Wellington and Kiwis

A lovely capital city, tucked in a bowl of hills on a harbour. Reminds me of Victoria, BC a bit. Would be great to go to the University here, almost same name as the one I went to, Victoria University (but 'of Wellington' added at end here.) The clouds are scudding by overhead, and out on the bay is supposedly gusting 35kts! Sun sinking behind the hills to the west.


Got to see Rogue the inspiration for the article I'm writing. Sweet looking Bailey-built sailboat from 1892. Will be a while yet before she is launched again, but quite a lot is done.


Had a great last couple days: finally saw a KIWI! Easy enough to find the kiwis (nickname for New Zealanders) and eat kiwi (fruits). Much harder to find the fluffy ball of feathers that is a bird which only wanders about at night. Had to resort to a bird sanctuary with an aviary that replicates nocturnal habitat. (I assume they turn the lights on at night so the kiwis will get some sleep.)


Took in some of the sights: Te Papa museum, cable car, botanical gardens, astronomic observatory, driving the coastline, at a lookout the wind blowing the sweet smell of fennel up the hill to me.

Apparently, Peter Jackson is a bit of a steamroller in this tiny city. Did see the hulk of the boat that he used for King Kong, now there's a movie that ran an hour too long.

photos at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81966&id=593011976&l=3c82e

I better get back to work.