Heading for the Countdown supermarket at Kilburnie after a quick trip down from Paekaekareki was easy. There was plenty of parking over two car parks and I got heaps of stuff for us both for a few days. After nearly two weeks of unsupervised travel, I’d spent the previous two days tidying up the van, washing the linen and getting things shipshape for Fiona  🙂

Click on the images to see Hi Res or a slideshow

It was time to head for the airport and pick her up from the flight from Auckland. I hadn’t been to Wellington airport for a while so I was a bit unsure of how Motorhome friendly it might or might not be!  Wee bit stressful !
After getting a fright at how low the canopy was for the pick up area, I opted for the departure ramp and all was fine !
We made it safely to Evans Bay after that and it was nice to be able to switch off, open the vents and have a cup of tea and work out what we were doing.

After we’d had lunch in a French Cafe in town by David Jones, we walked to the main War memorial museum to see the Peter Jackson display of World War 1.  It was amazing with the usual high quality displays. The realism was quite something.

It was interesting as my Grandfather drove one of these old Tanks in the Somme in the First World War. I remember as a 4 year old him telling me stories of how they used to cross the German trenches with these monsters.  I won’t spill all the gory details but it’s interesting that now that I’m nearly 60, I can still remember exactly what he described 🙂
I used to love listening to his stories and he loved telling them.  He was a real character.
Apparently he turned up to his own funeral after the war at his home town in Little Downham, Ely. He saw someone in the street and asked where they were.. “Oh Bert, they’re all at your funeral down at the church!”  His mother was so pleased to see him that she scraped the mud of his coat and put it in a little tin. My son Alex has got that tin with the dirt today along with medals and other important family stuff. … Great stuff for a 4 yr old 🙂 .. And his peppermints in the old Mark 1 Zephyr were good too !

Outside the Memorial

Soldiers on the ramps

The Entrance

In the Trenches

The tank above the trenches

Back to the show.. I didn’t realise the scale and how big they were compared to infantry soldiers and the crews.

The display was stunning and I reckon it’s a must do if you’re in Wellington. The very last display is quite poignant too of an older chap in a field of poppies with a young boy.. Fantastic display.