Wellington and cruising

---

Hi everyone

We visited Wellington on Sunday. The weather was warm and NOT windy. This weather was pretty unusual for a city that is known as “Windy Wellington”. We got off the ship about 2pm and went for a ride on the cable car up to the Botanic Garden. I really like funicular railways and this one didn’t disappoint. It was built in 1902 and was steam driven before succumbing to electricity in . The view from the top was spectacular, particularly as it was a clear day and you could almost see forever (apologies to )!

We turn followed the winding path back to the city. It was lovely walking through the Botanic gardens and memorial cemetery. Sounds a bit creepy but it wasn’t. The city has managed to blend the Botanic Garden with the cemetery and make it a very interesting walk. We went back to the ship after that because Peter’s back was hurting. Fortunately he was carrying a fold up walking stick so the return journey wasn’t too traumatic.

Although Wellington was very nice, it really couldn’t hold a candle to Dunedin. Dunedin is like a Scottish town transported to NZ whereas Wellington is like any Australian city. I felt like I was walking around Brisbane on a Sunday afternoon.

I’ve been meaning to tell you about the incredible coincidence we had on the ship. While we were standing on our balcony sailing though the Sounds, Peter started chatting to the lady in the next cabin. A few seconds later the man next door (Alan) leaned out and it was guy Peter went through university with in the 1960’s. Apparently there were only 65 people in their year at Uni so the chance of having adjacent cabins was pretty amazing. To make it even stranger he remembered me from my days in Works Dept. (late 70’s). That’s one benefit of having a memorable name.

We are having a very tough day on board today. Peter played trivia but he is skipping origami (similar to watching paint dry) and the Spanish class to watch Superbowl. As this is an American ship it’s a big deal. I’ll sneak in and watch the ads. American companies like Budweiser spend millions of dollars on Superbowl ads. I usually watch them on the internet but this time they will be live. I know it’s a corny thing to do but hey….

After lunch its off to the ice-skating show and then formal night and on to a show. I’m going to wear my spectacular blue dress. I sincerely hope I can still fit into it because I’ve eaten way too much. We have 6 more days of this luxury….unbelievable. I’ve warned Peter that we’re back to tuna and crackers for lunch when we get home. Maybe it should be bread and water for a few days?

---

Comments

[Fiona]

oh yes want to see the blue dress, better than a blue face! ....and just get Peter to STOP buying mire scotch, then you might afford to eat ?