all blacks support even on mount vic

this morning we got up early 'cos the car was parked in the street and the meters start at 8am. i didn't want to pay $4/hour for the street or a little less for a parking lot. i just wanted to make an early day of it because i didn't know how long our activities would take. i wanted to take advantage of having a car so we went around the suburbs, doing our own tour.

our first stop was the top of mount victoria. this place is known for having great sweeping views over the city. we could see the ferry area, westpac stadium, where we live, and even the airport. everything seemed so close by. and it is. because it's new zealand.

wellington and surrounding suburbs

for lord of the rings fans, mount victoria is also known as the outskirts of the shire, when frodo and the gang get off the road to hide under some tree's giant roots to escape the ringwraiths.

get off the damn road

after freezing our asses off up there, we decided to drive out to the airport. there is or was a giant gollum there. i don't think it's still there but twiddle thumbs wanted to check it out. sure enough, it's not there anymore but we had fun at the gift shop anyway. we got a few things so that's a few more crossed off our list.

wellington airport bathroom

we continued on with the lotr theme and drove down to the miramar/seatoun area. we went to the chocolate fish cafe in scorching bay because twiddle thumbs insisted that we go. the cast used to eat there. it's no big deal. but that is the place's claim to fame. people go there just for that. it's right across from the beach. there's really nothing there for vegans to eat. expensive. merchandise expensive too. we just had a hot chocolate and left.

the chocolate fish cafe is in green

during summer they have tables set up by the beach

a few minutes drive away, just over the hill, we were in the midst of housing and smack right there was weta. another unspectacular sight. i was expecting a little more wow. perhaps a gate. it's just different than imagined. it's new zealand i guess.

weta workshop

we were getting hungry as it was lunch time. so we headed back towards downtown and had lunch at our favorite place for vegan food, midnight espresso on cuba street. i had a vegan lasagne and the girls had a tofu burger, the best burger ever declares twiddle thumbs so i guess the food was good today.

on the way back to downtown, we saw a sign pointing towards the zoo. it was still very early in the day, we had done everything much quicker than i thought we would, so we decided to go to the zoo. i always end up taking more pictures of animals than anything else. just try to get a great close-up shot, which is pretty hard with my digital camera and its limited zoom. the brolga crane wanted to kill me, or harm me, or take away my camera. it was following me. it kept trying to get as close as it could despite the ropes and fence. it got very close. it was a bit scary. the kiwi was hidden. it was very dark in there, the darkest kiwi house i have been in. we waited and waited and gave up. the zoo didn't have anything too special but the great thing about it was that parking was free. oh and the male himalayan monal is gorgeous but very camera shy.

oriental small clawed otter, giraffe, brown capuchin & black handed spider monkey (not sure which), himalayan monal, golden lion tamarin, kookaburra, ? (nz bird not part of exhibit), brolga crane, barn owl, lion cubs, straw necked ibis, golden pheasant (left to right, top to bottom)

after the zoo, we navigated our way to the top of the hill where the botanical gardens and observatory are. we wanted to catch the cable car without having to pay for parking at the bottom of the hill around lambton quay where most people board it. luckily, we found a spot where the first 2 hours are free. there is a cable car museum and gift shop. for some strange reason, i convinced the girls not to ride the cable car down, but to walk down the hill. surprisingly, they agreed and it turned out to be a good choice because we got to see things we would have never known about.

this ain't san francisco

walking down the hill, we came to the bolton street cemetery, which is divided into various sections based on faith and such. they had to move a lot of graves when they built the motorway. as a result, there are graves on both sides of the motorway and it's pretty weird.

hate your job, kill yourself, and get buried next to work