With the weather taking a turn for the worse towards the end of the week (we didn't know how bad it was going to get...) we decided to head out to Cape Palliser - about 100kms from the Hutt Valley. We set off under beautiful blue skies, and despite the part sealed, part unsealed road we made good progress, arriving at around 11am. The area was highly reminiscent of the Cornish coast and it's fishing villages - even down to the boats with battered bulldozers attached to the front to help pull them out of the surf and up the beach.

The lighthouse at Palliser is a little like an old fashoined barber's pole - red and white striped - and stands atop a cliff some 300 steps high. For some reason the land was cordonned off (lambing season) so we took a couple of piccies and then made our way back. Parts of the road were so bad it had completely subsided into the sea and it was one lane - we also got to go through a ford where the bridge was 'Cars Only'. All great fun if a little 'not-insured'...

One of the cape's other highlights (other than the magnificent rolling scenery - you could even see the snow-capped peaks of the South Island in the distance) are the seal colonies that lie just a few metres from the road to the lighthouse. Heeding warnings not to get too close or cut off their route to the see (this makes them very aggressive apparently) we spent a half hour watching them on land - mostly sleeping, and in the sea - mostly playing. It was great to be so close to nature without it being behind bars.

Onwards to Wellington then - we are staying in Lower Hutt at the mo, which is the closest campsite to the City Centre. The weather (sorry to bring it up again I sound almost like a Kiwi...) was horrible last night - wind and rain so volumous that it caused our skylight to leak, fortunately not on the bed or it would have been distinctly unpleasant. It is still raining hard so we're off to do the museum run followed by a search for (cheap) original Maori artwork to add to our collection from other countries we have visited. We're really looking forward to a couple of nights in luxury (thanks Richard and Sally) before the ferry which could be pretty awful if the rain and wind keeps up.

First impressions of Wellington are good - it seems to have a really good mix of museums/cultural stuff and the important things like bars and restaurants. Today will tell - we start at Te Papa - the National Museum of NZ - 'Our Place' as it's affectionately known to the locals.