Scorching Bay, Wellington

Today, because the weather really got hot we went to a place on the other side of Wellington called Scorching Bay which was really beautiful. The weather really can change a lot from one day to the next around here and it was t shirt and shorts temperature at last! There were lots of rock pools for Matt and Emma to explore at the sides of the bay and soft sand on the beach. They even caught a little fish in a Coke bottle. Beside us a Sunday School was having their Christmas party and it seemed so strange to see helpers sweating while wearing reindeer antler headbands. Although it was really warm the sea is freezing and so Matt and Emma paddled but didn't swim. Apparently Peter Jackson lives not too far from Scorching bay and the crew were sometimes seen having lunch at the cafe with the green roof during the filming of Lord of the Rings. One of the opening scenes was filmed in the woods behind Catherine's apt and Matt is dead keen to go up and reenact it.
After the beach we went to friends of Catherine's and their two children for dinner where we got the skinny on the best places to visit while Matt did backflips off Bryns bed. All in all a great day. We head off tomorrow for the start of our trip in the North island and also into unknown internet territory. I will update when I can.I'm off now to rub aloe vera into my sunburn. The sun can really get you quickly here with the ozone hole over NZ!