Well here is a picture of the Hotel in Wellington, The view from my window and something else in my room. Post comments if you know what the something else is.

Nearly didn't get here as strong winds over the tasmanian sea delayed the inbound flight to Sydey. Wellington airport operates a curfew and the pilot would not take off from Sydney unless he knew he could land at Wellington. Good idea really. We finally got off the ground from Sydney and after a very high speed and bumby flight caused by the strong tail winds we got into Wellington in 2 and a half hours landing around 12:15 pm. By the time I cleared customs and immigration and got the car to the hotel it was 1:00 am Wellington time.

Clearing customs was interesting. The New Zealanders are very strict on what can be bought into their country. They don't want any nasty visitors bringing in plant diseases etc. So they x ray your baggage to check it isn't full of grass cuttings or anything. I have a colapsible walking pole in my suitcase. The X Ray mad said "Are you carrying an ornamental sword sir?" I quickly answered "No it's a walking stick". "Do you go walking sir?" He asked. He then looked at my boots, still the only shoes I can get on over the swollen ankle and immediately decided I was a walker. He then proceeded to open my suitcase to check that the walking pole was not contaminated.

The car driver was a huge Maori man with a great relaxed attitude and because the city tunnel was closed for cleaning he took me on a guided tour of the bays of Wellington. It is a long time since I came here last but I had forgotten how beautiful it is. Even this morning in the usual Wellington morning fog it still looks great. The mountains come right down to the sea and the residential areas are full of quaint wooden houses with corrugated iron roofs painted in a rainboiw of colours. The commercial district of high rise offices is interspersed with fabulous old wooden houses. The control tower at the airport is on the hill between two bungalows.

The course went OK, couple of cynics in the audience but generally a good bunch.

I have been out for a walk this evening but as we didn't finish until 7:00 pm it was getting too dark for pictures and for walking about on my own. I'm pretty sure Wellington is still a safe place at night but the newpaper is full of stories about an armed brawl in a Rotarua pub last night. I bet the people don't still leave their houses unlocked like they used to.

Off to bed early as I won't get much sleep tomorrow night. The taxi is due at 5:00am to take me to the airport. Supposed to be going for a beer with the Sales and Marketing Director after we finish tomorrow so I probably won't manage an early night.