The Ostler’s were generous enough to allow us to stay with them while we were in Wellington. They took us to great restaurants, beautiful sites, fed us wonderful food and gave up their bedroom so we could set up camp. It was so nice to be with good friends!

Eden played so well with both Ben and Samantha. We enjoyed everyone’s company, playing games and eating all sorts of New Zealand treats. We were able to settle into the new time zone with very little trouble. We even enjoyed an afternoon at the park and a great dinner the first day we arrived. We were very excited to have David take off work and Ben play hooky from school while we were in town. If you are looking for somewhere to stay on your trip to New Zealand, we highly recommend the Ostler’s master bedroom.

Thursday we went all over Wellington city. We went to their local botanical garden and did a little walk. It was absolutely gorgeous. We stopped at their park and had fun discovering all the fun play equipment they had that would never be allowed in the States. Lots of playgrounds have zip lines. Lucky kids. Next we went downtown and had a wonderful lunch at a local favorite restaurant. Many of the little cafes had a play area set aside for kids. It was fantastic! We took a walk along the dock and got some gelato. Eden made quite a mess of herself. We are pretty sure her shirt is doomed to be tossed. We then took a short hike up Mount Victoria and got a beautiful view of the city. Poor Eden wiped out and added a bloody mess from her lips to her already chocolate covered shirt. On the way down the mountain we stopped at a rope swing. The pictures make it look like the kids were flying over the city. David and I got to talk politics the whole time. We ended the day with great Indian food. As souvenirs for our trip, we brought home suntans from the burns that we got that day.