Rain, rain, a lighthouse, and more rain.

After five days (I think--I'm losing track of all exact dates and days of the week) in Castlepoint, we're back in Wellington. We'll spend two days here, and then head up to Rotarua for the hot springs and four days, and then we're off to Auckland for two days, and then home. It's all very depressing. I like it here (in case you couldn't already tell).
Castlepoint was beautiful. There wasn't much to do--the town has a permanent population of 20--but it was nice to have time to write the essays that we need to. The internet connection here doesn't allow me to upload photos, so I'll just have to wait until we're at a place where there's wifi. Until then:
There's a lighthouse at Castlepoint, and you have to cross a stretch of beach to get there, so at high tide, you can get stuck on what becomes a tiny reef island (it's a lot easier if you can see it in photos). We went up the first night, and it was so clear you could see the Milky Way. We went up plenty more times at varying times of day and in all different kinds of weather; we also climbed Castle Rock--it's high, and the wind was intense. We've got pictures of people leaning into the wind at almost a 45 degree angle. Again, photos to come.
We also went up to Mt. Bruce, where we got to see the native birdlife. They're all pretty (not like you can tell in all of my pictures), except for the kiwi. They're just cute.
Other than that, we really just sat around and worked on our essays. Okay, so we didn't do that as much as it sounds like, but from dinner on, there were always at least two people working. The days were usually devoted to hiking, watching the sunrises, and drying out from doing the first two. We got a proper Southerly, and it was cold. There was lots of rain--cold rain--blowing at obscene angles, so even if you were in rain gear, you got wet. Wet and cold. The best wet and cold I've ever experienced.
Tomorrow we're on our own to explore Wellington. My current plans contain: the botanical garden, Te Papa (again--it's the museum here, and we went the day we left for Masterton), Old St. Paul's, and Wellington Cathedral; all weather-willing. There's rain here, too, although it's not blowing at too bad of angles.

m.