Getz-ing on our way on the North Island

We're back in Wellington. Yesterday was spent travelling from Kaikoura to Gavin and Murrette's home. We did the wait thing for the ferry again, this time northbound out of Picton. Seas were relatively calm (for us) and the trip across the Cook Strait went quick. It did rain continuously. We'd picked up cooked cray fish (lobster like critters) in the morning and feasted on them for dinner along with fillet steaks and hokeypokey ice cream (hey, that what they call it).

Today, laundry called along with making arrangement for the North Island. Oh, and arranging for what they here call a car for hire. Something that we can toodle around to all the scenic sights in. More of a challenge than I expected. All we were able to find was a Hyundai Getz - never ever heard of it. A quick look on the web shows that it has a whopping 1300cc engine. That's less than my previous Harley had and I hope it's enough to get up the many hills and mountains they have here. We'll see. Look for photos and an initial report in the coming days. Hope that we can get into it after we put the luggage in. Previously on a visit to St. Bart's in the Caribbean, we rented a Smart car - another mini-sub-compact - we had to shut off the air conditioning just to get up some of their hills. Anyway, at least Alison is available to help push when needed.

Lastly, RPNYC (Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club)... nice little place with about 50 boats, but doesn't hold a candle to Mimico.

Factoid: There are 173 days here where the wind is 32 knot or greater... that's over 60 kph.