R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 80

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Wellington Botanic Garden

Overlooking Wellington from Kelburn funicular station

As you’ll recall from last Wednesday, we arrived in the hills of Kelburn overlooking Wellington Harbour via the Wellington Cable Car (funicular). From here we had a spectacular view of the harbor:

Wellington Harbour

Now it’s off on foot to the nearby Wellington Botanic Garden, but first we must pass a piece of history — a field artillery piece built in 1907 at the Friedrich Krupp AG factory in Essen, Germany. Yes, the infamous “The A...

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating New Zealand; Wellington Favorites 1

Field Trip

Time now for some Fun Photo Friday favorites of Wellington, New Zealand:

“City to Sea” details



Fern 2



Te Ngākau Civic Square



“City to Sea” bridge woodwork art



John Plimmer and Fritz

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Wellington Cable Car

Wellington Cable Car (funicular) model

Another three minutes’ stroll north along Lambton Quay from Plimmer Steps (see Monday’s article) gets us to our next stop, the Wellington Cable Car. Despite the misnomer, this is in fact a funicular.

Wellington Cable Car entrance on Lambton Quay

So in we go to purchase our tickets for a must-do experience if you’re ever in Wellington. After a somewhat brief wait in line, we arrive to the lower station, which is quite colorful in its own right:

W...

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Arriving Wellington, 2019

“Fern 2” hanging above Te Ngākau Civic Square

Our next destination aboard Majestic Princess was Wellington, into which we arrived on 19 March, 2019 (we would return 10 March 2020, but more on that later in the series). On this trip Ursula and I traveled around on our own, and one of the stops we made this day was to Te Ngākau Civic Square at 101 Wakefield Street, just past the Wellington Central Library, 65 Victoria Street.

Wellington Central Library as seen from Te Ngākau Civic Square



...

The Swedish Coronavirus Experiment has failed . . . miserably

Sweden’s state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell of the Public Health Agency of Sweden

As we head into our darkest Covid-19 pandemic days to date, it becomes increasingly important to look beyond quacks possessing medical degrees offering up placebo solutions that wind up causing even more illness, misery, death, and, as a direct result, prolonging the resulting economic chaos. So much for that Hippocratic Oath stuff. And I’m referring specifically now to two quacks in particular — neuroradiolog...

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating New Zealand; Christchurch favorites Cashel Street

Coat of Arms New Zealand on the Bridge of Remembrance

A last look at Christchurch:

In the Shadow of the Bride of Remembrance



Ice Cream Mural



A Van Named “Morris”



Remembrance Archway Framing Cashel Street



City Tour

To My Fellow Veterans this Veterans Day — Thank You!

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Christchurch; Exploring City Mall (Cashel St.)

Bridge of Remembrance archway

You might think that with well over two dozen choices that we made Riverside Market our lunchtime venue. Alas, we did not. The sit-down restaurants with available tables did not appeal to us, and the common area tables at which one could dine from a stall were uniformly occupied. We would be heading elsewhere, it seemed.

Riverside Market

So, we exited Riverside Market, upon which I stumbled across this classic Morris Minor panel van:

Morris Minor panel v...

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Christchurch and the Cardboard Cathedral

The Cardboard Cathedral

We returned to Akaroa on 9 March 2020, this time aboard Radiance of the Seas. But we wouldn’t be in town long. Definitely not long enough to hit Murphy’s on the Corner for those fantastic fish and chips, unfortunately:

Best fish and chips EVER ! ! !

But that’s okay. We’ll hit Murphy’s again next time. Instead today we’re headed by tour bus to Christchurch. Today we’ll be spending much of our time visiting the Cardboard Cathedral (more on that in a moment), but be...

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Christchurch and the Carboard Cathedral

The Cardboard Cathedral

We returned to Akaroa on 9 March 2020, this time aboard Radiance of the Seas. But we wouldn’t be in town long. Definitely not long enough to hit Murphy’s on the Corner for those fantastic fish and chips, unfortunately:

Best fish and chips EVER ! ! !

But that’s okay. We’ll hit Murphy’s again next time. Instead today we’re headed by tour bus to Christchurch. Today we’ll be spending much of our time visiting the Cardboard Cathedral (more on that in a moment), but be...