Mount Vic!

   My penultimate week of classes has come to a close. So sad! I remember when I wasn’t even halfway done, thinking “Man, I have so much time left.” Now that I have one week of class left, and four weeks of travel, I feel like my time is up! I can’t stop thinking about how I’ll be leaving Wellington in just over a week, and I won’t be back for a month. Even then, I’ll only be here for a few days before flying home. I’m SO excited to spend so much time exploring the South Island, but I’m also sad to be leaving my beloved city!

   I’ve had a rather normal week, except that all of my courses are slowly coming to a close. We’re talking about end of semester stuff, and winding down with the course material. Spanish is the class that has made me feel like school is over – I only have one class left, and we’ll be taking an exam during it. I’m the class representative for Spanish, and class reps can host parties at the end of the semester will money from the university. Of course I organized one! It’ll be after our exam, and we’ll have yummy Spanish food and we’ll all mingle. It should be fun. The lecturer, Victoria, unfortunately won’t be able to come. She’s super pregnant, and due in a week! She helped me organize the party a bit, and donated money to the cause too. What a sweetheart! I’ve worked with her over the semester as class rep, so I’ve gotten to know her a little bit. She gave me contact info, and told me if I ever needed anything, to not hesitate to get in touch! She’s truly a wonderful person : )

  I don’t have lectures on Thursdays, so I usually try to get out and do something in the city. I didn’t really have plans for this week, but I did have to walk to both campuses on Thursday. As I was leaving my flat building, I checked my mail and had a Memere letter waiting for me! It brightened my day, and I loved reading it! I walked up the hill to Kelburn afterwards, then down the hill to Te Aro. I only had an errand or two at each campus, so it was still early afternoon by the time I was done. I didn’t know what to do for the rest of the day, and spur of the moment, I decided to walk up to the Mount Victoria lookout. I was wearing boots and was not prepared! The walk wasn’t too bad though, and the view was all worth it!

A bus tunnel I saw on the walk. Tight fit!

Halfway there. So high up already!

Finally made it! There's the airport and the South Coast.
The airport is on a big peninsula, and the land in the center of the picture connects it with the mainland. 

Windy Wellington! The city gets 173 days of wind over 60 kph per year!

I'm in love.

My apartment building is waayyy on the right of the photo. Kelburn is on the left, up the hill. What a walk! 

   I haven’t been up Mount Vic since my family was here. It’s amazing. I couldn’t believe how quiet it was up there! I spent some time admiring and taking photos, but I knew I had to get going if I wanted to get home before dark! I walked down the opposite side of Mount Vic than where I walked up, and followed the ocean all the way back to the CBD. It was the perfect day – chilly, so I didn’t get too hot while hiking! I stopped at some beaches along the way, and found TONS of seaglass. It was seriously everywhere on each of the beaches! And it was so smooth and worn down. I filled my pockets!

I watched at least 20 planes take off and land in the 20 minutes I was at the lookout!

I made a friend!

Okay, I made two friends. This one told me to follow him. So I did.

A shortcut down the side of Mt. Vic. Steep steep steep! And long!

Personal cable car? Yes please.

I had such a hard time walking away from all this sea glass...

   I stopped for dinner on Cuba Street on my way home, because I’m running low on groceries. I almost don’t want to buy more, because I’m leaving so soon. I have to remember that I still need to eat for over a week though!

   I luckily don't have much work to do for the end of the trimester, just studying. I've got 3 exams next week and my final photo project. I may end up hitting the books this weekend instead of going on an adventure!