Windy Welly

Last week, we headed from rainy, cold, miserable Tongariro, down to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.
On the way down, while at a rest stop, my Mum called with the most amazing news:

I got into law school at Osgoode in Toronto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When she told me on the phone, I screamed, and everybody in the cafe/gas station was staring at me like I was a lunatic. Anyway, I am so happy, and so relieved that I know I'm moving back to Toronto for the fall. Now I can enjoy my trip even more because I can relax knowing my plan for when I get back. Since then, my trip has only been getting better!

We also went through the carrot capital and gumboot capital of NZ. Yes, I know. Weird. The Kiwis really like to have big monuments for everything.

Have I mentioned the sheep?
There are just over 4 million people that live in NZ, but there are over 40 million sheep. Clearly, I am obsessed with each and every one of them. This gal was my fave:

Wellington was really nice. A whole lot nicer than Auckland which I thought was kind of awful-a city that could really be anywhere. They call Wellington "Windy Welly" because it is apparently the windiest city in the world. They weren't kidding. It is so windy! They also call it "Wellywood" because all the LOTR movies were edited etc. there. Wellington reminds me a lot of Victoria, BC. Actually, a lot of NZ reminds me of BC.

In Wellington, I went to the national museum called Te Papa ("Our place" in Maori). I think it is probably the best museum I have ever been to! It is very hands on and interactive, and the way they present all the information is so innovative. I'm really glad that I went! I also found a really cute little used bookshop called Pegasus Books (pegasusbooksnz.com) where I picked up a paperback of On Beauty by Zadie Smith to read on the beach once I get to Thailand.

The next morning was an early one, as we had to get on the ferry to cross over to the South Island. The ferry ride between the 2 islands is so similar to the ferry ride btwn Vancouver and Victoria. I was so tired that I almost forgot where I was. Clearly, I passed out unconscious on the boat. I love the swaying ocean.

  The rest of the day was brutal. Our bus broke down twice. And 44 stinky backpackers on a bus with no air con in 32 degree weather is never the greatest. We even had to push the bus at some points to get her rolling. At least the country is pretty though :)