down under at last

flat white in the Dixon Street Deli

So here I am, down under, in Wellington, New Zealand at the start of my 4 month adventure.

I have been here for a week, and have barely had time to stop for a second.

Free wifi is available in selected spots only, so much of my time has been spent in coffee shops and on a particular bench on the waterfront that allows me to Skype and catch up with my email  messages.

Three days have been spent learning the basics of what I need to know to do my job here.

About a day has been spent trying to get my big parcel of excess baggage through biosecurity and customs at Auckland airport. Suffice it to say that I have blisters on my feet from walking backward and forward to the Custom House in Wellington with pieces of paper and lists of my personal belongings.

If you do ever send yourself a parcel to New Zealand, don't put hiking gear in it; you will make life so much easier for yourself!

And the rest of the time I have walked the streets of this wonderful city, savouring the relaxed atmosphere, the sunshine and the friendliness of the locals.

Tomorrow I fly to Gore in South Island. I have one day left here to watch the locals at play on this day, a bank holiday for Waitangi day.

Here then, are a few images from Wellington.

Wellington, from Mount Victoria, and yes I did walk up.

'no shark finning' 

down on the waterfront

Out in the bay

it is summer in the botanical gardens

my new bathing cap. vintage is big in Wellington

coffee offload stop before the heli-flight

Wellington is the windiest city in the Southern hemisphere, so I was lucky to have one really calm evening in the evening sun when the colours of buildings reflected on the water in the harbour.

And later the same evening I was down by Te Papa museum and the marina as the sun went down.

normal version for my OH 

fuzzy version for myself

masts

ducks and masts

Now I am of out to

Te Rā o Waitangi celebrations down on the waterfront.