We thought it would be a good idea to get some pics of our home town for our non-Kiwi friends. This is our NZ Parliament building, fondly or not so fondly dubbed “The Beehive”due to its shape. This is where most of the politics take place and it is at the northern end of the Wellington commercial district.

This building stands next door to The Beehive and houses the less important members of parliament. It's still a nice building though...! Lots of couples have wedding photos on the steps shown.

We stayed with a friend in Johnsonville for a couple of nights, this is the view from her house. (Hi B!!)

New Zealand is truly a beautiful place - everyone who hasn't visited should definitely make it part of their next holiday plans!!

Wellington is a harbour city so you are never very far away from the sea. This photo was taken from Evans Bay Parade and is looking north toward the Hutt Valley and Petone. New Zealand is also known as

“the land of the long white cloud”

You can see just why in this pic!!

This photo is around a couple of bends from the picture above. It shows the tiny Balaena Bay. Our church has had water baptisms here, although it depends on the time of year and the hardiness of the individual being baptised as the water is mostly pretty cold!

We discovered this mural seems to have been painted while we were away! It is just across the road from Balaena Bay.

Enough already on Balaena Bay... This next pic is of the main street in the Wellington commercial area, called Lambton Quay. All the best shops line this street, including the landmark 'Kirkaldie and Stains' or Kirk's for short (the closest building on the left of the photo). An expensive department store that has a formal-suited-tophat-wearing doorman at the main door to greet shoppers and open the door for them. If you are ever visiting Wellington in November or December, they have a really cute Christmas Shoppe that is fun to look around, but Kirk's is worth a visit anytime! We wouldn't advise taking children into the section with the china and crystal....

This building is another landmark in Wellington, the Old Government Building which is across the road from the Beehive. The law school of Victoria University is housed here and the right-hand wing contains the law library, where Karen spent many an hour looking up books to help with her commercial law essays! The building is the largest all-wooden structure in the southern hemisphere and was extensively renovated several years ago. It really is just as beautiful inside as out.

Well we just had to get some photos from the Mt Vic lookout. Here is one of the airport and runway looking southward. Yes, there is sea at each end, and in a southerly wind the landing can be rough (especially in a small plane!!). But don't worry, 747's do land here...

This pic of of the Newtown area in Wellington, and it is also on the south end of the city. Newtown is one of the older suburbs where you can still see a lot of the original shops and houses, many of which have been refurbished.

This pic is directly to the right of the one above, and shows more of the commercial area.

Directly to the right of the previous photo is the waterfront area and downtown Wellington. The large building near the middle, to the left of the marina is “Te Papa” a very flash museum that was only opened a few years ago. They have some interesting exhibits at times. Admission is free except if you want to see special exhibits they have on...

This photo is to the right (again) of the previous photo, and shows the industrial end of the harbour.

Isn't that beautiful.

I almost want to sing the national anthem!