It was our first full day in Wellington.

I love the Logo – a windy city
We went up the funicular to the Botanical Garden, the Cable Car Museum, and made a stop at the Rose Garden.

The Alison
where all the roses which have been gifted to the city have been planted. There is also an indoor section of Begonias and more types of Coleus than I ever knew existed.
We drove around a bit, even I can see how much repair and change there has been since I was here in Oct 2013. That time I didn’t get out to distant points or the Byrd Monument.

from the high point on the hill
He is important for scientific expeditions – not just the “oh look at me! I got here first……

yes, there are Southern Lights as well (Aurora Australius
The Kiwis make a big point of talking about how far south they are. Almost 45*, give or take a bit.
Just as a comparison, Heidelberg is more than 49* N, Honingsvag is 70*58′ (Norway in case you hadn’t guessed. For that matter St Paul, MN is 44*56’N

The nearest southern neighbor? Seals, whales and penguins
Ok, there isn’t much between Wellington but 5300 km of open seas and the pole but still….. The main weather effect is winds blowing up from the south….
I have roses about that color blooming outside my front right now!
Why do you think I picked this particular rose out of the hundreds there – 😉