Sunday, August 25, 2013
We arrived in Wellington yesterday evening, with Joh and Mark. The four of us took up residence at Jude and Nick’s in Petone, where Jane and Tim where already staying. Jude and Nick aren’t here at the moment, they are joining Alison on The World around now. George and Chelsea were kind enough to ‘move out’ for the night to accommodate all of us :-). All but us are heading back to The Hawke’s Bay this afternoon. We are staying here about 4 days, before moving to Hamish’s for our last days in NZ.
Last night The All Blacks faced the Wallabies in game 2 of 3 of the Bledisloe Cup; they had won the 1st last weekend. Some had tickets to see the game here at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington; some of us watched the game in the ‘Fork and Brewer Pub’ in downtown. The All Blacks won and so retained the cup. After the game everyone re-convened in the pub for some drinks before heading back to Petone.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Currently we are relaxing in Petone. Yesterday we handed in our visa application at the Indonesian embassy in Wellington; all going well we can pick these up tomorrow.
Naturally we’ve been keeping an eye on Sterlin’s travels and according to the tracking page he is in Auckland, NZ, about to depart for Sydney.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Had a wonderful dinner with cousins and their partners. It was so nice to get to know the cousins a little bit better. Caroline cooked Rabbit in Belgium beer, which was well received by all. While in Petone we enjoyed some coffees in Beannie Cafe on Jackson.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Said goodbye to George and Chelsea, leaving Petone for the big smoke of Wellington. Hamish picked us and all of our luggage up for the short ride to Wellington. Stephen finally got his fish chips, and they were very good.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Spent the day being a tourist in Wellington touring Parliament and Te Papa National Museum. And in fine Wellington tradition, it was windy and wet. Capped the day off with another wonderful dinner with cousin Kate and her partner Bevan. The pudding was especially wonderful.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Final full day in New Zealand was spent relaxing and enjoying the city and spending time with Hamish and Tabitha. In the morning we we caught up with local photographer and friend Rob and his partner for coffee. Caroline prepared rabbit for dinner, this time in a white wine sauce.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
All packed and ready to fly. We had an absolutely wonderful time in New Zealand. We did a little touring and spent most of our time catching up with family (uncles, aunts and cousins). But it is time to head back to Sydney and be re-united with Sterlin.
Apparently Sterlin was offloaded at Sydney harbour last night. We have no idea how long it is going to take to clear customs and related paperwork. Hopefully not too long.
