20th Dec day 66 church and zoo

We were up in plenty of time to have a leisurely breakfast in the hotel and get to church for the 10am service. Nicholas is loving being here as he has his own keycard and he has been exploring in the hotel including a few lift rides.

We went St Paul's Cathedral which isn't far from the hotel, it looks like it should belong in North Africa with its clay coloured exterior and shaped windows. Inside it is cavernous with the most amazing acoustics. With the entrance of a 30 strong choir, more men than women, the singing was sensational.

There were 2 Ministers, the first one did a children's talk using a big trough of marigolds the little ones had planted as seeds in the spring. He was likening our lives as Christians to seeds growing when we receive the right spiritual nourishment, until we get to a stage when we blossom and radiate His love. Its only then that others will be attracted to Jesus through us.

After the children went to their class the other Minister read and spoke about the passage in Luke 1 vs 39-56 when the newly pregnant, single Mary visits her much older cousin Elizabeth who is about to give birth to John the Baptist. He talked about them having faith that was full of joy despite not understanding what God was doing at that stage. He said God's call is always an invitation, never an imposition, and Mary is a great example of that truth.

This was in the weekly bulletin and I found it helpful.

The windows were all magnificent but I particularly liked this one of Paul on his missionary journeys.

After church we walked down to catch the bus to the zoo but to no avail, as there is no Sunday service so we stopped and had a quick Subway, before coming back to the hotel to collect the car.

Wellington Zoo is a fantastic place and I will struggle to just include a few pictures of the many animals there. I used the rest of the Mitis gift to pay for this outing - thanks guys so much. I am not a fan of animals in captivity but these were cared for extremely well. What I particularly liked was the easy presentation of their information in a format that was appealing to both adults and children. It's this sort of thing e.g. here is Nicholas showing that the length of his hand is roughly the same size as the paw of the Sumartran tiger.

They had some red pandas there, honestly this whole trip has been an education for me, it was black squirrels in Canada, blue herons in Australia and now red pandas - whatever next? These very cute little creatures are about the size of a medium dog, they feed mainly on bamboo (hence they are pandas which means bamboo eater) but the zoo keeper also fed it grapes by hand, so appealing.

My favourite of the day were the phenomenally friendly little kangaroos that hopped around the picnic area where we were sitting!

Nicholas had such a good time because there was so much for him to do. Here he is having climbed to the top of an actual giraffe crate. One of my all time favourite films is Madagascar and the scene when the 4 animals, including Marty the giraffe, are washed up on the beach. Thankfully in real life giraffes are transported with their necks out of the crates, not twisted into the crate as in the film.

There was a small barn with interactive displays to teach children facts about some of the things they eat. All of the displays were very cute but this one is my favourite.

It was a fabulously hot day which meant some animals wouldn't come out of their shelters, can you spot the pengiuns under this boat and someone else in this picture?

One final creature before I move on to the rest of the day - here is a great reminder about the power of advertising .....

The 3 of us were exhausted when we got back to the hotel after doing a lot of walking and a day outside in the sunshine. We spent an hour recuperating with a cuppa before going out for a stroll and something to eat. We ate in McDonalds which was nearby and just opposite the railway station. Here it is dressed for Christmas - ridiculous.

It's been fantastic to be on holiday with the two of them, as opposed to being a part of their daily lives.