Windy Wellington

We cheated again and took the bus from Taupo to Wellington. I booked the ferry trip to the south island for Sunday at 2 p.m., but Ciel really wanted to see the museum here, so I put the ferry off for a day. We walked around Te Papa museum for 6 hours yesterday, and this morning Ciel wanted to go back to see the stuff we missed! I voted to get to the ferry terminal early, because Wellington is definitely windy this morning - gusts up to 126km/hr recorded according to the NZ Met service! That's the windiest I've ever seen it in a city, it's like a mountaintop storm, but through high-rise buildings! Not the most pleasant weather to ride our bikes. The ferry terminal has signs up saying "sailing conditions: moderate". I'd hate to see extreme comditions!
Earlier in downtown Wellington, a woman came up to us to ask for help getting an ambulance for her friend, who was walking along the wharf and got blown off her feet and hurt her neck. My phone was turned off at the time, so while I waited for it to start up, we decided it would be quicker for her to go to the tyre shop just down the street. It's frustrating to have a cell phone for emergencies, only to have it rendered useless by the long start-up time. The ambulance came quickly, as if it had been waiting just a couple of blocks away. After the excitment was over, we just headed for the ferry terminal, where we're waiting now. At least we're in out of the wind.
-mark.