day one...

The conservatory cafe at the Wellington Botanical gardens is situated overlooking a large traditional rose garden and no doubt provides respite from the winds that this city is so famous for... and those cold days. A lovely spot after a long trail through the green surrounds.

Photos taken in the Botanic Gardens on a cool rainy january day 2 weeks ago. The garden is reached by cable car located down the hill in the middle of the city. Its a few minutes to the scenic lookout and the garden is on the left facing the city. The walk through the garden is a fantastic route back to the city, meandering along pathways full of surprises, secret gardens, exhibitions of specialised plant collections, historical sites and so on. The cafe is in a conservatory next to the Begonia House and facing a wonderful Rose Garden. The early settler's graveyard is another discovery. I liked this memorial below.

These cable car photos come from their website and were obviously taken on a very sunny day when you could see into the distance. I struck low clouds and misting rain which held off for most of the walk, luckily. Fascinating to spend time in this environment noticing the impact of a different climate and terrain on vegetation... even the section of australian natives was growing quite exuberantly due to the cool, wet climate. Interesting to discover the plants that are native to NZ  - the garden was a great start to the day and to the trip!