Our third stop of the cruise was in Wellington. We had an early morning excursion to two botanical gardens. The first was Zealandia, a 225 hectare nature conservation project that is right in the urban area. It has been fenced off to keep out the creatures that would do harm to the ecosystem. They are bringing back the plants that were originally part of the area hundreds of years ago. It was a very nice park full of beautiful plants. Personally, I was hoping to see more flower species but Zealandia was mostly about bringing back different trees and bushes.
We saw many of these "Fern Trees" throughout New Zealand and were enthralled with them. We stopped and looked closely at one of them and how it grows from a rolled up bud into many fronds. It is really amazing to see how Heavenly Father created all things so intricately.
We were able to see and hear a number of different bird species from hawks, to ducks, to this little hornbilled guinea. (I can't remember the name) It is a rare bird to find in New Zealand. Zealandia has a male and a female which had a chick earlier in the year but it did not make it. They are hoping that the species will repopulate itself.
There was a feeding station for hawks in the area. The birds have learned that if they hop on a platform than a lid raises and they are able to get food. It was really fun to watch these birds hop on and off the platforms as they ate their breakfast:)
A picture overlooking the beautiful valley.
The second botanical garden we visited (named Otari) was much smaller and we saw pretty much the same type of plants. We did get stuck in a rainstorm so we were thankful to have our umbrellas.
On our drive to Zealandia we passed Wellington Botanical Gardens and my the end of the excursion I was wishing we had gone there instead. It looked like it was loaded with all kinds of flowers and color! All along our trip I have been taking pictures of the flora in public as well as private gardens. Some of which I had never seen before.
I am very much a flower person and love the beauty they bring to an inside kitchen or a private porch or out in the gardens. In our first stop of Dunedin I was overwhelmed at the HUGE hydrangea bushes that were literally everywhere. The deep blue/purple ones were so beautiful and I am hoping to plant one in my yard at home this year!
Here are just some of the abundant flora in New Zealand.
I had to throw those grapes in there. They were hanging around the eaves of the sheep home in the Akaroa area.
After spending time at the Botanical Gardens we got of the bus in the center of town to do some sightseeing. We found a cute little food court and shared some asian noodles.....and found a much needed bathroom:
I was hoping to take a ride up the cable car but was unsure of where to find it. I asked a salesperson if he knew where it might be and he motioned right around the corner, literally just four steps away from where he was standing was the cable car entrance. I peeked around the corner and alas, right up a short alley was the cable car entrance! How about that!
Wellington Cable Car is a funicular that is stationed off of Lambton Quay. It opened to the public in 1902 and would take people from the shopping area of town to the Kilburn residential area making it easier for people to travel up the mountainside. It is just a short five minute ride that has three stops along the way.
It cost about $8 round trip so we hopped in line, boarded, and up, up we went!
There were three short stops before we reached the top and then we were there! We were able to enjoy the cable car museum. I love learning about history and it was fascinating learning how and when this cable car was built.
Overlooking Wellington......
Before catching the cable car back down the mountain we stopped for a little dessert in the cafe at the top. While Rick had a brownie with vanilla ice cream, I had a small scoop of mint chip:)
Before boarding the shuttle bus back to the ship we took one last picture of the shopping street.
The next day our stop was in Napier. It was just a short day with about five hours on land. We were one of the first ones off to go on a river float. We traveled about an hour out of Napier up into the mountains where we stopped at the base camp and got our gear, (crocs, rain jacket and pants) It was cold and rainy as we left the ship so we were hoping that it would be warm enough to enjoy our adventure. It really did warm up and was a very nice time. I didn't want to risk getting my phone wet so I have no pictures of our float but I will tell you we saw some beautiful scenery!
The only drawback of the trip was the pecking flies (so that's what the guide called them). There were SO many of them. At the last minute I decided to not where the pants thinking I wouldn't need them but wishing I had them when the little buggers started biting! They must have been some kind of mosquito because even now a whole week later we are suffering from them. Poor Rick, he had so many! Usually the mosquitos don't bother him and LOVE me, but he got the brunt of it this time. He counted at least thirty on one leg. Oh, how he suffered the next few nights when the terrible itching kept him awake. He said it gave him a new respect for what I went through CONSTANTLY in Uganda.
Having said that, the float was a lot of fun. Our raft had eight people on it (all amazingly from the US) and we had a nice time rowing and bouncing on the class two rapids. These were my kind of rapids, exciting yet not feeling in any danger!!
Here are some shots of the river after we finished our float. Pictures just cannot do New Zealand justice. It is extremely green and beautiful here. The terrain is so unlike our mountainous desert home in Grantsville.
As we drove through Napier town on the way back to the bus I wished for a couple of extra hours to explore the downtown area. Napier is known as the Art Deco Capital of the world and I could see why with the wonderful 1930's architecture of the buildings. I would of have loved to peruse the shops and walked the streets of this quaint town. It would have been nice to maybe stop for a little snack at a small cafe to get the flare of it all but unfortunately the ship had to leave by one o'clock.
So off we went to the pier to board the Sun Princess and on to our next port of call.....Tauranga.
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