Wellington (for Jan. 17)

We had our tire fixed by 10 AM and continued on into the city to check out a place we were thinking of staying at tonight. Lo and behold, it is right across the street from a Botanic Garden we were going to take in. We toured around until 3 PM, then checked into the hotel.

The Botanic Garden was much more than I expected. It is 25 hectares (don’t know the conversion factor for acres) of tremendous variety, criss-crossed by numerous paths. There is something new and interesting around every corner. Part of it is natural growth, part of it is plantings of indigenous and imported tree and flower species, and a small part is flower beds, like in front of our legislature. It is full of people, walking, jogging, or just sitting around, yet it doesn’t seem crowded because there are so many visual separations. It occupies a fairly high and steep hill, at the top of which is an observatory and the upper terminus of a cable railway to the city below. There was a large rose garden, and a “Begonia House.” I am not that big a flower guy, but those masses of begonias were pretty impressive. I won’t force the flower pictures on everyone, but we have lots for those who want to see them when we get home.

After checking in, we walked down to the parliament buildings for their 4 PM tour. It was a very interesting tour of some very beautiful buildings. We were back at the hotel about 5:30 for a nap, a bite to eat, and some blogging.

There is a performance area in the Botanic Gardens right across the street from us and there is a band playing there tonight. Can two old fogies manage attendance at a rock concert? Or, can we tolerate one across the street at our 10 PM bedtime? I guess we will find out tonight.

The weather has been great so far. I would guess mid 20’s or better every day. Today was a little cooler though. I saw my first TV weather report tonight. They say it was 20 degrees here today. And there was a fairly stiff breeze too. Tomorrow, a cold front is supposed to move in with precipitation by late afternoon, Bummer!

Well, we took in the concert, sort of. It started at 8 and we only went after 8:30, but we enjoyed what we heard. The band pulled a bunch of little girls, mostly age 8-10, on stage near the end. They were pretty cute as they danced along. Unfortunately, I didn’t take my camera, thinking there wouldn’t really be anything to see. Lesson learned. Take it everywhere. The park was so cool, lit up in the night, that we went back and picked up the camera for a few pics.

The band was called “Hairy Lollies.” I don’t know what Lollies are. I have my suspicions, but I am not going to ask.