Aerial view

Flying North of Wellington before
making our way across the Tasman to Sydney.

Words set in concrete

Writers walk on the Waterfront

Yellow bus

Bad case of chicken pox

I didn't get a chance to check out the treasures inside the City Gallery, as you can see from the fences it was closed for expansion! Ah well.. this will give me an excuse to go back :) Loved those coloured spots though.

Kowhai

I had seen those flowers while walking around in Hamilton and after my trip to Wellington, now I know their name! And thanks to the page on Wikipedia, I know that the bark and seeds are poisonous.. glad I didn't touch it!

Keep off the grass

Preparations are on the way at the Basin Reserve for the cricket season.

MPs busy as bees

The Beehive is the nickname given to the Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament, the photo below is a miniature replica of the building, on display at the Museum of Wellington:

and this is the actual building:

Have your say

These posters were scattered all around the city centre. The local council is calling on the population to take part in a special project: developing a vision for the city centre, find out what the Wellingtonians like or don't like about it and how it can be improved. You can only hope that the council will listen! Before 2040 would be nice too :)

If this was happening in your city, what would you like? As far as I'm concerned less traffic would be a good start!

Boat sheds

Chaffers Marina

Tripod

Continuing on the sculpture theme, this bronze Tripod stands at 6 metres tall in Courtenay Place and was created to celebrate the local thriving cinema industry... Peter Jackson anyone??? The city has even gained another nickname: Wellywood (combination of Wellington and Hollywood). Sounds more glamorous than the Windy City :)

Light at the end of the tunnel

Wellington has an impressive number of sculptures around the city and this work by Andrew Drummond called Listening and Viewing Device on Druid Hill at the botanic gardens, is probably one of the most puzzling pieces I've seen.

Listening to what?? Not the sound of the waves, just the echo of your voice. Viewing what? The sky?? Hmmm.. bizarre..oh, it swings as well. Really not sure what to make of it.

Cable car

I was very excited to go to Wellington as I had never been there, didn't really have any expectations, maybe just to see another great rugby battle, and now I am under the spell! I enjoyed it so much I want to go back :)

Always on my list of things to do and see while in a new city is the botanic gardens. In Wellington, it only takes a short cable car ride to get there (from Cable Car Lane off Lambton Quay in the heart of the city). As you can tell from the photo, I was blessed with blue skies and a bit of sunshine.

Maori garden

Through the hole

Chinese garden at the Hamilton Gardens

Peace memorial

Worley Place
Peace memorial to commemorate the International Year of Peace 1986

Lake Rotoroa

Brick caravan

‘Holidays in Huntly’ is an eye-catching art piece created by ceramic artist Peter Lange.

“Holidays in Huntly is an extension of a body of work that I have undertaken over the last couple of years that has referred to parts of my life which I recall with some affection – in this case the year or more that I spent living in a caravan while looking for minerals in New Zealand and Australia in the 60s,” he said.

“The shape has the curving lines of post-war homemade caravans and there is reference to the stripped-down brick skeletons of abandoned buildings.

“Driving through Huntly is a mixed experience: out of the corner of your eye you catch the iconic cream and brown brickwork which has become a recognisable and nostalgic local building style, but then the road to Hamilton (or Auckland) always seems to take priority. However if time is taken to explore inland and away from the river you'll find some beautiful spots, rural and lakeside, which might have been holiday destinations for families of the 50s.”

Riff Raff

Where we stand is the birthplace of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. On this site stood the Embassy Theatre, the home of Hamilton's late night double feature show, and the barber shop where Richard O'Brien cut hair and daydreamed from 1959 to 1964.

Kiwi TSB

I'm back from my long weekend across the ditch: a bit of rugby, a bit of rain, a lot of sunshine and countless steps around the pretty city of Hamilton, my feet still hurt!

In Sunday's post I was telling you about my appreciation of Brisbane's TSBs.. little did I know I would meet their kiwi cousins! Much to my delight, there's a few here and there around town. This one was snapped at the corner of Bryce & Barton St in the city centre.

My favourite initials

You might know that I have a fascination for license plates and this one caught my eye while I was in Arrowtown a cute village, not too far from Queenstown, more specifically a former gold mining town, hence the line "Born of Gold".