After 7 hours, 2 pit stops, 241 miles, we got into Wellington during the afternoon peak commute hour. Darn. Trapped in traffic.

As we got to our place for two nights, we breathed deeply, exhaled more and enjoyed our first night. All around, about 180 degrees, we have the view of the Pacific Ocean. What a beautiful paradise!

First stop the next morning is a ride in the cable car, a commute vehicle for seniors, free, and for students, also free, spanning three stations.

At the top is the ‘Botanic Garden’ where we enjoyed rare blooms and the oldest tree, Pohutukawa.

“Metrosideros excelsa, commonly known as pōhutukawa,[2] New Zealand Christmas tree,[3][4] and iron tree,[5] is a coastal evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red (or occasionally orange, yellow[6] or white[7]) flowers, each consisting of a mass of stamens. The pōhutukawa is one of twelve Metrosideros species endemic to New Zealand. Renowned for its vibrant colour and its ability to survive even perched on rocky, precarious cliffs, it has found an important place in New Zealand culture for its strength and beauty, and is regarded as a chiefly tree (rākau rangatira) by Māori.[8]”

Source: Wikipedia

A walk of 20 minutes downhill became a walk uphill of 40 minutes as we kept stopping for me to catch my breath. We made it back to the top of the hill, where cable car runs every ten minutes. Wonderful exercise!