Springtime in Wellington

The sunshine has come out for my brief stay in Wellington - today has been absolutely gorgeous. (Don't worry, Mum, am wearing suncream).

I spent yesterday being a proper tourist. Mooched around the City Gallery for a bit; for once the modern art was actually worth seeing (well, most of it). Then I caught the ferry to Matiu/Somes Island which is a nature reserve. Once upon a time it was a quarantine station for people, then a WW2 internment camp, and then a quarantine station for animals. Eventually they closed the quarantine station down, after a little longer the Crown returned the land to the local iwi, and now it's managed by DOC. It's completely predator-free and full of birds and geckos and lizards. I saw loads of kakariki (parakeets, awfully cute but in the habit of flying away rather than posing for photos) and various other birds, plus lots of skink and geckos. There are tuatara on the island but I didn't see any of them despite keeping an eye out. Had a good walk around, explored the old quarantine station and the WW2 gun encampments, and then caught the ferry back to the city.

In the evening I met some rowing friends for dinner. That was nice.

Today I woke to glorious sunshine so after a yummy breakfast grabbed my camera and walked up Mt Victoria. Lovely views across the harbour today. Next stop was my former workplace, for coffee and a chat with my ex-colleagues, and then lunch with my old editor who is thriving in his new job (hurrah). Yummy lunch too, at a Hare Krishna restaurant. Bit of shopping, coffee and postcard writing, wander back to the B&B via the liquor store for wine to encourage me to self-cater a bit over the next week (this may be false economy as I spent $40/£19 on a Martinborough pinot noir, but you can't get a decent Martinborough pinot at home and I wanted some).

After that I read on the sun-soaked deck for a bit, backed up photos, and am generally chilling. Meeting friends for a run in an hour or so. Off up to Cambridge tomorrow.