Wellington

On to Wellington, and we are now so taken with our GPS that I think that Richard plans to get one for domestic use! We were collected by Cathy Dean and taken to their 53 bedroomed house! We were staying in the School of Philosophy, Wellington, house which once upon a time was the headquarters of the Salvation Army. It was a training school but seriously impressive, high ceilings, great big rooms and all made very lovely and at the same time, nicely familiar to any philosophers reading this. We felt immediately at home and couldn't have been made more so than by the Dean family who managed to fit us in with several grandchildren and groups of philosophers all needing attention as well as showing us round and in every way giving us the best of times there. On the middle day we went out to their house by the sea for lunch and for a swim for the desperate to swim everywhere swimmer. The sun shone and it was a great drive along the coast. The vegetation had become more tropical again, not much but so interesting to see how this changes as you inch your way along the different latitudes. We went out for a particularly cheery dinner with Michael and Gillian Harris on our last evening and after meeting Bruce for lunch and packing our cases again, we took off for Auckland. However, we met an old friend, Mark Broadwith at the airport, he was coming to where we had just left! but we made a plan to meet up next week. We arrived, checked in to the Ventura Inn where we wait for George and Sophie and Liz picked up a brochure on whale watching in Auckland, they promise 75 per cent success in seeing whales and this is what she has come all this way for, maybe this is why swimming everywhere is such an obsession, she is looking for a whale. Will keep you all posted as to our success!