Windy Wellington

So the first few days in Wellington have flown by in a whirlwind (not quite literally, although there have been 40mph winds today) of furious activity punctuated by attempts to relax and enjoy our new home.  The weather over the weekend was glorious so on Saturday after a lazy morning getting over the jet lag we went exploring and eventually ended up in a bar watching England's progress through the IRB Sevens Rugby.  This finished with celebratory drinks due to England (against all the odds) winning the tournament.  The sunshine continued into Wednesday, when we headed up to one of the many parks in and around the city and spent a few hours wandering aimlessly.

View of Wellington from top of "Cable Car"

Monday dawned a little different, the wind had moved to the south (which here means cold - still getting confused by this).  This brought rain and very strong gusts.   We discovered exactly why Wellington is called the "Windy City".  The better half had organised a list of jobs to do so we battled through the squally weather and managed to complete all the essential tasks of setting up bank accounts, mobile phones, tax registration, etc. that are necessary when you move to a foreign country.   At the end of the day we were both damp and exhausted so indulged in takeaway pizza and a bottle of wine.

Today has been more of the same weather-wise, although the rain has not been quite as intense and the wind has been stronger.  We have attempted to tackle the job of trying to find a place to live.   Viewings have been arranged for Thursday as tomorrow is a National Holiday - Waitangi Day.  Just looking at photos online of some of  the houses/apartments has got us excited about where we may live.  The areas we are looking at are closer to the sea than we are now and the majority of properties have balconies with sea views.

I hope I have made all you readers suitably jealous.  The only downsides so far in NZ have been getting used to the price of goods and of course missing everyone back home.  It has been great to talk to family and friends on Skype and I am doing my best to keep in touch via facebook/twitter/e-mail.  Further updates will follow soon.