WELLINGTON - Sweet as! 👍🏽💛

'Sweet as' is what true Kiwis (New Zealanders) say after almost every sentence. Therefore, it can mean almost anything... from 'very nice' to 'all good', 'no problem' to 'count me in'.

Our last stop on the North Island took us to the sweet capital city Wellington! Unfortunately, the city didn't show its best side and remained quite moody with three days of rain. ☔️

So our stay there was truly in line with the motto 'There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing!' This wisdom was quickly taught to us in New Zealand and is a mandatory sentence in every New Zealand travel blog. 😉

And so, despite the unpredictable weather, we explored the town and visited our first sight: the Cable Car. 🚃

The historic train took us on a short ride to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking the city and the botanical garden.

Slowly, we - and surely our loyal readers - recognized a certain pattern of New Zealand cities... take a hill and let tourists stroll up on a cozy walking path, lead them to the botanical garden, and end in the café and restaurant area.

The next day, Wellington surprised us - not. Once again, rain, drizzle, and fog as the Google Weather God predicted! Oh well! We climbed up Mount Victoria (#pattern) and enjoyed a breathtaking view (ignoring the few clouds and raindrops mentally) 😛

As prescribed in the bible of New Zealand cities, we then headed to the center: Lunchtime! 🍪🍩🍮🍕🍝🍟🌭🌽

At the Capital Market, we both got our money's worth, with delicacies from all over the world, it was almost impossible to decide which stall to spend our dollars on.

After replenishing our energy with food, we strolled from shop to shop, as women simply have to do in capital cities. #lawofnature

Because even the emptiest backpacker wallet eventually runs out, our shopping tour came to an end in due time and we rested in the hostel. 💆🏼💆🏽 In the evening, we still had another item on the agenda: the Embassy Theatre! A former theater that was converted into a cinema with flair! Our film choice was 'The Beauty and the Beast', which perfectly matched the contemporary atmosphere of the cinema and didn't completely overwhelm us with our boundless English skills. A great evening with popcorn, chips, and a 'Mudshake' (a combination of Kaba and Vodka)!

Wellington kept its promise on the third day and provided the promised rain. Perfect weather for the National Museum Te Papa. In 5 floors, we could inform ourselves free of charge (we could even leave our jackets for free) - the Swabian in us is amazed and the backpacker wallet is blissfully happy. Te Papa impressively showcases the many facets of its country, from geological peculiarities, natural disasters, to impressive discoveries of the underwater world! Definitely worth a visit.

After so much information, we took a break in the hostel to visit the center of power, the Parliament, in the afternoon.

On April 5th, it was time to say goodbye to Wellington and the North Island. Goodbye, we had a great time! 👋🏿

Off to the plane to Christchurch and hello South Island! 😍