I thought we were having a sleep-in today, but everyone else voted to get our (free) breakfast delivered at 8.20am, so we have kept consistent start times each day. The OB Joneses are in two 2-bedroom units next door to each other, so I shared a room and sat down to breakfast with Abi, Sam and Belle.

Once everyone was ready our first destination was the Skytower. We did this to “tick a box” and didn’t really have high expectations of this experience, but were pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it. Even better, every child went free with a paying adult simply because we visited in July! The brave (ie. Ross) offspring loved it, while the others (ie. Nik) offspring enjoyed it, stayed away from the edge, and did not utter a complaint when it was time to leave (I’m looking at you Tim, Abi and Zac…..actually I am standing with you 😉). We were able to watch people bungy past the window from the level 51 viewing platform, and stopped at the cafe on level 50 for cappuccinos and ice cream cones for the kids. The kids told me that the Skytower is built to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8 – I asked them to keep their stats to themselves until we were back on solid ground…..

Once back safely on the street level, we walked down to Queen’s Wharf and the Britomart area which had been mentioned many times in my research. SO much of the city and that area is under construction and subject to roadworks, we found it a bit underwhelming. We returned to Albert St in search of lunch, and Beck came across a food court in an historic building called Queen’s Rise. A cafe there called Lowbrow served inexpensive kids’ meals, delicious burgers, and spicy ribs (Ross, Luke, Jarrod and Tim shared a bucket of them). We congratulated Beck for finding a little gem in the obscure location, and then bought a few souvenirs and walked back up to our apartments for a rest.

Luke and Jarrod kept exploring and came across Princes Wharf which is MUCH better than Queen’s Wharf! They booked us in for a pre-dinner game of putt putt golf at Holey Moley right on the waterfront, and then we walked across to Wynyard Quarter, past the headquarters of Team NZ sailing and many luxurious cruisers and boats. We wandered past a theatre and restaurant and residential precinct, as we walked the loop back round to Princes Wharf, to O’Hagans Irish Pub where Luke and Jarrod had booked us in for dinner at 6.30pm. Those two are welcome to go exploring and make executive decisions henceforth – it was a beautiful dinner, great atmosphere, and a lovely end to a great day and excellent holiday!

Everyone is probably going home for a rest though – we have been constantly on the move, travelling and exploring. I think this is the earliest night we have turned in since the first night! Although with Sky Sports on TV here, Abi and I (and probably Aunty Beck, defence-queen-of-the -bib-wearers) are watching Australia in the netball World Cup 😉