Wellington with Dad

This will be my last post about Dad's trip, since I have finally gotten time to post all of the pictures. I'm a bit sad to be finished, as it has been fun reliving our adventures as I write about them. 

These are from the last two days he was here, which we spent in Wellington, before he flew out of the Wellington Airport.  

The first thing we did when we got there was to go up to the top of Mount Victoria. It is not really a very big mountain, but it is right in the middle of Wellington, so it gives gorgeous views!

You can see 360 degrees from the top (to which you can drive).

This is my favourite perspective. The idea of mountains (or really big hills) next to water is always beautiful to me, and I just adore the colour of the water here.

This is looking down at the city centre, where all the hustle and bustle goes on.

Starting from the top of Mount Victoria, Dad and I tramped (hiked) down a ways and then back up. J was still recovering from very long night shifts, so he took a nap in the car while we tramped. It was neat to walk through different kinds of trees, after spending time in the rain forests of the Whanganui River Valley.

Next, we wandered around the city centre, which was lovely as always. Dad was just as impressed as I had been with the floating silver ball, so he kindly took a picture of J and I in front of it.

This is a wonderful golden hippo statue across the street from the Te Papa museum, where we spent most of Tuesday. I have always particularly liked hippos (and my hippo puppet is my favourite teaching tool), so I was glad to see such a glorious hippo!

When we were walking along Oriental Parade (the big walkway by the harbour), we met this wonderful dog, standing in front of an outdoor cafe. He was very stately and calm, but also very willing to accept our attention. It's hard to tell from the picture, but he is also huge - definitely weighs as much as I do.

As we stared to walk on, I noticed that the sign on the cafe looked quite a bit like our new canine friend. I asked one of the employees, and he said that we had indeed met the "owner," Bernie, and that he liked to hang out there and keep an eye on things. I think that is just charming!

For our last meal together before Dad flew home, we went to Viva Mexico, which was highly recommended by our friend Jonny, and which is also the only Mexican restaurant I have heard of in NZ. It was delicious, and we had a lovely time.

J and I were very sad to see Dad go, and are already looking forward to all the fun we will have next time he comes! Thanks for coming to visit us, Dad!

I will find time in the next few days to update you on how everything is going as far as moving is concerned, but the short version is that things are progressing well.