Off to Windy Wellington Today

The halls are alive with the sight of luggage, with bags that gone for thousands of miles, the halls fill my hands with the weight of bags, my heart wants to burst they weigh so much. The above may not be as famous as the song sung by Julie Andrews, but it is the lament of the bell men where ever out OAT tour stops, our bags as shown in the foreground excepted of course. Quite literally, some of the people on the tour have bags so heavy they struggle to lift them the few inches to the airlines check-in counter. On the other hand, the New Zealand economy is in a boom period from all the souvenirs they have bought so there is a positive side to everything.



Yes, it’s a photo of a half eaten plate of food, but therein lies a tale. I was at this point in devouring my morning plate of beans and scrambled eggs when Linda spied something on my plate. “Is that chocolate?”, she asked, eying the chocolate filled goodie on my plate. I just smiled. a moment later she was on her way to the buffet counter, soon returning in triumph with one of her own. Never underestimate the power of chocolate acting on a woman.



Proof that I am not the only one who takes photos of you know whats.



Yes, part of today’s drive was through a rainforest. Note rain clouds below mountain tops.



The do believe in naming things just as they are.



Nice birdie.



This is not good.


And here is why.



Ketchup? What’s catsup, mate?



Fetish? What fetish, mate?



Mount Cook, mostly cloudless. Apparently it is rather unusual to see it this clearly. Both Linda and I saw it from the bus window.



A few minutes later the bus stopped. The clouds had come in but Mount Cook is out there somewhere. Just where is the question.



There it is, behind that cloud.



And you thought those cattle crossing signs were just put up for the fun of it.



Jack, the sheep dog at work. Turns out the best sheep dogs aren’t border collies as we’ve always been taught to believe.



Good Jack.



Jack not only rounds up sheep, he also rounds up humans.



Sheep shearing demonstration.



A shorn sheep. Linda touched it. She said it felt very oily. I felt the wool. It felt very oily.



I thought we were learning about sheep, so where did this come from?



Photo by Linda.



Another photo by Linda.



A blue penguin at the Antarctic Center.



The sign reads: “Penguins and children only.” It’s why I love her so much.



Linda, just what about Antarctica and cold don’t you understand?



Leaving on a jet plane.



Goodbye south island.



In Wellington they know what is important.