Wellington

We woke up and decided to go to the McDonald's with the plane (which is actually a play area) for breakfast. The offerings were pretty similar to breakfast back home, and I made a mental note to try the Kiwi burger if we stumbled across another McDonald's.

Springtime in New Zealand! We also went grocery shopping, one of my favourite things to do in new places. There were a few fruits and vegetables unfamiliar to me, but more of them went by names that were unfamiliar.

Back on the road. We made a stop at Viv's Kitchen for some lunch and cream horns. I was still stuffed (and had my extra breakfast sandwich), so I went with a passionfruit cream horn and enjoyed the old-time diner vibes.

We got to Wellington well into the afternoon, and spent a few hours in Te Papa before it closed. I was feeling woozy from the rainy weather, long car ride, and lack of proper sustenance, so I had a cup of tea in the cafeteria before wandering the museum.

It was free admission, and I cannot recall if photography was not allowed, but I was too busy reading all the information. I went through the Gallipoli exhibition thoroughly, and then had to just flit around the rest of the museum before it closed. 

We headed to the cable car next, after hearing about the great views. I had forgotten it was nearing Halloween, and the cable car and the staff alike were adorned with spooky attire.

Honestly, after having been on the tram to the Peak, this cable car was quite underwhelming, especially with the rainy weather.

At the top, the rain hadn't let up, and the gloomy skies greeted us. In fact, it started raining harder as we continued to walk around, and my socks already being thoroughly soaked through, my mood was dropping faster than the temperature. I put away my camera and wandered until I found an observatory that let me take cover in their vestibule.

We headed back down to the city centre, and searched a few places for dinner. Wellington felt more like a 'proper' city to me than Auckland, and in spite the rain, felt more modern.

We ended up at The Long Bar on Brandon for Malaysian food. The family that owned the establishment also spoke Cantonese, and my dad was so impressed with it after a few days of no Asian food, that he asked for their business card to recommend to his family that would be heading to New Zealand soon.

We found our living quarters for the night, and after some midnight laundry runs and golden kiwifruit, I settled into bed.