The long drive to Wellington.

Yesterday, Katie and I left Rotorua (we'll miss you, egg smell) and hit the road for Wellington, at the southern end of the North Island. We stopped at Capers Epicurean and grabbed some pastries and drinks for breakfast before hitting the 5 and heading south. The drive was really beautiful, weaving through mountains and passing long stretches of pasture while listening to talk radio and planning for the rest of the trip. We stopped at Lake Taupo for some pictures, where the water was crystal clear and the beach was spotless. Behind us, skydivers were landing in a field.

For lunch, we decided to see what McDonald's in New Zealand offers, but the main differences we noticed were in the sauces: my McSpicy Chicken (I think that's what it's called) had a dressing that reminded me of Thousand Island, but was spicy. Katie had nuggets with Sweet & Sour sauce, which tasted more like mustard than that of home. We then continued south, stopping at a Scottish antique shop. I almost bought a kilt pin, but it was too expensive in the end. Finally, after another couple hours and some rain, we got to our hotel - The Ohtel - in Wellington. We tried to hit up a high-end grocery store, but they were closing as we arrived, as was the pizza place we were recommended to try by our guidebook. In the end, we went to Mt. Vic Chippery, which was delicious. You first choose the fish, then the breading, then your chips (read: fries), and then any sides and dipping sauces you'd like. I got snapper with breaded squid (calamari) and curly chips, and Katie got gurnard with wedges. We picked up some drinks and dessert from the grocery store across the street and returned to the hotel room for a night in - all that driving took a toll on me and I needed to recover. Good thing we had a huge bathtub for me to relax! We also watched plenty of Cartoon Network, which, as everyone knows, is my favorite channel. Thanks Katie for indulging me!

This place is very well stocked. They even had a vanity kit with a nail file, which I definitely used.

I've been planning to do a few sub-entries on various things New Zealand, since there really isn't another time to talk about them. A couple examples will be: driving, transportation, and navigation, or food and drinks. Now that I've had some substantial driving experience and we've been here for a bit, be on the lookout for those in the next couple of days. For now, we're off to the Weta Cave workshop, where Peter Jackson's studios are!

Happy Sunday! (Monday here.)