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Published: September 3rd 2006
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Quite the view...
This windy road led us to Makara chasing sheep and cows the whole way. :) Ah, the city of Wellington…an exciting change to the small farming town of Hamilton.
The flight down to Wellington was beautiful with views of Ruapehu and adjacent mountains.
The Capital is also the cultural and artistic center of New Zealand. It boasts a wide array of restaurants and pubs, lots of live music, gardens, and shops, and is home of Peter Jackson, Weta digital, the Embassy theater (which hosted the premier of the Return of the King), and the famous Te Papa museum which until recently housed the exhibition of the Lord of the Rings (I made it in time for the last day it was open😊
The city sits in a bay that curves out to the open see towards the south island, which you can see on any clear day. Small picturesque towns line the bay just outside of Wellington and are a short drive to get a glimpse of the spectacular city all in one.
For half of the week I stayed with a German friend I had met a few weeks back in Ohakune. We toured the entire peninsula…what unbelievable views; we visited the Chocolate Fish cafe- where
the LOTR crew hung out, sought our Peter Jackson's home with the sole information that he has two pugs and lives in the 'Miramar region', walked the beaches to Red Rocks- on the southern tip of the greater Wellington area that holds a colony of wild fur seals, went to the zoo and saw kangaroo's, giraffe's and peccary's, hiked up to Victoria University-a college with the best views I've ever witnessed, drove through a world of sheep and cattle to Makara, rode the cable car up to botanical gardens and visited the planetarium which taught me about the night sky of the southern hemisphere, tested many of the fine restaurants that the city offered, and even got to practice driving on the left side of the road…scary.
My transport home was just as fantastic- an 11 hour steam train ride across the north island. It is a novelty here, especially since this train service is ending come September. So not only was I lucky to get a spot on any train before the service ends (there is only 1 a day), but I got the 'Steam' train, which only runs once every other Saturday and is quite an
Me and a Fur Seal
Christof was afraid of the seals because he heard they bite..he had my camera in one hand and a rock in the other in case it woke up and wanted to eat me or something. experience. Apparently though, I was one of the only people to not know about the areas to steer clear of when the steam engine is being attached... train soot spurted all over me without warning. It felt like water, but I realized it wasn't later, when I went to the bathroom and my face looked grey. aha
So if you ever come to New Zealand, Wellington is an obvious must stop.
My second week of break consisted of school work, something you must all think I hardly do at this point 😉 Actually, I am doing quite well and am loving my classes (which they call ‘papers’ here). The town may not be much, but I do like the University and the staff is wonderful.
School starts back on September 4th.
Sweet as, miss you all.
Oh, and sorry to those who have been asking for this information...Here is my address and mobile number:
104 Hillcrest Road
Hillcrest
Hamilton 3216
New Zealand
(from US) dial: (011)-64-210-242-4020
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