Kia Ora! So Saturday was a pretty great day. We all decided to sleep in since we haven't really been able to since we got here. Then we headed up to the Wellington Botanical Garden. Amazing place. It's sort of just up the hill a ways from where I live, but it seems that everything is just up or down a few hills here. Anyways, we started out in the Rose Garden, which of course is absolutely beautiful. There are so many types and colors. It is really hard to pick a favorite. Then we grabbed a bite to eat. Nicole and I both tried an iced chocolate without really knowing what it was. It seems to be chocolate milk with some ice cream on the bottom. A little strange but delicious nonetheless. Then we headed out to the main gardens, which of course is a series of hills. Not only were the gardens beautiful, but they led to some great lookout points over the city.
And there is this tree at the very top called either the Trippy Tree or the Drinking Tree. One of the Kiwis was telling us about it, but we completely forgot to look for it until after. I later found it in a guide book and realized we had been looking right at it. It looks like a huge shrub and is shaped just like a tin can. The Kiwi was explaining that a bunch of people with go there late at night and climb up the middle to the top and drink until someone falls down. We went and looked at it today. Nicole tried climbing it, but was not successful.
After exploring the gardens for a good four or so hours we headed down to the Kelburn shops to find some dinner. We found this awesome pizza place, which is nothing like American pizza, and they have 2 for 1 pizzas on Mondays. Needless to say we found our Monday night dinner spot. Later that night I went out with my friend Sam and his flatmates. His Kiwi mate was taking them out to a bunch of different bars in town to see what they were all like. Wellington is crazy at night. There are so many bars and so many people. This is definitely a place to pregame because the drinks here are crazy expensive, unless you go to the student bar, then they're a bit cheaper.
Sunday was kind of a nice lazy day. I got up early to go down to the farmer's market. Of course its down the big hill. I now bring a backpack when I know I'm going shopping. It makes the trek up much easier. Anyways, the market is fantastic. It's huge, and apparently there's a bigger one across town. There is just so much to choose from and so much color. I didn't buy much because I'm leaving town for a few days, but I did buy some kiwi fruit, apricots, peaches, and peacharines, which is a hybrid of peaches and nectarines. As we were walking to find some breakfast, I got the shit scared out of me. I looked in this bank, and thought I saw a bank robbery happening. There were people lying on the ground and men pointing guns at them. I had absolutely no idea what to do, and then I got nervous that they were going to see me. After having a heart attack, I then saw the sign in the window that said 'filming inside'. What a way to scare someone.
I then roamed around the city a bit while the other girls went to mass. I finally got around to doing some laundry. I am so thankful I have it in the house because I would not want to lug it up and down that hill. Mary came over later to start planning our trip for this week, but everyone's internet pooped out so that was a bust, but we just hung out around the house for the rest of the night and grabbed dinner somewhere in town. While talking to the girls, it came out that when I was little I just wanted to work at Baskin Robbins, and what does Nicole say? "I can totally see you working there!" Thanks Nicole. I guess I'm not destined for greatness.
So today, we finally planned our trip. The place we were looking at going, all the hostels were full for the week, so we are heading to New Plymouth, which is where we will be staying for three nights. During the day we'll be spending our time at some black sand beaches. I'm super excited. After getting everything booked, we headed into town to grab a few things. Of course we walked into a shoe store, and after being here less than two weeks I of course bought a pair of shoes, but they were only 24 NZ dollars, which ends up being around 18 US dollars. I even wore them out of the store. We then hopped on the cable car to avoid the never ending walk up the hill to go hit up the pizza place again because it was Monday. We then met up with Devon and Sophenia for a movie and some gelatto. It was a really clear night for stars up on the hill and man oh man do the stars here twinkle. I never really noticed it at home, but it gives Twinkle Twinkle Little Star a whole new meaning. I just finished up some packing for this week and am on the hunt for a giant mutant mosquito that seems to like my room. She keeps appearing out of nowhere, and my ceiling is too high for me to even try and reach her. Until next time...
Kia Ora,
Laura
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