Windy Wellington: Wednesday, 7/29

After waking up super early at the lodge, we made our 5 hour trek in the bus to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand! Once we arrived, Lana and Reece drove us around in the bus for a quick tour of the city's highlights before checking into the hotel. After that we had a free day, so me and Jen made our way to Te Papa, a free six-story museum full of exhibits on culture, animals, war, and art of NZ. It was a beautiful museum, but after we reached floor 4 we got a little stir crazy and couldn't absorb much more information. We still ended up making it through the entire museum!

After visiting Te Papa we got sweet treats at a cafe and walked to Cuba Street for some shopping. There were a bunch of cute shops that we stopped in, and we got some souvenirs and gifts.

We spent the rest of the evening getting drinks and dinner at a few highly recommended local places, and now we're back at the hotel for an early bed time (we have another 6am wake up tomorrow). Overall, Wellington has DEFINITELY been my favorite place on the North Island so far. The city has a lot of small businesses and an eclectic, quirky vibe, which I love. It was fun going in each shop and restaurant and seeing what makes the place unique.

Tomorrow we make our way to the South Island via the Cook Straight, which includes a 3 hour ferry ride. In case you were wondering about the blog post title, Wellington is nicknamed "Windy Wellington" because all of the wind hitting New Zealand comes through the city and the Cook Straight. I can attest that my hair was blowing in my face almost the whole time- it certainly is very windy. I'm excited for the next adventure, and today was amazing!