Wellington to Nelson (January 3-4)

We needed to check out of our Bookabach by 10 am and, sadly, we headed to the very south of the North Island (Wellington) while Sean and family headed north back to their home.  Given that we were driving through a pretty remote landscape, I decided it was high time to tackle my fear of driving on the left side of the road.  I’m always our driver these days anywhere in the world, but I had never driven on the left.  So, after lunch I drove the second half of our trip.  The girls had been complimenting Jim nonstop with each successful turn he made and I asked for the same. I got a few compliments before they fell asleep; it was pretty anticlimactic, but turned out to be great timing. (That’s foreshadowing.)

We got checked into our hotel in downtown Wellington, right near the cable car that takes you up to the top of the big hill. We went all the way up and walked down through the botanical gardens, which were amazingly beautiful, a real treasure all free and always open in the middle of the city. 

We returned to our car and drove out to an all-vegan restaurant that Sean’s friends recommended: The Botanist. It was super backed up (it was a public holiday) but we played cards and took a short walk by the water, and by the time the food arrived after an hour’s wait, it was well worth it. Absolutely delicious! 

Unfortunately Jim started to feel sick at dinner and by the time we got back to our hotel, he was sick enough (hoping not Covid) that he and I took the room with two twins and gave the girls the big bed. I didn’t want to even be in the room with him. Our air conditioning wasn’t working and we decided to do laundry that night to find the washer didn’t work either. The hotel staff couldn’t fix it so they took our clothes out of the machine and we just hoped we’d have them back in time for our flight the next morning. 

Jim had an early call to get on but still didn’t feel well. He took a COVID test but was negative so we decided to carry on with our plans. The girls and I worked out and then headed out to shop (Julia went to the bookstore while Rachel and I went to Macpac (New Zealand-based outdoor brand that was having a huge sale and so much great stuff). We didn’t have nearly enough time.  We went to Pickles and Pie for breakfast and raced back to the hotel to pack to check out.

Thankfully I had practiced driving the day before because Jim was in no condition to drive. The hardest part was getting out of our tight parking garage so Rachel ran down the ramps guiding me on each turn (9 floors up). I drove us to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, a natural history museum. We parked in a covered lot and Jim slept in the back seat while the girls and I looked around. The museum was EXCELLENT — they had a special exhibit about Gallipoli put together by the same person who did the Lord of the Rings movies. It was quite spectacular. Then we learned about the birds, volcanos, and formation of New Zealand.

We could have stayed all day but we needed to get to the airport. The girls walked to get Vietnamese food and I drove Jim over to pick them up — dropped off the car and while we were checking in at the airport, we got a text from Angie that Ellie tested positive for COVID. Uh-oh!

After a brief incident with our luggage got resolved, it was a quick flight to Nelson, it was a quick flight to Nelson on a very small plane with propellers. The plan was to start our time in the South Island staying with Roger (a Caltech friend) and his wife Jo for a few days, but given Angie’s news about Ellie and the state Jim was in, we decided we should all Covid test once more in the car before heading to their house — New Zealand had given each of us a box of 5 tests when we landed!  Despite testing negative earlier in the day, he very quickly tested positive this time. 

We tried to find a different place to stay but given it was a major vacation week throughout the country, there was literally nothing available. Roger and Jo kindly insisted that we come to their house anyway. They had had COVID recently and weren’t particularly worried, but the girls and I were very worried. With no other choice, we took them up on their offer, and it ended up being great. Roger and Jo had just moved into a new house that has beautiful views overlooking the water. They had a room for the girls and one for me and Jim, but there was no way I was sleeping in the same room as Jim. So, we decided that I should take the really beautiful room with the view to the backyard, and Jim should take the very small study. I think Roger thought we were joking, but we took a trundle bed out of the girls room and set it up for him.  It ended up being a perfect solution because what Jim really needed was to sleep.

Jo made us a fabulous meal of salmon and lots of delicious sides including potatoes. For dessert, we had local ice cream, an apricot tart, and boysenberries that were absolutely divine.  I will forever be on the search for more New Zealand Boysenberries.