There she blows!

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Southern Right Whale - stole this photo
The Southern Right Whale is a rare occurrence in Wellington Harbour.  In fact, one only shows up every decade or so.... how lucky for us that one decided to hang around during our first week in the new place!  All of Welly is abuzz with the sighting with people lining the harbour to get a view of this beauty.  It's been here for three days, though I haven't spotted him today.  They are about 50ft long and weigh a remarkable 47 tonnes.  They are also considered to be one of the most promiscuous mammals on the planet as evidenced by the size of their testicles.  At 500kg (1,100 lb.) the sheer size indicates sperm competition within the species.  The Northern and Southern Right Whales are very similar though DNA testing reveals that they are unique species (subclass of Balin) and have not interbred in 12 million years. I guess that makes them racist and whorish?

It was great fun watching them, having people constantly asking me if I "saw the whale", eyeing SUPers and kayakers making there way to the whale. The whale breached some and did a lot of tail splashing though I don't think he was too stressed. Scientists even managed to get a DNA sample by shooting a detaching dart into the skin.  Pretty cool.

The new place...
In other news, we've been in the new place for exactly 6 days now. We took possession 7 days ago but Julie was sick with the flu so we delayed our move by one day.  All-in-all she was down hard for 2 days, and pretty sick for 4... remnants remain even now though she appears to be getting stronger.  I took good care of her and as a gesture of love and gratitude she decided to gift me her cold.  Like her I was down solidly for 2 days though I think I rebounded more quickly.  Still, we are both still hacking now-and-again and needing the weekend to fully recoup.

I think it's safe to say we like our new place even more than we expected (and we were pretty stoked before).  There are all sorts of things that are just really amazing.

First, the owner of the place we are renting was not a homemaker.  That translated as a benefit to us because the place was virtually un-stocked in the kitchen. She had to buy cookware, silverware/cutlery, utensils... you name it.  She even said, "if there is something you want for the place (including furniture) just let me know and I'll get it for you.  I mean really, who does that?

Second, the place is just charming. It was built in the mid 19th century so it's quirky but entirely liveable.  There are 17 skylights in our apartment so natural light is obviously abundant. Heated floors, heated towel racks... modern comforts living side-by-side with 170 year old light fixtures and mirrors.  The dining room has a 30 foot ceiling so it feels big and grand. It's just kind of cool and fun.

Third, our real estate agent is a real peach. She appears to be the Realtor of choice for the building so I see her nearly every day. She gifted us a few bottles of Pinot Noir, some chocolate covered almonds and an ENORMOUS bouquet of Lillies. 

Blossoms are huge

The blossoms on this thing are the size of basketballs, and, even with my cold it is one fragrant arrangement. Julie loves the smell. I am praying for the thing to wilt and die. #badMan Open the door to the apartment and you are knocked back into the hallway from the pungent odoriferousness.  (Yes Kate, that's a word!)

Last weekend, even though we were under the weather, we attended Winetopia.  We had pre-purchased tickets to the event, and it was right next door, so we rugged up and headed out.  It was fun -- lots of winemakers from all over NZ. We sampled and enjoyed and came home with 3 bottles to add to our at home wine collection.  This weekend we have no "big" plans though need to do a few things to complete the whole, "setting up" house process.  Mostly that consists of a gigantic grocery haul and a second trip to the housewares store.  Should be a hoot.

Saturday night, unless the whale is still in the harbour, there are fireworks in the harbour to celebrate Matariki – Māori New Year. If the whale is still feasting in the waters they will cancel the event. If the whale is off looking for "some" ;-) we will have a great vantage point on the rooftop deck.  Going to be fun.... peace out.

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