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Published: January 22nd 2009
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Hi Everybody!
Yesterday, we visited our last town on the North Island - Wellington, NZ's capital city. Its nickname is "Windy Wellington" and it is a well deserved name. We took a shuttle to town and started with the Cable Car. That gave us wonderful views of the city. From there, we walked to the Wellington Botanical Gardens, 64 acres of native plants and a wide selection of gardens. My favorite was the rose garden that contained 100 varities of roses. Our walk continued downhill through the Bolton Memorial Park which contained a very old cemetary. Next, we went to the modern Parliament Building which is known as the Beehive. To see more of NZ, we decided to take a train north to Paraparaumu, a town on the Kapiti Coast. We met several interesting people on our train journey. I talked at length to a nice lady who told me about growing kiwis. They need lots of warm sunshine so she had them planted by a brick wall. They require female and male plants for pollination. The kiwi grow on vines. Walt's seatmate was a huge fan of U.S. FOX News. He and Walt had lots in common since Walt watches
it 24/7. He is in withdrawal on this cruise. The man explained that all senior citizens of NZ ride trains, buses, and ferries free upon reaching the age of 65. The natives call themselves, "Kiwis." We asked them if that was a reference to the bird or fruit. They said that it was definitely the bird. Walt's friend told us that there are 3.5 million people in NZ and 38 million sheep. The sheep are allowed to graze in the vineyards close to time for the fruit to be picked. They eat only the grape leaves and do not bother the fruit. This makes it easier to access the grapes. We also learned that NZ has no snakes, crocodiles, or alligators. As we rode along the rocky shore, the waves looked choppy. We did not see any swimmers but did see numerous boats.
When we returned to Wellington, we did some shopping. Possums are huge pests in NZ. We saw poison traps set for them in the Botanical Gardens. People are encouraged to trap these big brown animals. The fur is used with silk or wool to make beautiful sweaters and vests. They call this type clothing RoadKill Clothing. It
is very expensive. I have looked for a piece with a fur collar. Yesterday, I finally just bought a small boa style collar for 95 NZ dollars - around 60 U.S. Am I crazy or what????
This morning, we arrived at Lyttelton Harbor. The large mountains surround the shore area. We took a shuttle into Christchurch, the South Island's largest city. It reminds us of a U.S. city and has the Avon River running through it. Everything has English names - churches, streets, etc. The land is flat as a pancake. Because of the city's gardens and colorful landscape, it is known as the "Garden City." Christchurch is the headquarters for Operation Deep Freeze, the supply link to Antarctica. The center of town is bordered by the Anglican Christchurch Cathedral. We are ready to start our adventure here. I will try to load more photos.
Take care,
Everette
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