Who is Wellington named after? I don't know, but...

I will have spent five nights in Wellington. That's a lot more than I had initially expected, but it was a good weekend, and I happened to find a cheap place to stay. I spent a couple days going to Te Papa, the big museum in town (it's free like most of the museums in New Zealand and Australia). It takes a couple days to see it all. I think Te Papa means "our place", but don't quote me on this. Anyways, it's a museum about New Zealand. It cost $317 million to make, so you can be sure that it's pretty nice and well worth the visit.
The rugby sevens were in town and the tickets were sold out. That's okay, because they don't black out games like they do in the States. I was able to catch a few of the 20 minute matches in the evening. The States were represented, but they didn't do too well. They lost all three matches, getting shut out by the Kiwis (43-zip). The Kiwi's or, All Blacks, as they are known, went on to win the tourney. They did a victory "haka" after they won. It's a pretty cool Maori tribal tradition. There is a lot of bare chest slapping and stomping. If you've seen Whale Rider, you kind of know what I'm talking about. The Kiwi's, by the way, are fanatical about their All Blacks rugby team. It's the national team that goes to compete in international competitions. They seem to cream the competition. The Sevens brings in millions of dollars for Wellington, and the bars were pretty packed. A lot of groups of people dress up in wierd matching costumes, some of which are pretty outragous. It's like a big costume party where they drink a lot.
The weather was pretty hot this weekend, contrary to the weatherman's predictions. I was able to watch the Global Challenge boats take off today from their docks, and then I hiked to the top of a peak to catch the race in the bay. These boats are 72-feet long and are all identical, so that it's skill and luck that makes the winner. They're crewed by 17 "volunteers" that compete for these prized spots four years prior to the race. Their skippers are the only required professional sailors on board. The crew pays about $70,000 each to be on board for the year. Most of them find sponsors to help pay their way. They're going around the world "the wrong way", that is, from east to west, which is supposed to be harder. They spend a good length of time in the Southern Sea with ice on their ship. Awwwesome.
There was also a Chinese festival celebrating the upcoming New Year on the lunar calendar. I went to the One Love festival today (Waitangi Day). I will be headed to National Park, the town just outside Tongariro National Park, tomorrow. The weatherman is calling for showers for a couple of days, but I am hoping that he is going to be wrong like he was about his "cloudy and cool" weekend in Wellington.
Oh and as you can see, I have updated some pictures. I have tried to put them in sequential order by backdating them. You can check the archives to see if you have missed any.