Barbara's travels continue 2018

After a pretty quick turnaround after my trips to Picton, Nelson and Wanaka, it was time to pack a couple of essentials for 2 days and an evening in Wellington. It has certainly been over 35 years since I was there! I didn't remember it at all.  Arriving early I had a chance to meander around before meeting up with Bruce and Alison again. Just down from the appartment was The Beehive, our parliament building. It is such a great shape, and I loved the name of its neighbouring street! I just had to walk down it!  Next to the appartment was also this amazing old church, 150 years old, Old St Paul's Church,  a survivor because it is entirely wooden. It is no longer used for services sadly, as they have built a rather ugly new cathedral nearby which is used instead. Madness! Wellington is well known for its wharf area, where old boat sheds have been transformed into up- market restaurants and bars or boutique stores. It is very attractive, though with a very cold wind, it was hard

I honestly thought, after my incredible trip north to Picton and Abel Tasman, that the scenery in New Zealand could not get better. Wrong! Different vegetation, of course, but on the day I drove south to Wanaka, the scenery WAS even better! The ever changing landscapes, from plains to foothills and then to lakes and snow- capped mountains, was truly distracting when you are trying to concentrate on the road ahead. No worries if you have all day and can pull over as much as you want. My 450 kilometre journey took 7 hours in total, but I so enjoyed myself. Lunch stop at Lake Tekapo. Those turquoise waters are simply irresistible, and the weather was perfect. The Lake District of the South Island is one of the most beautiful places on earth on such a fine day, with so few people around. Today, the spectacular reflections of mountains and lovely clouds in Mount Pukaki just took my breath away. In all the years in NZ I have never seen such a wonderful sight over this lake. I was completely