Wellington: 8 Mar to 10 Mar

We finally made it to Wellington! It's a very hilly city, much like San Francisco.

Wellington street

We got there just as the sun was setting. It was very beautiful. I also happened to look just at the right place and see the tiny crescent moon :) 

When we got off the bus, we asked the driver which way to go. We must have looked quite lost, as he gave us a ride to our hostel, way on the other side of town! Like I said, all the kiwis are nice!

We got up early the next morning to go to the Botanic Gardens. 

Botanic Gardens

They were huge! They had some awesome flowers. But I loved the trees. Many were labeled, so I went around writing in my book the ones I saw. It was pretty sweet. 

Possibly Pohutukawa

Something happened though. Between me loving the trees, and my friends not, we got separated. And then full out lost. I went and had an adventure through the trees. Then I followed the path "to-the-city". I wound my way through a cemetery. Lots of 19th century people were buried there. They were some of the first european settlers in New Zealand. It was actually pretty cool. But it was a pretty big place and eventually I decided I ought to go back to our hostel. I got lost on the confusing streets. I went down a few steep hidden staircases. I found my way back eventually! 

Meanwhile, my friends were in the flower gardens......

Ferns!

After not being able to find me, they finally left. By way of cable car! (I told you Wellington was like San Francisco)

View from the cable car

Right after I finally found my way back to our hostel, they turned up. So it was all good! We went to Te Papa, a famous museum. It was pretty cool. They had lots of things about the earth forming, and the ancient animals, and the Maori culture, and all that good stuff. There was also a photo collection of Brian Brake's. It was pretty cool. He's NZ's most famous photographer. This is his most famous piece:

From the Monsoon collection (from the web)

We walked around the city a bit more. 

Wellington

We walked down Cuba Street for a while. I went into a yarn shop...and got some yarn! Woohoo! 100% NZ wool. I'm planning on making it into a hat. I don't have the right needles here with me though. 

(Just as a side note, be appreciative of anything hand knit you ever get. Knitting is fun, don't get me wrong, but lots of time, patience (!), and much of your sanity goes into knitting. Especially if it's lace. If you miss one stitch, you realize it three rows later when there is an extra stitch, and you have to pull the last three rows out stitch by stitch. Which is painful. And time consuming. And soul draining. But I digress.)

Not much else happened in Wellington. Jen got her nose pierced. That's about it. 

If you plan on moving to Wellington, be prepared for hills!

And just a bit of humor, for all you double rainbow lovers...