Wellington Botanic Gardens

The internet connection is excruciatingly slow today, so hopefully the pictures all load correctly.

On one of the few beautiful summer days before Christmas, I took the cable car up to the Wellington Botanic Gardens.

The gardens start at the top of the hill and wind all of the way down.

The hydrangea dell is not yet in full bloom, but it will be stunning later in January, if last year is any indication. It looks like a fairy glen. I'll go back and take pictures later in the year.

There are lots of smaller trails and specialty gardens branching off from the main path. This is the succulent garden.

The bottom of the hill (on one side, at any rate) has manicured gardens and a fountain.

From there, I went back up over a hill to the rose gardens and glass house. There was a herb garden at the top, and some more impressive views.

I then proceeded to go a bit crazy taking pictures of the rose gardens and flowers in the glass house. If you don't like flowers, now might be the time to wander off...

And the peace fountain. I skipped the graveyards this time around, as that's where I fell and broke my tail bone last January.