Wellington

Our second stop was Wellington. The city seems very livable. We are staying at a B&B close to downtown and the area down here is very walkable. We've put on alot of miles already this trip.

Wellington is not really a tourist city -- it is the seat of government and seems to be generally a working city (though there are alot of tourists here right now for the World Cup).

One highlight of the city is the national museum Te Papa. It's primary focus is on the maori culture but it also captures alot of natural history and the history of the English settlement. Housing, as well, the national art collection, it seems like a Smithsonian type of museum. It is extremely well done -- a new building right on the water, with very good interactive exhibits that draw you in.

Katy also saw the national portrait gallery -- a new collection. Right now, however, it contains only portraits of rugby players (in honor of the world cup) so it is hard to say what the full collection looks like.

Last night we had dinner with an old friend from the US -- Mark Binning -- who is doing well and seems happy picking grapes in his retirement. We went out to dinner with him and had a wonderful bottle of NZ pinot -- looking forward to wine country next week.

And today, we went up to the top of the nearby mountain for a view of the harbor and a walk in the NZ botanical garden. Good, interesting plant life on what was truly a beautiful day (high around 60).

On the whole we like this place though we have to say -- with apologies to our NZ friends -- that the government offices (known as the Beehive) are equal to some of Washington DC's truly modest office buildings.

Tonight we go to the rugby match -- US v. Australia. Katy is already "rugby-ed out" but like a trooper is marching on. Sadly, we aren't likely to win the match. But it should be lots of fun seeing something we haven't seen before.