Wellington

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Wow, I can’t believe we have been gone for one month. We are really getting used to the NZ lifestyle and it will be hard to leave. There is that English influence here that makes everything seem so civilized, but the Kiwis are so casual. It makes for a wonderful life!
We get up and get going so we can catch the bus to the Wellington Zoo. We want to spend some time there before Michael’s appointment at 10:45 am. We walk across the street to the train station, which also serves as a central bus station. We are taken through parts of Wellington that we have not seen yet. Courtenay Place is the trendy, restaurant area and we have not been there yet. The zoo is in Newtown, an older area with Victorian row houses that has run down some. We arrive at the zoo and start to walk around. The animals are just coming out and most are pretty active. The Wellington Zoo spends a lot of effort on protection of endangered species so they have many African animals. We go back to the front desk for Michael to be taken to see his otter.
As we follow the handler, I ask her where I can stand to take pictures and she tells me just to come into the otter environment with Michael. Jak (Jack) is an Asian River Otter so he is smaller than Sea Otters. His mother had eight babies and could only care for six so Jak and a brother were hand raised. He is precious and loves people. Michael is given his food and he takes to both of us immediately. I snap pictures as fast as I can but he is very quick so I miss some of his most precious moments. It is a special experience for both Michael and me. We finish our tour of the zoo and leave to find someplace for lunch.
After a short bus ride, we get off in Courtenay Place and walk around to find a restaurant for lunch. We have a nice lunch and walk all the way back to our hotel. We arrive at our hotel, Michael turns on our television and realizes that we have Monday Night Football live on Tuesday afternoon. He is excited since this is the first time he has watched football since we have been gone. What a great day for Michael!!
We go out to dinner at Shed 5, a really nice restaurant on the wharf. Everyone has been telling Michael about white bait, a tiny fish that is now in season. It is quite a delicacy for Kiwis. It is on the menu so Michael decides that this would be the restaurant to try it. It is traditionally serves piled on top of egg. It arrives looking like a pile of white worms on an omelet. We both agree that it is overrated, as are many things that people grow up on and love.

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