First days in Wellington NZ/Feb 8 2014

We're settling into Welly--Wellington to non-New Zealanders. It's summer here, though, as the natives say, rather nippy, with temps only in the 60s. We've rented a centrally-located apartment for a month. It's a one-bedroom, with a small kitchen that includes a washer-dryer. Daily housekeeping service makes life easy.

We've been told what to do if an earthquake occurs: stop, drop, and hold, ideally to a door frame or other secure structure. Buildings have prominent notices declaring them "earthquake-protected" or "earthquake-prone." Our hotel is in the former group. Nonetheless, we were advised to "always sleep in pajamas" in case tremors bounce us out of bed, and send us scurrying to the street.

We've spent our first few days hitting the tourist "must sees," including taking a steep cable car ride up to to the hilltop city botanical garden. We saw many examples of Pohutukawa trees with their sinuous branches, as well as other trees and shrubs with an otherworldly appearance, familiar from Hobbit films.

Wellington hosted an international rugby tournament this weekend. It's called "The Sevens," and takes its name from the seven players who make up each team. A dozen teams participated this year. While we didn't attend any games, we observed some of the revelry. Locals dress in costume for entire weekend. We saw both men and women wearing feathered tutus, or garbed as robots, ancient Romans in togas, mummies, peas in pods, bananas, birds, pirates, statues, and more.

Another notable event this week was Waitangi Day. This national holiday marks the signing of a treaty in 1840 that made New Zealand part of the British Empire, and gave the native Maori population the rights of British subjects and certain land rights--some still a source of contention today.

Stores were closed. Festivities at the waterfront included speeches, music, and consumption of calorie-dense snacks. We enjoyed sandwiches overlooking the beach, where some brave women found it warm enough to sunbathe topless. We were surprised later to find our hands and necks sunburned, despite having lathered up earlier. We are close to the equator, after all.  

 








Malaysian, Indian, and Turkish foods are popular here. We're enjoying sampling these cuisines. Here's our dessert at a Turkish restaurant: luscious figs and apricots drizzled with honey and walnuts, accompanied by a dollop of ice cream. 

In the coming week, Stan will fly to Auckland to start a two week bike trip of the upper part of the North Island. Lynne will stay in Wellington to work on writing projects, and visit art galleries and other sites.

Please share your news:
Stan@pcarchiver.com
LLamberg@nasw.org

L&S