Manic Botanic

Last weekend, Andy and I took Higgs out for a walk to the Wellington Botanic Garden. It’s only about a half-hour walk from our house, and we got lucky with gorgeous weather over the long Labour Day weekend. Spring really is out in full force, and as they say here, nothing beats Wellington on a good day.

Higgs needed some cooling off, which gave him a good chance to bark at ducks.

We missed the prime tulip season, but they were still impressive.

Having lived here a year now, I really should be visiting this amazing place more often. The last time I truly explored was a couple weeks after I first arrived in Wellington. Outdoor concerts take place here in the afternoons during summer, so I’m looking forward to going to some of those.

It’s great having an oasis like this right by the city center. It feels like another world entirely.

We got a great view out over the city from one of the garden’s lookout spots.

Up next, we descended to the rose garden, which I hadn’t visited before.

Not many roses were in bloom, but the garden was beautiful nonetheless.

I finally found the waterfall that I knew was somewhere in the Botanic Garden.

Higgs took the opportunity to pose for me, so Andy followed suit.

All that hamming it up for the camera is hard work, so he quenched his thirst at a nearby water sculpture.

Then, Andy explored another sculpture.

The view from inside was pretty cool.

So many winning shots of Andy and Higgs from this outing.

I feel the need to remind everyone that these are gardens, after all, and not just a backdrop for two handsome guys.

Ok, maybe they are just a backdrop.

On our way through the forest, we spotted a kaka off the path. Kakas are an endangered species of parrot native to NZ and they’re always interesting to observe. A couple of them love to eat walnuts out of the tree in our yard, and Higgs doesn’t approve one bit.

We were rewarded for our uphill climb by more great views from the top of the cable car.

Even better, the car showed up just in time, completing the quintessential Wellington shot.

We stopped in Kelburn on our walk back for some iced drinks and soaked in the beautiful sunshine. The rest of the weekend was similarly gorgeous, and we had an amazing time sampling beers from all over NZ and the US at the Pacific Beer Expo on Sunday.

Later this week, Andy and I fly up to Auckland to spend a few nights on Waiheke Island. Wineries, beaches and relaxation await. More on that to come, but for now I’ll leave you with some teaser shots of Waiheke from Google.

Yes, please!