River Valley and Wellington

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Absolutely poured with rain on drive from Taupo so we weren't able to to do any walking in the Tongariro National Park as we had planned but just stopped at the Visitor Centre there instead. The weather did clear up as we continued drive South and by the time we arrived at River Valley it was pretty nice and sunny. River Valley is a very secluded place, with nothing for miles around other than the lodge we were staying at. It was absoultely beautiful location and after having a few days hectic travelling it was the perfect location to unwind! It is an adventure lodge and they run horse treks and White Water rafting but like quite a few other people there I decided against doing any of the activities and opted to just relax and make the most of the beautiful surroundings! Went on some nice walks on the grounds, including a challenging one on the other side of the river which was very steep and very rocky too but was worth the effort as gave some lovely view of the river below. It was also nice just sitting near the river and reading my book in the sun! Another higlight of the Lodge was the food as had fab roast dinner and also great cooked breakfast in the morning.

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We left River Valley at about 2pm and had about a 4 hour drive down to Wellington. Stayed at the Base Hostel in Wellington where girls got 3 free glasses of champagne so went down with girls in my dorm to make the most of that, and also had few more drinks as they were very cheap with an extended happy hour! After that a few of us decided to go out to a few bars, it wasn't that busy in most places other than the final one we went to but was fun and ended up going out the following night as well, which was bit busier being a friday. Had one free day to explore Wellington and walked around the city a bit before heading to the national 'Te Papa' museum, which was really good with wide range of exhibits on pretty much everything to do with New Zealand! After spending few hours at the museum went for a walk down along the water front which was pretty but windy!! Decided to head over and get the Cable Car which was glad I did as from the top there are some really great view of the city and there are also the botanical gardens up there which were nice to walk around, especially as was lucky and was nice and sunny day. After that just continued walking around some more of the city and made time to watch some of the first ashes test in the Sports Bar but really shouldn't have bothered!! Wellingon really impressed me and although can't really explain what it was but just really liked the whole vibe and atmoshere of the city.