Cable cars and more!

This is a long overdue update on my adventures. For anyone who is having trouble keeping track of where I am, I am now in the pretty, but windy city of Wellington in New Zealand. Last Saturday (a week and a bit ago) I left Vancouver on a plane bound for San Francisco where I spent 4 days visiting with Donald, Heather and Joel and exploring the city.

I was expecting to be somewhat disappointed by the cable cars since most things that are really hyped up fail to meet your expectations, but boy was I wrong! Heather and I had an absolute blast riding the cable cars and decided they were the best invention ever. I was amazing by how thrilling a ride can be considering they never go faster than 10 miles and hour. I found you got a much more inimate feel for a neighbourhood than when you drive or even ride a bike through. It was almost like walking around but without the effort of climbing hills.


Heather and me at the bottom of Lambarts Street. According to the tourist liturature, it’s the cookedest street in the world.

Golden Gate Bridge in the fog. Amazingly this was the only foggy day I had in San Francisco and in reality, it really wasn’t foggy (except at the bridge).

The hills from the perspective of the cable car, with Alkatraz visable.

A cool mural on the side of a building in the funky mission neighbourhood.

After a great few days and many excellent dinners it was time for me to return to the airport and board a red-eye flight bound for Sydney. After 14 hours on the plane (including 15 minutes circling above the Sydney airport since there is a curfew banning any planes landing before 6am) I finally got to stretch my legs in the Sydney airport. Soon it was time to board yet another plane. This one was bound for Wellington. 25 hours after I initially began my journey to the airport in San Francisco, I arrived at my flat in Wellington. I spent the next 3 days exploring the city and figuring out my way around. I am living in a very central location. If I walk one direction for 15 minutes I am at work and if I head the other way for 10 minutes I am at the beach.

A central square in Wellington right on the water. The tall building in the centre is my office building. It is one of the tallest buildings in Wellington and can be spotted from most parts of the city.


Saturday was a very windy day in Wellington. Even the locals said it was exceptionally windy. The wind was so strong, especially near the water, that I found it very challenging to stand in one place.