WELLINGTON

Wellington is the capitol of NZ and a cool city nestled between the sound and the bog green hills. Lots of neighborhoods on hills, like Seattle. We drove all over and explored Victoria Hill, the botanical gardens, and downtown. It was cloudy and cool, but sensing the big storm, we wanted to see as much as we could before the rain started. We went to the capitol buildings and saw where the prime minister resides at work, a large round structure called the "beehive" for obvious reasons.
It's Friday night and the town is coming alive with mostly young people getting together after a work week. As we rolled along the main 2 lane highway that runs through this Northern Island, our driver, Pete, just kept entertaining us with his explanations of everything New Zealand. Rugby, politics, sheep raising, drivers, government, and a host of other subjects are not off limits. We are learning a lot, but laughing even more. This crew is a good fit with Pete's self depreciating humor...and there hasn't been a dull moment yet!