Warned about wishing for "wellies" in Wellington

    I caused outrage with one Kiwi reader of the blog by wishing for "wellies" in New Zealand, and have been reliably informed and corrected: the appropriate term in New Zealand is gumboots - and hence the corrected title of the current blog. So when Wikipedia says "The Wellington boot, also known as rubber-boots, wellies, wellingtons, topboots, billy-boots, gumboots, gummies, barnboots, wellieboots, muckboots, sheepboots, poopkickers, or rainboots", that explanation does not account for regional specifics!  Click here for confirmation. 

    We crept out of bed at six a.m. and snuck out of the house as quietly as we could. The ferry crossing was with Bluebridge, about 25% cheaper than the Interislander (last time we had a coupon and got in on a sale date, I think). It was cool - I've been comfortable in long pants for several days, and I needed a jacket on the outdoor deck today. 

    If I'd been able to bring my wellies - sorry, gumboots, they might have come in handy. It's been raining in Windy Wellington too, but at least we missed the big storm that hit the north island while we were south. On the 13th we'll be in a storm-damaged area. 

    Left to right: Jeanie, me, Deb, Mark, "Gabe" (Gabriella) and Gillian 

    We had a nice dinner of baked monkfish ("poor man's lobster"), tomato salsa salad and Jeanie's apple-cranberry pie with Jeanie and her sister Gillian, and then Mark and his partner Gabriella came over to meet us.

    Jeanie is proud of her new piano, which she got while we were away. The tuner came today, and after he'd come and gone we went to the Wellington Museum of City and Sea (their old marine museum) which had a good hundred year overview of the city's history, and an exhibit on shipwrecks in the Cook Strait, focusing particularly on the 1968 disaster when a ferry went down and over fifty passengers died. 

    There was also an amazing 3D video with holographic actors on a stage enacting Maori creation legends. 

    When the museum closed we went up to the Mt. Victoria Lookout and had a great view of the city in both directions, which you can see here. 

    Wellington might be my favourite Kiwi city - soft hills with houses blanketing them in such a way that everyone seems to have a view, and the streets hairpin up the hillsides instead of taking them head-on like they do in Dunedin. The weather wasn't very sunny while we were there, even though it was summer; on average they get only 87 sunny days per year.

    On Tuesday we left Jeanie and drove up to Wanganui - childhood home of Jeanie, Isabel and Gillian - and stayed with Peter Jamieson, a macho retired primary teacher who makes quilts and knits, bakes, cooks, plays guitar and takes ukulele lessons. Peter is a 72 year old bundle of raw energy with a great sense of humour who can't sit still or stop thinking for an instant. His daughter Kim and son-in-law Douglas came over for supper and a long chat - we've been chatting all afternoon and evening, actually, about New Zealand culture and history. We know enough now to have quite a wide-ranging discussion, but still learn a few new things every time we meet someone new.

Next destination: Rotorua