It was raining hard this morning so they canceled the trip to the Wellington Botanic Garden. Then the weather cleared up so we all decided to walk to the Te Papa Museum since the bus was gone.

We saw an exhibition about New Zealand’s part in WW1 at Gallipoli.

We then got a tour around the museum telling us about the Māori people and the Waitangi Treaty where the European colonizers and the Māori people came together in peace.

We had lunch at the museum cafe and then walked around the waterfront taking pictures of Wellington. It was very windy; they say it is always windy in “Windy Wellington“:

Several of us decided to go to the Wellington Botanic Garden and took the tram up the hill:

This was the view from the top:

Our walk through the Wellington Botanic Garden:

Cannamois virgata

Mexican Hand Tree (Chiranthodendron pentadactylon)

Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthus cv.)

Kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium). Native to NZ

Lemonwood (Pittosporum eugenioides). Native to NZ

Swan River Daisy (Brachyscome sp.) Native to Australia

Walking down the hill in the botanic garden:

Herb garden:

Rose garden:

We took an Uber back to the hotel to get ready for the farewell dinner. Five people are leaving and 5 more are starting the tour to the South Island. John has allowed me to take his place on the South Island tour since he has to go back to the states. I am very thankful to be able to continue this trip and blog about the beautiful gardens of New Zealand. My open garden on November 12 will still be held and be hosted by Bob & Louise Chan and Dr. Russ Tweet.

Tomorrow – Zealandia