Saturday was pretty fucking wonderful. I was having one of the best pots of tea in my life, eating breakfast with a perfect view of the waterfront, when my dad sent me a video of Hanson saying hello to me and telling me to visit some hobbits for them. They were playing in Arizona. It was an excellent moment. Then I sent the video to like 5 of my friends, naturally. :D
I visited the City Art Gallery, yet another free museum in Wellington. I secretly took candid photographs of a couple snuggled with a children's book on a couch outside of an exhibit. They were adorable. Then I told them what I did and apologized for being creepy for the sake of art, but since it was in a museum it felt less creepy. They were extremely friendly and gave me an email address to send the photos. They were one of those magical couples that lit the room up. If they stay together, which I have a good feeling about, I think they'll be happy to have the photos to look back on.
Was I supposed to focus on the art on the wall or the art that was living? I chose both.
I did a night tour of Zealandias Eco sanctuary- it's pretty much like trekking with strangers in a dark forest with a paved trail to see nocturnal animals. My favorite part was watching the sunset. We saw various things- an eel in the water, a tituara... And a kiwi from like 20 or 30 feet away. I could barely make out the dark blob. If I were a kiwi, I would hide too. I was probably relating a little too well because I was cold, tired and hangry by the end of the 3 hour tour. (A three hour tooour).
also, you could hear fireworks for guy Fawkes day exploding from the city center. Crowds and fireworks aren't my thing, and they aren't a kiwi's either. I was grateful to have a ride back from the other solo traveler in the group, a cool lady from UK who also didn't care about fireworks.
(kiwis are the national animal. people from New Zealand are called kiwis. Many New Zealanders have never seen one in person. People are trying to help keep as many alive as possible).
So I went to the zoo the next day. I haven't been to a zoo in almost a decade. I don't really know how I feel about them. But I saw a kiwi, really up close. I was alone in the room for most of it, just the two of us under the red light. It was one legged and the only thing that separated us was the glass as I sat on the ground and quietly observed. I really, really enjoyed it.
edit: you can read about Tahi, the famous one legged kiwi bird here: http://www.wellingtonzoo.com/content/animals/animal-stories.aspx
Then walking 2 miles back to my hostel, and I was boring for the rest of the day and night, a lazy Sunday.
