Riding south to Wellington
Headed out in the morning to explore a few “metal” roads in the area.
Of course we have to watch out for the KIWI birds!
NZ uses the large fern leaf in many promotions, signs etc. Being sub tropical, the ferns are big! Make sense now.
Ken was a great tour guide, as we stopped to look at some Maori sights.
Love the humor in the signs here.
Ken showed me the Gorge. Great views, then back to some rural roads all the way back to Wellington!
A quick stop at a roadside memorial. The US had lots of troops in NZ during WWI and WWII. The had a common saying about the american troops “over paid, over sexed, over here”
Arrived at Ken and Shirleys home in Wellington. Again the KIWI hospitality has been wonderful! Including Ken sharing his favorite ice cream called “Hokey Pokey”
Ken then gave me a great tour of Wellington. The overview
Then a great visit to the Te Papa Museum. It was amazing museum. Of course it had to start with some Lord of the Rings stuff.
Then the large Maori History section, which was great to understand the treaty a little better, and how the country started! Also some wonderful information about Maori culture
Learning about the Greenstone.
Then some other history of NZ, including the unique Britten. Sort of sums up the life of New Zealanders, and tinkering at it’s finest.
The next day we rode out to see the southward car Museum
Lots of cool cars, and motorbikes!!
Then back to Wellington. It was Census day in NZ. So I did my civic duty and filled out the census as a visitor!
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Joining Ken and Shirley in there Morning breakfast, reading of the paper and the daily 5 minute quiz from the newspaper.