There only seemed to be two ferry crossings to the south island and they left at 1pm or 3am. That wouldn't really give us a lot of time in Wellington today, so we hunted around on the internet and discovered a more expensive, but later crossing, at 5.30. We booked that and a hostel in Picton, the town at the other end of the ferry and then set out into town to see a few things that we'd missed.

First of all, we found the Parliament building and took a few pictures and then went to the cable car and took a trip up the hill. At the top, we found an observatory, and since we're both very excited about things like that, and it opened while we were standing outside looking for the openeing times, we wandered in. Because it was the last Sunday of the month they only charged us a dollar rather than ten, which is a weird reason but we didn't complain. While they were waiting for other people to turn up we had a look at a giant telescope and some pictures of planets and stars and stuff. Then we went into the planetarium and the guy told us all about the stars in the southern hemisphere, and even a bit about the north once he realised where we were from. He also told some of the maori legends about the constellations and their stories. The milky way is much clearer down here, as we'd seen on the Inca Trail, so we now know what sort of things we need to keep an eye out for. And, he taught me how to navigate by stars that are so faint I can't see them, so that'll stand me and Mikey in good stead for a while!

We walked down the hill back to the car, which took about 40 minutes and then found Mount Victoria for a view over the city. Wellington's not as pretty or as new or organised as Auckland, and the view wasn't as spectacular, but we could see all the way round and because the city's built on all sides of a circular bay, it was very nice.

On the way down we tried to find the place some hobbits hid from some baddies, and we may well have found it but it was hard to tell. Then we headed out to a cafe recommended by the LOTR Locations Guidebook. We got a bit lost (there were no stars to navigte by, for a start, and we didn't have an address for the cafe) but found it in the end. The Chocolate Fish Cafe is quite famous because it has a raod between two sets of tables and in the summer the waiters have to cross the raod to serve people. But it was cold today so we sat indoors. It was incredibly crowded, and the food was good so it was worth finding.

After lunch we took the scenic route back to Wellington town centre and the ferry. We had to wait in the car for a bit, then we had a three-hour ferry crossing to get to Picton. It was cold and dark so we sat inside and read for the whole trip. Before we left, we asked the ticket guy how rough the crossing would be. 'The seas shouldn't be too bad,' he replied. Mikey asked him to elaborate, and he said, 'Well, flat.' Suitably reassured, I asked another ticket guy who said that the waves were moderate today. Now we weren't reassured at all. As it happened, the crossing was really calm, so we didn't have to worry at all.

We arrived at the hostel at just before 9 and had supper. A quick check of the internet (we HATE Windows 98) and some rubbish on telly before bed.