Walked to the emerald lakes yesterday (about 13km) and lazed around after as felt a tad tender... We are now in a place called Taupo waiting for our washing (which cost $6 each load and the machines dont even have a hot wash....grrrrrrrrr)
Thats all for now peeeps...

Pollyali

xx