Once we got into Wellington, the weather took a turn for the worse - the kind where the wind blows the rain sideways and you're cold and soaked from head to toe every time you go outside. Fortunately, Wellington is home to Te Papa, a museum about New Zealand with a large emphasis on Maori history and culture. Not only is it one of the coolest museums I have ever been to, it is also free - so we took our time and spent the majority of two of our days there exploring Te Papa.
The history and culture of New Zealand is fascinating - a country even younger than the US, the landscape and people have changed dramatically over the last century and a half. My favorite exhibit was an interactive view of the life of a sheep, from a sheep's point of view. Surprisingly, though the sheep-to-person ratio here is extremely high, sheep are not native to New Zealand (I felt the same way about this as I did upon learning that the palm tree is not native to Southern California).
After a few rainy days in Wellington, we took the ferry over to the South Island. Allie spent most of the fairy ride seasick and I came close, but we both managed to enjoy the view into Picton harbor. As soon as we changed islands, the clouds parted and we were on our way! As impressed as we were with the north island, everyone says the south is even more beautiful....I can hardly wait to find out for myself.
