Warm welcome in wet Wellington!

Spent a very interesting and relaxing weekend in a windy and wet Wellington with Mike's Culy cousins. Megan and Shane live in a lovely house with fabulous views over the bush on one side and Wellington harbour on the other. 

Views from Megan's house

 Met three sisters - Megan, Gill and Joy and their respective husbands or partners.  They gave us a warm welcome and we really enjoyed getting to know them a little over the weekend and piecing together the family history. 

Three lovely sisters Gill, Joy and Megan

Chris, Gilll's partner and Mike

Megan's husband, Shane

Megan and newish husband Shane were fabulous hosts and Gill and Chris ably took over the baton on Saturday evening when our hosts had to go elsewhere, taking us on a whistle stop tour of Wellington. 

 Megan and Shane had the added responsibility of looking after daughter Paula's rat (actually a dog), Bruce. He's a tiny bundle of mischief and kept us entertained, particularly when we took him to the beach. He didn't take to the water!

Megan and Bruce the "dog"

Bruce, resisting a swim!

 

Wellington has a beautiful waterfront and it's a compact City so easy to look around. The presence of some extremely steep hills make it particularly scenic. Amazing numbers of homes built into the hillside with no road access, so the lucky ones have personal cable cars to carry them and their shopping etc. up and down! 

The Te Papa museum on the waterfront is a great place. Much more interactive than traditional museums. Managed two floors so lots left for our next visit. 

Mike and Mags and some new friends!

Locals were all cheering as the rain came at last in large quantities on Sunday and Monday. Ruined the chance for the English cricket team to win the second  test but we'd benefited from bad weather in the first match, so it seemed fair. 

Monday wasn't our best day. Struggled to find a parking space in the City, only to find that we'd unwittingly parked illegally and got a $40 parking fine! To add salt into the wounds the windscreen wipers on the camper van then packed up, in the pouring rain! Luckily a suitable garage was close by but they couldn't get the necessary part until Tuesday. Megan came to our rescue and very kindly gave us a bed for another night.

Despite the hiccups, our stay in Wellington was memorable in a good way. Meeting some of Mike's relatives was great - it's normally Sherlock rellies that we're meeting so good to redress the balance a little. Also went to a lovely little cinema in Petone. Very comfy with two seated settees for each couple! And ate one of the most tasty and best value meals so far at a local Turkish restaurant. Made us a bit homesick for Cyprus.