Wellington, NZ

Auckland Skyline

Hunter at the Embassy

Inter-Island Ferry

Lots of Wind Power

Hunter Call Home

Wellington, New Zealand

 On our last full day in Auckland we took Hunter the bear on a boat trip to a small island about 35 minutes’ sail from the harbor. There were two cruise ships next to our small boat and Hunter was hoping that we were going on one of them but he got over it once we pulled away and saw the beautiful skyline of Auckland from the water. We spent about three hours hiking around the island and then it was back to the hotel so we could pack for the flight to Wellington. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and it is where we have our embassy, which is important because that is where Meagan works. Colin and Meagan were at the airport waiting for us, in fact they were at the gate since New Zealand doesn’t think terrorists will attack them so they let everyone have free access to their airports. We spent a lovely four days with Colin, Meagan and Hannah in their magnificent home that is three stories with grand views of the harbor. We were treated to some of the best food and wine that New Zealand has to offer and they sure have a lot. Green lipped Mussels, salmon, lamb, tons of fresh vegetables since it is still late summer here, and of course the wonderful wines from this area. We went to a local Saturday Market, which stretched out along the harbor. We purchased fresh sausages made with escargot, garlic and parsley and some made with rabbit, apple and mint. My goodness they were great - simply grilled and enjoyed before our deboned leg of lamb and root vegetable roast. We had tours of the embassy, tours of Hannah’s school (Samuel Marsden Academy), and took long hikes and drives around the entire city. It is really a lovely place which doesn’t attract too many visitors the way some of the other cities do, which is a shame since there is so much there that is to be enjoyed. Like all the cities in New Zealand that we have visited this one is either up or down, just like San Francisco. Our legs got quite the workout and from a vantage point high above the city where the kids live, we could see all of the shipping - from large cruise ships to the mighty Interisland ferries that ply the waters between Wellington and points west and south. This bay is also home to large pods of Orcas and we saw several of them during our brief visit. It was so much fun to see all of the places that we had heard about since the kids moved here eighteen months ago. We look forward to returning for 4 more days after our Queenstown adventure to experience more of their extraordinary hospitality. Off to Queensland. Cindy and Wm