Today was a travel day for us as we would be flying from Queenstown to Wellington. It was another bright and sunny day so we were really happy about that. We took our time getting ready and having breakfast since we didn't need to return the rental car until 11:45 or so and the plane boarded at 12:50.
After we were all packed up and ready to leave, we drove out toward Glenorchy. Josh and I loved this one overlook spot that we could visit without having to drive all the way to that town and back. When we reached the lookout, it was a perfect view of more mountains, the lake, and three islands: Pigeon, Tree, and Pig Islands. We snapped some photos and then turned around and began our drive back.
As we came into Queenstown, I made sure to ask Josh if he wanted to stop at the food court in the mall because he'd been wanting to eat the lamb curry again ever since the first time he had it here in May. He said no and we continued on toward the rental car agency but first we had to stop and refuel the car.
Car refueled, we found the Jucy/Ezy car place after only getting turned around once. Josh spotted that I'd left the camera in the back window ledge of the car-close call on that one! There were several other people returning vehicles who also needed a lift to the airport so Josh and I were driven back in our rental car and Kathy and Farolyn were driven to the airport in a shuttle van with other people.
We checked in easily enough and we had about 30 minutes or so before our flight boarded. Josh's parents looked around the shops while Josh and I ordered some wedges to snack on (we'd finished off the oatmeal that morning for breakfast). We drank our Diet Coke that we were toting around since we'd bought more than we managed to finish during our time in Queenstown. The view from the large glass windows was great as the sun shone on the Remarkables.
When we boarded the plane, I hoped I'd picked the correct side of plane for viewing Mount Cook as we were flying north to Wellington because I'd forgotten to confirm that information with the check-in girl. We were in seats 7 A, B and 8 A, B. As we took off and flew over the snowcapped Southern Alps, I knew I'd picked the correct place to sit on the plane.
The scenery from the plane was absolutely stunning on this fine day! The first picture is of Lake Pukaki from the air and the second picture is of Mount Cook. We were happy that Josh's parents were able to Mount Cook on their trip since they hadn't really been able to get a good look at it the day we hiked there. 
The flight was pretty smooth until we came in for our landing at Wellington. Wellington is notorious for its winds and it's not uncommon for flights to have to wait or divert to another airport because of the crazy Wellington winds. Josh seemed to take note of the landing more than I did (yes, it was a bit bumpy but the Christchurch flight really put things into perspective for me).
We landed safely and went to pick up our luggage while Josh went outside to arrange a shuttle ride for us. A taxi to the Museum Hotel is about $20 according to their website, however, with all our luggage we would have needed two taxis and a shuttle for the 4 of us was only $30 total.
All our bags made it and we boarded the shuttle with two other women on board and we were off. We were the first to be dropped off too which was nice. As Josh dealt with the payment and getting the bags from the shuttle I went to check us into the hotel apartment I reserved, a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom unit.
Thinking about the check-in process still makes my blood boil and as we've been back from our trip for less than a week, I will need to write a letter of complaint to hotel management. While checking in, I asked if the room had a harbor view and the girl said no, those start on the sixth floor and you're on the second floor...you requested a harbor view but we can't guarantee it.
Okay, then Josh walks up and I tell him we won't have a harbor view. The check-in girl had no reason to say anything more in explanation to us but she proceeded to tell Josh that there was a film crew staying with them and that they give the harbor view rooms to "important" people. Josh proceeded to tell her that it is nice to be appreciated as a customer.
UGH! We dragged our bags down to the elevator and got off on the second floor. We went to room 218 only to realize when some guy opened the door that we were in the hotel section NOT the apartment section that we needed to be in. We went back downstairs, found the correct elevator and walked down the entire hall (which was really nicely decorated) to our corner apartment.
The apartment was really nice inside but the living room was very small. We had a view of the Te Papa Museum (which was the reason why I booked this hotel because it was walking distance to the museum and the wharf since we wouldn't have a car for our short time in Wellington).
We needed more robes and sugar so I put a call in to the front desk. Over an hour later (and having sent Josh and his parents onto the Te Papa without me) the robes and sugar arrived. Very disappointing service.
I met back up with the family and we viewed the harbor from the garden area of the museum. We took another family photo and I got to visit the "earthquake house" again and to see my favorite thing in the museum a photo montage of New Zealand postcards. I think that is so cool.
After visiting the museum (and shutting it down as per our usual style) we walked along the wharf to Mac's Brewery. We checked out the menu and decided to eat there (I'd been there once before and liked it). The girl wanted to seat us in the restaurant area and we were like no, we want to eat over there, pointing to the bar area. She said we'd have to order off the bar menu then and we were even happier about that.
Josh's parents and I all had fish and chips and Josh got an olive, roma tomato, and feta pizza. The beers we got were really tasty and so was the food.
After dinner, Josh and his parents went to the New World grocery store next to the hotel to buy dessert and breakfast for the following morning. I went to check our email on the hotel's internet station. After checking our email, I popped into the hotel's bathroom downstairs and was glad I did. It was so nice! The wall had a little cubby for holding rolled up washclothes to dry your hands on. Very nice.
When I got upstairs, I saw that we were having apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Yum. We were off to bed around midnight having watched the second Duece Bigalow movie on tv.
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