-Chapter 29- New Year's Eve

This time we booked an affordable hostel in downtown Wellington, which was okay and reminded us a bit of a bunker. It was a maze of gray corridors, all on one floor. That's why there were no windows anywhere. We used the shower, which was not an airport shower, and cooked burritos for dinner. At around 9:00 we wanted to go outside. (I stood in front of the glass sliding door, which opened automatically when checking in, until the smoking men outside the door told us that I had to press a button). We followed the crowds heading to a stage by the harbor and continued walking along the water, looking for a good spot for the fireworks. There were quite a lot of people out, but most of them looked just as clueless as we were. An hour before the fireworks, we bought something like New Zealand hats and sat on a harbor edge that quickly filled up for the fireworks. We waited like chickens on the perch until midnight. 10 minutes before 12, someone far away launched a few rockets and the man next to us panicked, thinking he had missed the new year. When the moment finally arrived, we counted down the countdown with all the other tourists and locals.

Exactly at midnight the fireworks began. Without time to wish each other a happy new year, or whatever else you do. Everyone jumped up hectically, cameras ready, and watched the rockets rise into the air over the sea. Based on everything we had heard beforehand, we didn't expect much from the fireworks in Wellington. It may not be as impressive as Sydney or Melbourne's, but we thought it was really beautiful.

-> To be continued