Wellington NZ Feb 7th

This morning we arrived in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Our shore excursion isn't until the afternoon, so we had some morning time to relax a little bit on the ship. Last minute we decided to take the shuttle into town and explore a bit before our excursion.
As usual, we found the local monuments and a New Zealand Christmas Tree. They are all in red in December, but this one was still blooming. They cover the country in red flowers at Christmas time. We were lucky that this one's calendar was off by a month or so. We visited a church with beautiful wooden cantilevered ceiling and stained glass. We were able to buy a Kiwi (the national bird) Christmas ornament. And we did happen to find the oldest pub in Wellington, the Thistle Inn. We had a beer and some fries before heading back to the ship for our excursion.
Our excursion was in the afternoon and included the Botanic Gardens and a Cable Car ride. We had a very lively and colorful local bus driver who kept us very entertained with this sayings and commentary along the bus drive through the city of Wellington. We traversed the city to the high point for some excellent views of the city, the bay and the ocean. Along the way back down he showed us the funiculars (personal elevators) that the locals use to get up the extremely steep hills to their houses. There is a picture of one that looks like a 2 person tiny room on rails.
We then arrived at the Cable Car station and took a quick trip on the public cable car to the top. It was not much to see since we were already at the highest point in the city. But the ride was fun.
Then down again to the Botanic Gardens for a coffee and a stroll through the thousands of rose bushes there. It was an extremely impressive number of very fragrant roses. And the ducks were out of their pond and relaxing under the rose bushes for an afternoon nap.
Then back to the ship to set sail for a few days along the cost, then ocean to Australia.
The show at night was the cruise directory Aveen. She put on a great performance. Her singing and story telling made it a very enjoyable show. And to get into the 9 pm shows, you have to start lining up before 8:30 to beat the old people to get a good seat.Meer informatie