VFYW: The Devil You Know

For contest #384, we head to an island with a grim history but a gorgeous wilderness — with the world's best air.

(For the View From Your Window contest, the results below exceed the content limit for Substack’s email service, so to ensure that you see the full results, click the headline above.)

From the winner of last week’s contest:

Hooray! I think I’ll opt for the book, as it might spur others to also join in on the festivities here. Figures that my win would come on the first European window I actually got, an easy contest, and a place I’ve never visited — instead of my usual bread-and-butter: specifically places I’ve been in the United States. Oh well, a win’s a win! Thank you very much for running this contest; I’ve enjoyed it ever since I discovered it a couple years back.

Looking to this week’s view, a gut guess:

I’m still short of time for playing the contest, but at least tonight I’m home on the Mableton cul-de-sac. I’m hoping I’ve at least gotten the correct country this week: Lancaster, England? I spent too much precious time on that dang logo.

More on that logo from this sleuth:

This contest was a sneaky one. You Dusty-ed out most of the sign, but left the “Royal” part. So you’d think it’s a place with British heritage? But then, the cars are driving on the right?

Another notes, “The trees are bare, and as you tend to use relatively recent photographs, that would suggest the Southern Hemisphere.” Indeed. Another sleuth:

As usual, I spent quite a bit of time exploring the wrong end of the world before I decided to focus on the obvious clue in the picture: the word “ROYAL” on the building across the street from the window. It’s not England, but maybe New Zealand or Australia?

Indeed. Another writes, “This one is a tease, Chris”:

At first glance, it looks like it’s going to be easy. 164 Frame? Medals • Framing? Royal something or another? How hard can this be?! Well, I’m still looking …

Cars driving on the right are a red herring (it’s a one-way road, doesn’t count). License plates seem to be between European and North American dimensions. Southern Cross on the Royal Whatever’s shield. This has to be Australia or New Zealand. Of all the major cities down under, Wellington seems to offer the most promising setting.

But I just can’t find it. Right or wrong, I’m going to kick myself. I don’t know what feels worse: spending too much time fruitlessly searching the right city, or fruitlessly searching the wrong city.

Giuseppe, the super-champ in Rome, names the right country:

The steps to solve this one are so simple and clear that I wonder if it could be used in the classroom to teach geography in a lively way. An English-speaking country (the “One way” sign); in the Southern Hemisphere (the Southern Cross on another sign); and with a temperate climate — as much as you can still call a climate “temperate” nowadays.

So now we know we are in Australia or New Zealand (in theory it could also be South Africa, but our location doesn’t look as dry). A bay with hills/low mountains; could it possibly be Wellington? No, it isn’t. Napier? Nope. Maybe in Australia? Let’s google it — ok, there it is.

Chini is there:

The grand champion adds a few clues: