Windy Welly

Kia Ora :)

So this last week was pretty interesting. After getting so many messages questioning my safety after the huge earthquake that happened in Christchurch last Tuesday and sitting through international orientation in Auckland, I was finally ready to head south to Wellington.

After an 11 hour bus ride with Leah, Tom, and Jordan we finally arrived in the windy city, and windy it was!!!! We set off in search of Massey University where we would be staying with some friends that we met during orientation in Rotorua. Little did we know that Massey University and Victoria University were two different things. All of us thought that it was Victoria Massey University and seeing as though Victoria University was the only uni on the map that we got at the bus station, we headed off in what we thought was the right direction. We had to stop for a directions a few times to make sure that we were going the right way and finally a woman told us that Victoria and Massey are two completely different things and that Massey is a far walk from where we were so she offered to give us a ride. All 4 of us squeezed into her tiny car with luggage on our laps and set of the The Basin where we were meeting our friends. It's a good thing she came along because it was a LONG walk. When we got there, our friends were like... "Get ready, we're going out," so all of a scrambled to put on some good clothes and look presentable after a long, hot bus ride.

The night was full of good music, dancing and hanging out with some great people. We were there until probably 1 before we decided to head back and get some sleep for the next day. The next day we were meeting up with another of our friends and we were going to hike Mt. Victoria and see a killer view of the city from up there. The hike was more of a walk but parts of it were definitely rough. The view from the top was incredible! You could see mountains, ocean, and city all from one place. It was there that I realized I need to slow down and take things in while I'm here and not just always rush to do the next thing. That afternoon we headed to the beach to relax and ended up swimming out to the dock in the middle of the bay. The water was sooooo cold but diving off the dock was worth the swim. :) After the beach we headed back to The Basin to get ready to go out to dinner.

The next day we went to Te Papa Museum and  it was probably the coolest museum I have ever been to. It was full of history and science, art and everything else that you can imagine. It was extremely small looking from the outside but once you step inside, it's 6 floors of gloriousness. That afternoon we went back to the beach again and I got completely fried. I even put on sunscreen but it just didn't help. But don't worry, now I have a nice golden tan :) That night we went out to eat at a sushi bar called Wasabi. I didn't eat sushi because the look of it makes me want to puke and I definitely know that I couldn't handle the texture. That night we just walked around and hung out while the others went to a Jungle Party put on by their school and then a few of us went out to this little hole in the wall bar called Havanna. It was definitely a cute little place that only the locals new about. After a few hours there we headed back to make plans for the next day.

at the hole in the wall

For our last day in Wellington, we decided to go to the botanic gardens. It was absolutely gorgeous and full of so many beautiful flowers and interesting plants that you can't find in the US. After the cable ride back we got ready to go out to dinner at this Malaysian restaurant and I had some excellent food :) Then we went club hopping, I guess you could say to like 5 different dance clubs and just danced the night away. We were out late and had to be up early to catch the bus home.

 

 

The ride home was absolutely terrible!!!!! The completely packed and there was way less space between seats than the bus we came on. Let's just say that it felt wonderful to be back on ground and be able to stretch our legs for the walk back to Wellesley after an excellent week in Wellington.