Today began a slew of adventure activities. First up was quad biking, otherwise known as 4x4, four-wheeling, or ATVing. After an hour drive north of Wellington, six of us geared up in rain coats, slick pants, gum boots, and helmets in preparation for a wet ride.
We traversed rocky river beds, scrambled along skidder tracks, slid over drop-offs, and splashed through mud as we maneuvered our bikes amongst rata, rimu, and cascading ferns in New Zealand’s native bush.
The trail was among the best I’ve seen but as usual I was wishing we were going FASTER.
This lookout was on the way up to the quad biking trails. A few scenes from Lord of the Rings were filmed in this valley.
We arrived back in Welly early Sunday afternoon, which gave me just enough time for a whirlwind tour of the city. I started with shopping! I ran into the three sisters from Finland (Mintu, Laura, and Nora), Sarah, Sarah, and Catherine on Cuba St. I purchased an obligatory couple marino wool sweaters (bargain!) and walked bags flying up and behind me into the wind.
I took the cable car to the top of the Botanical Gardens, and walked through the park back down into the city. Check out the cricket field half way down the steep hillside to the bay. Practice was underway when we rolled past.
The gardens were beautiful and let out near Parliament (the bee hive). I found the people to be extraordinarily friendly and loved the feeling of the small but vibing city.
This picture is especially for Mel and Kathryn, lovers of these star-gazing lilies.
A rose garden boasted every size and color rose imaginable.
They found the colossal squid in Antarctica and the video story was pretty intriguing to watch - almost made me wish I had more time for the museum.
Slimy!
Inside the wharenui (meeting house) of a typical Maori marae. Maoris are the indigenous people of New Zealand, and the north island is the place to get entrenched in their culture.
I returned back to the hotel in time to head out to dinner with a bunch of girls, then out for a drink, where I discovered my favorite NZ beer, Epic Pale Ale. Yum! The rest were a bit of a disappointment, and let me tell you, I did some sampling. Catherine was the fashionista of the trip - quite the endearing diva with 1000 hair and make-up combos to compliment the most shocking op-shop ensembles.
Catherine, Sarah, and Kate are friends from primary school, and came on the trip together (all from Melbourne).
Skye is from Sydney, Sarah is from England, and I don't have the faintest idea where I should say I'm from these days.
Shockingly, everywhere you looked there were party pills for sale. Apparently they are all natural, herbal concoctions and are still legal fare in NZ. After witnessing some partakers, I’m not sure they should be. This was a direct quote from one partaker: “Drugs are bad - very, very bad!”
Here's a sample of our hotel rooms.
True to T’s claim, Wellington was a vibing city, full of life, music, hopping nightlife, scenery, culture, friendly people, and WIND. It’s also known as Welly or the WINDY city. Far windier than Chicago or Melbourne, Wellington literally blew me away. I could live in this city! I absolutely loved it.
