A picnic, some chopsticks, and some windy weather

The Crown tour of Wellington continued as we went and met a friend from Clearwater, George Cantonis, down at the Intercontinental where he was staying as he passed through Welly on business. We had a quick cup of coffee with him before heading out to Karori Park for a picnic with some of our friends so they could meet Mimi and Big Daddy.

Showing off the Pohutukawa tree - known as New Zealand's Christmas tree because it blooms during December.

At the park we had a fun game of cricket and all were welcomed to play.

Then we had our dinner as the southerly blew in and things started to get colder. . .

I'm so grateful the weather held off for the night - because by Sunday morning it was blowing a gale and freezing!!

We headed to church, and the girls got to sing again, then down to Courtenay Place for a Dim Sum lunch (a first for Mimi and Big Daddy).

With John Hughes, our vicar.

Rob and Liz generously hosted us in their box to watch the Phoenix play. We have never been so grateful to be in the box as it was wet and freezing and windy outside. Alex and Hettie joined us as well and we had a really good time cheering but sadly the Phoenix lost. However as of this writing they are currently in third place in the Australian Football League (soccer).

Although it looks like there are no fans present there were actually a whole slew of really devoted people below us on our side - however the numbers definitely were down due to the weather.

The Wellington tour continues. . .

The weather stayed nice in Wellington, so for our third day together we headed down to civic square and had a wander around. I actually can't even remember what else we did, sorry! The girls were desperate to take Mimi and Big Daddy to Rosina's, our local cafe in the mall, for a mince savoury and sausage roll, so we duly went. I dropped them all off and did my grocery shopping for the evening since it was our last official dinner party at Beauchamp Street and I needed to do some cooking. The kids all went to Karori Cottage with Mimi and Big Daddy for an hour to let me get organized, then it was back to our house for a fun meal with our close friends the Sheppards and the Hoggs.

The rugby statue.

The square.

Rosina's.

Performing at Karori Cottage.

Beauchamp Street - table set amidst the boxes lining the walls.

Playing "Wits End" - a game Mimi and Big Daddy brought us, very similar to Trivial Pursuit.

Kids watching "Dolphin Tale" - a great movie also brought by Mimi and Big Daddy.

Zealandia and Makara Beach and a birthday!

Our second day together was jam-packed with activities around our suburb - we started the day at Zealandia, a former bird sanctuary and now an "eco-attraction", right here in Karori. We walked around for a couple of hours, had morning tea in the cafe, and then enjoyed the indoor exhibit before heading home for lunch.

Inside these boxes the girls could see how various birds made nests and what they looked like.

Pulling these pipes up and down mimicked birdsong.

The Tuatara - a reptile specific to New Zealand that has been around since the time of the dinosaurs.

I made muffins to tide us over until morning tea and sure enough Ellie asked for hers about five minutes into our walk.

Looking for the birds pictured on the fence.

Feeding the baby ducklings what was left of our muffins.

Standing on the dam - doesn't look as high as it was!

After our lunch at home we took a short drive down to the southwest coast to Makara Beach. It's always windy at Makara and the rocky beach is rugged and feels a million miles away from civilization.   The girls and Big Daddy skipped stones before we headed inside for milkshakes and coffee - Mimi was cold or we might have walked the Makara trail. Next time!

 

Inside the cafe, without the wind, it was as warm as a sauna. There was a funny story of Ellie and a shell - well, it wasn't really funny, but Mimi thought it was. I'll save Ellie the embarrassment of elaborating here but suffice it to say there was a very tall-tale involved.

After our stint out at Makara we all went home and freshened up for the adults to have an evening out at one of Wellington's best restaurants to celebrate Big Daddy's 70th birthday. We went to Ambeli and enjoyed an amazing meal but unfortunately mom and I both forgot our cameras because we both went out without purses. So, this was taken with my phone and is completely fuzzy but you can at least get the idea. . .