Wellington(s)

New Zealand's capital, Wellington. What a nice town, a relaxed and cool kind of place. I've been here for a couple of days and tomorrow I hop on the 8am fast ferry to the south island - the world of big scenery and extreme foolishness.
I've enjoyed my few days here, despite the fact that sleeping in a tent is not as comfortable as sleeping in beds, as I was doing for most of the time while hanging out with Brizzle chums. Wellington is home to Peter Jackson and was the base for most of the Lord of the Rings filming. Since lots of it was carried out very close by, it's easy to wander into areas used as film sets; in fact the infamous place where the hobbits first hid from a black rider is about five minutes walk from where I am camping and five minutes in the other direction is the cinema where the world premiere of the last film (Return of the king) was held. At the moment King Kong is bening filmed here, but I haven't stumbled into anyone famous or seen a single huge gorilla yet.
There is lots here for the non Lord of the Rings fans as well. The Te Papa museum, which is devoted to the history of New Zealand is really superb and would easily take up half a day of anyone's time. I'm also off this moring to visit the New Zealand parliament and may relax on the beach this afternoon!
The next couple of days will mainly be spent travelling down the south island. It seems to be best to start at the bottom end of the island - while the weather there is relatively warm. Also if I'm to meet up with Sally and Sarah Loo before they leave, Queenstown is not far from the bottom of the island.
I hope to be able to get a few more photos up in the next week or so, so you will not have to be content with merely my usual mumbled rubbish.
So, of to parliament I go. Have fun, the next installment will be from the south. Take care one and all.