Two weeks ago, I headed back to the "big city" of Wellington for the weekend. The weather in Blenheim has just been so nice and sunny, I needed to get my fill of wind and rain again!
FALSE.
I went to meet up with my favorite Hawera veterinarian, Steve! Welly is 3 and 3/4 hour drive from Hawera, and a half hour drive plus 3 hr ferry ride from Blenheim. What a perfect, fun, (windy/rainy) place for us to meet halfway!
We spent a lot of time on Cuba Street, which is full of eclectic shops and cafes. The people watching was superb. We caught this street performer below, riding on what had to be a 10-foot high unicycle!
How on EARTH did he get up there, you ask?
With the help of a buff Hawera vet and two other muscular men the performer self selected from the crowd!
(Steve's on the right, by the way)
Steady....
Halfway there...
Ta-dah! Quite impressive.
He even caught and juggled flaming torches while on the unicycle! Now that's talent :)
There was also a pretty wild one-day Kiwi artist music festival called "Homegrown" going on at the waterfront. The event was sold out--- ergo we didn't have tickets, but there was plenty of craziness going on in the streets. Like this..
It was a motorized toilet and sink that was driving around the waterfront. And playing music. With costumed people on it. I don't know who or why, but it was a sight to see! :)
In other wild stuff, there was a free public stage at the Homegrown festival. We caught some pretty flippin sweet breakdancers. How they can spin on their head is beyond me! And incredible upper body strength! So cool.
We spent the evening dining, drinking, and dancing at the Waterfront. If you're ever in Wellington looking for a good time, a great mojito, and a fabulous bartender, you must visit Johnny at Cuckoo!
Sunday was a nice blustery Wellington day. We played "tourist" a bit more. There's a cable car that operates from the heart of the business district up up up the hill to a suburb with fantastic views of the city.
Bye-bye, cable car!
Wellington and the harbor
It reminded me so much of being in San Francisco!
They have a Cable Car Museum at the top. Where we learned it orginally opened in 1902. A ride up cost twopence (aka two cents, why they have to call it "pence" is beyond me), but the ride down only cost one cent.
Here we are sitting in one of the orginal cars on display in the museum.
We *are* indeed sitting up straight--- the seats are made on a slant!
At the top of the hill was also the Wellington Botanic Gardens. New Zealand's Botanic Gardens continue to amaze me in their beauty, year round!
The Rose Garden..
Some succulent cacti! (I really don't know how these buggers survive in wet/windy Welly...)
The very fragrant Frangipani (plumeria)...
A quiet cicada...
A peaceful water lily...
And it wouldn't be a Linz Garden Photo Album without an anthurium shot!
The weekend definitely flew by, but it was great to have some fun in the city with some fantastic company.
Thanks for a fabulous weekend, Steve!
I did not realize that vets were so buff!
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