by Real Traveler Travelling Lousies!
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"End of the Road....After 5000km's"

From "New Zealand Road Trip" in Wellington, New Zealand on Apr 14 '07

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Japanese Zen garden in Nelson - chill out time!
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Next on the big trip back north was Nelson. Again we were blessed with fantastic weather as we trotted about the town enjoying the relaxed weekend pace that Kiwi's seem to stick to. This does mean that all the shops shut at 1ish on a Sat afternoon which for Mer curtails her 'shopaholic' instincts. A big mention for Nelson has to be the food. Maybe we fell lucky but the meal in the evening at a place called 'Bardelicious' and the next day at 'The Blue Bay Cafe' for lunch were definately some of the best we have had. Loads of local seafood at incredible prices.....well done Nelson!

View from the boat shed restaurant - fab seafood!
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Next up was the capital, Wellington. We had a mission to fulfill first of all which was to gain our Russian Visa's but this turned out to be really easy and left us with time to kill and the largest museum in NZ to kill it in...Te Papa. Fortunately it is quite a new venture which means loads of interactive exhibits rather than just stuff to read and see so much fun was had.

'The Empire' famous for being a refurbished 1920's style cinema that hosted the world premiere of LOTR....

Marlborough sounds views
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After a stroll and tram up to the highest point of Wellington we decided to try out a local Mauri restaurant 'Kai' where not only did we get traditional Mauri dishes but we were also serenaded by the owner who (after a couple) coaxed all the tables into joining in the Mauri songs....great fun if painful on the ears (for Mer). Finally for the night we went for a late night showing of 300 at 'The Empire' famous for being a refurbished 1920's style cinema that hosted the world premiere of LOTR. It was all leather seats and huge tiers of seats that reminded me of the old cinemas in Sheffield when I was a kid.

So all in all pretty tame really...no action pictures to show and no chance of getting killed but a good way to spend our last few days in NZ soaking up the culture and scenery.

Tomorrow its off to Fiji. This means sun, sand and Kava (look it up) but also probably a quieter blog for a while (blame the Kava). In all seriousness (mothers) PC's might be scarce so it may be a while until we can update.....

A few photos to come when we get chance..

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golfcasinoman on Apr. 17, 2007 @ 07:30PM said

wow , whos kiwi0070 ?

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golfcasinoman on Apr. 17, 2007 @ 07:30PM said

wow bring me home a bottle of kava , it sounds wicked !! getting sick of pernod , pmsl

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The Whileys on Apr. 17, 2007 @ 07:30PM said

Well, we looked Kava up on the Wikipedia and it sounds great, but thought you might want to consider the side effects as over consumption sounds as though you both might miss the other pleasures and action on Fiji- Go steady on it both! Extract from Wikipedia below: Effects The onset of a moderate potency kava drink is 20-30 minutes, with effects usually lasting for two hours. Effects can be felt up to eight hours after ingestion. These effects of drinking kava, in order of sensation, are slight tongue and lip numbing caused by the contraction of the blood vessels in these areas (the lips and skin surrounding may appear unusually pale); mildly talkative and euphoric behavior; anxiolytic (calming) effects, sense of well-being, clear thinking; and relaxed muscles. Sleep is often restful and there are pronounced periods of sleepiness correlating to the amount and potency of Kava consumed. When drunk to excess, Kava can cause vomiting and a feeling of nausea that will subside usually by the end of the day after consumption. In Vanuatu, drinking strong kava is normally followed by a hot meal or tea. Meals consumed along with kava traditionally follow some time after the beverage so that the psychoactives are absorbed into the bloodstream more quickly. A drink of high potency results in a faster onset with a lack of stimulation, somnolence, and then deep, dreamless sleep within 30 minutes. Unlike alcohol-induced sleep, after wakening the drinker does not experience any mental or physical after effects. Heavy consumption of kava can produce dermatological effects ranging from light, red bumps; to heavy, scaly, ulcerous skin. Kava contains lactones that bind to skin proteins forming antigens which then lead to the allergic response. Discontinuation or reduction of consumption resolves the effects. It is reported that many people experience rather vivid dreams after consumption of kava. [1] Kava can also be combined with coffee to produce kavajava, the effects of which are said to combine the most pleasant qualities of each.

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kiwi0070 on Apr. 17, 2007 @ 07:30PM said

The cinema you went to is called 'The Embassy' and its 'Maori' not Mauri.

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