Wellington, NZ

After Lake Taupo we were eager to head to Wellington, NZ's southern most city and the country's capital. The fishing trip was exhausting but a good lunch and espresso kept us moving. In Wellington we were able to book a room at an in-town hostel with off-street parking (unheard of) for two nights which meant we could take our time arriving int otown. The drive from Torangi to Wellington would be our longest so far but we were determined to arrive in Wellington that evening. As many of you know, Matt is a dedicated Liverpool FC soccer fan and his team would be playing in the final game of the EuropeanChampions League tournament against AC Milan the following morning at 6:30 am NZ time. With so many Europeans and English soccer fans around we couldn't pass up the opportunity to watch a game with the die-hard fans.

We followed the masses of red Liverpool (LFC) jerseys in the early, dark morning in Wellington till we found ourselves at the Sports Cafe, off Courtney Street in downtown amongst probably 300 other LFC supporters. Our support was not enough however as we went on to watch our club lose 2-1, as AC milan avenged a Champions League final loss to Liverpool 2 years prior. They played a strong game but conceded a tough goal the end of the first half that broke their spirits after watching many of their own efforts not find the back of the net. Even a late 89th minute goal wasn't enough to fulfill the comeback after falling down 2-nill. It was a good run though for the club and the atmosphere at the Sports Cafe was as the Brits would say, "Brilliant".
After the game we returned to Rowena's for a rest and then headed out later that afternoon to walk to city. Wellington is surrounded by beautiful hills scattered with homes overlooking the city center and Lambton Harbour. We took the afternoon to explore the beaches and board walks. Wellington seemed to be much more diverse than our experience in Auckland but the wind seemed to be a significant draw back (even to the locals). That night we found, Kai, a traditional Maori restaurant owned by a local Maori family. It was a great meal and a great end to our day in Wellington before catching the early morning ferry for the South Island.

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