Wellington

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Hello!
Now in Wellington for a few days. Although very windy and something like 4 times smaller than Auckland, I found Wellington much more enjoyable and lively than Auckland (everyone will agree with that, except Aucklanders I was told), with lots of restaurants and cafes, nothing like Canberra.
I shared a dorm with Katharina, Tim and Guillaume, and we had our own ensuite bathroom - a real nice one. It was a bit like having our own home. Had lots of fun and laughter together.
As Wellington is NZ's capital, it houses the Parliament which we had an interesting guided tour of.
But even better, I was able to attend a cocktail reception for the French and NZ rugby teams held in Parliament. Apart from both teams and staff, the only people there were members of Parliament, the French ambassador and elite junior players and coaches. Everybody was wearing evening suits or dresses and enjoying champagne and canapes. Of course, you had to have an invitation carton in your name sent by a MP.
Choice.
Oli

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Photos

Mordor
On the way to Wellington, we were driving on the Desert Road through Mordor, or rather where the Mordor scenes in The Lord of the Rings were shot.
I think that I've seen at least a rainbow a day since I arrived in NZ, but it has actually only rained one night. As if it was hesitating to rain.

Wellington cable car going up to the botanical gardens
With a nice view on the city.
Not that many cities have cable cars...

Tim the flying Deutsch man
We saw Pirates of the Caribbean.

Victorian houses
I told you Wellington may look a bit like San Francisco.

Cooking dinner with Guillaume and Tim
Yes we are!

NZ Parliament buildings
The Parliament House is on the right with the House of Representatives in it. NZ has a unicameral system after having dropped the upper house some time ago. On the left is the distinctive 'Beehive' which houses the Prime Minister and other ministers' offices. The Parliament's reception hall where I had such a nice evening is also in it.
NZ is one of the first modern days' democracies; it was the first nation to give women the right to vote in 1893.

With my buddy Richie McCaw, captain of the All Blacks
He has a living-god status here. Can see him on every magazine cover, posters all over the place etc.