A New Beginning-Welcome to Wellington

After flying all night, we forgot to take some photos upon arrival. We went through customs in Auckland, rechecked our baggage to Wellington, then walked from the International terminal to the the local terminal. It was so different than Salt Lake. It was very cool and rainy, about 45 degrees. We were glad to have jackets. Wellington was sunny and cool. Arrived at 9:30 am Wednesday, which was 3:30 pm Tuesday in Salt Lake.

We were met in Welly (local terminology) by the Taskers and Gowans, each with a car (remember the 282 lbs of stuff?). Two car loads.... They drove us to our new home in Porirua, about 20 km from downtown Wellington. It is a flat (apartment)-very nice. One bedroom, an office, dining room, living room and kitchen. Unlike many homes in NZ that just use space heaters in the room you happen to be in, we have a small heat pump AND a space heater. And a car-a Holden (Chevy) Cruze. With gas at $1.76/liter, a small car is best for us.

The view from our flat is this.Taken just after sunup. About 35 degrees, and it had rained all night. Got about 2.25" of rain, which is more than Page has gotten all year.

Porirua is on the west side of NZ, and has a harbor. It opens onto the Tasman Sea. We are about 1.5 km from the harbor. We have shopping just across the Motorway (like a freeway). Our church is about 2 km away. (You can figure out the conversion to miles. Our car doesn't...) Following are photos from the peninsula on the far side of the harbor looking inland to Porirua proper. Shopping is around the tall building. We live off to the left up a little valley.

Here are a couple of shots that Lois took of the harbor, near the church.

This last photo is from the National Archives in Wellington, where we are working. The water is part of the harbor in Wellington. The building on the left, above the cars and street is called Westpac Stadium. They have rugby teams, cricket teams, and football (australian style) teams that play here. If you have heard of the "All Blacks" Rugby team, they aren't here, but they play here. They are a combination of several regional rugby teams that play internationally. Next game: Aug 27. The Inter Island Ferry and many cruise ships dock just beyond the stadium.

Until later.