Visiting Wellington the windy City

‘I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I need to be.’ – Douglas Adams

Bye Neil and Yvonne!

This week started with good-byes, again, to the Kiwi rellies and to Auckland, which, I can now say, I’ve formed a very good opinion of, as beautiful. So this week has mainly centred on the city of Wellington – the windy city and, also, the middle of Middle Earth for Hobbit fans.

Ork at Te Papa museum, Wellington

This was John’s last city of habitation, so we’ve been able to catch up with a lot of friends

Party at Joanne’s

and I’ve got to know this beautiful capital city that little bit better.

Wellington Harbour

It’s great to walk around, but be prepared to go up a lot of hills. Last time I was here, I wanted to walk the Trelissick Park Gorge, so I managed to do it this trip – really nice walk to or from the downtown –

Trelissick Park

just remember your sun lotion, as weather changes quickly and, needless to say, I got very burnt! (New Zealand and Australia sun is much stronger than the Northern hemisphere countries, due to less ozone layer here) A place I can recommend highly for a visit is Zealandia

Zealandia

– great trails, lovely birds and a good cause all rolled into one. Our ticket allowed us to come back the next day, so we did and weren’t disappointed.

We had a quick stop at the Otari Native Botanic Gardens. Next time, I hope to spend more time here, as it’s another beautiful urban park with trails.