The day started with the sound of tuis calling as dawn was breaking. I left the window open last night because it was so warm, and when I looked out, I could see a light rain was falling. Since it was still quite warm outside, I opened the door and enjoyed the scent and sound of the rain. After that the morning started to go downhill. My phone was having problems connecting to the Internet, which became very frustrating because I could not access bus schedules, Wordle, my blog, email, or even send texts. It was very frustrating to realize how dependent I am on my phone. After stewing about it for a while (for some reason getting angry at my phone didn’t fix the problem!) I decided I needed to get out for a walk in the bush. As always, that made a huge difference in my outlook, and I came back feeling much better. It seem to make things better for my phone as well as it didn’t act up again until I tried to post this entry to my blog!
After I sorted myself out, I headed out to a Christmas concert given by a local choir. The audience got to sing along to some of the carols which was fun. The choir also sang some beautiful African hymns. I have to say it was a bit strange to see and hear older, white New Zealanders sing gospel style songs with kiwi accents.
Next up was a trip to Lyall Bay to spend some time near the beach, where I hoped it would be cooler. It’s always so much fun to see kids playing in the ocean, and New Zealand kids are no different from American ones in their joy at being at the beach. There are several surf lifesaving clubs in the Wellington area and most have large buildings on the bays, the one in Lyall Bay is new and quite flash, as they say here.
At the beach I used one of the automatic public toilets where you press the button to open the door and it locks itself etc. It speaks with an American accent which is quite funny to hear here. I ran into a woman walking her dogs, one a Frenchie named Minnie and the other a whippet named Maxi. They were both very sweet dogs, but Minnie, being a Frenchie, wanted lots of attention, just like Emmy’s dog, Winston.
I also checked out a nearby art gallery that featured New Zealand artists. There were lots of lots of gorgeous paintings & jewelry, as well as humorous decorative china plates, and a really cool dress made out of a paper dress pattern. The artist had even crocheted some of the pattern to make the top of the dress! As someone who has had some practice with paper patterns I thought this was very impressive.
As I headed to Princess Bay I heard a woman call out ‘Look! Dolphins!’ and sure enough, by the mouth of the bay there were several dolphins frolicking in the water. I don’t know how long I stood there watching them leap and play with each other, it was just fantastic. I’ve had several people tell me that they had seen dolphins in the Wellington harbor or at one of the bays, but this is the first time that I had spotted any. Hopefully it’s the first of many times!
As I got closer to Island Bay, I finally got a chance to talk to my son, Kieran, which was such a treat. I usually talk to him a couple of times a week, he’ll call me on his way home from work or when he’s walking his dog, Bentley, but because of the time difference we haven’t been able to catch up on the phone. It was great to hear about what he’s doing and his plans for Christmas. I’m sad that I won’t be able to see him and Kourtney at Christmas this year, but I’m very excited to be able to spend the day with Annemarie since we haven’t had Christmas together since 2019 (due to Covid I think that’s been the case for many people unfortunately).
On the way from Island Bay to Annemarie’s, I passed some cool artwork in front yards, on retaining walls, and at a bus stop. I just love all the artistic expression in Wellington.
Annemarie made delicious homemade pizza for dinner. I’ve been getting to know her flatmates on my visits and they are a nice group. For a house with seven adults and a cat, it’s relatively quiet. Having a backyard space definitely helps, especially in the warmer weather. Pretty much every time I’ve been there someone has been barbecuing! After dinner we went shopping at the local New World supermarket, then I left to take the bus home, ready to rest after almost 12 miles of walking.