Days 147 & 148: Wellington

On Sunday night I drove down from New Plymouth to windy Wellington, at the bottom of the north island.  The drove took about 4 1/2 hours.  I didn't get there before dark, and also it was raining off and on which made it challenging to see at times but I asked God if he could stop the rain before I had to navigate in the city and he graciously obliged.  As soon as I drove into the city I liked its vibe.  Wellington reminds me very much of Seattle.  It's hip and down to earth trendy in its own way, with plenty of independent type stores and coffee houses.  I found my way through the city to my hosts' flat.  I stayed with Sue, who is John's sister, and studies teaching in the city, and her flatmates Matt, Nga, Halina and Alice at their flat which they call The Love Shack.  I really appreciate their willingness to host me.  It was great to have a place to stay in the city that was easy to find and easy to get to.  Thanks so much, guys!

On Monday I headed out to explore.  I visited Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand, and was quite impressed.  They have floors and floors of displays but I only got to see floors 1 and 2.  There were exhibits on natural forces like earthquakes and volcanoes (Wellington is built on a fault line so they have to earthquake proof their buildings) and a display of native New Zealand birds and plants.  There was also a really cool exhibit about New Zealand as a place in the hearts and minds of Kiwis.  My favorite part was a film where 10 people shared their special places in New Zealand.  You could really feel their passion and love for the places that were special to them.  I felt like it was something I could relate to and understand, since special areas of the land are pretty important to me.

Here is an image of New Zealand's north island, from the Te Papa exhibit.

After Te Papa I met up with Alana and her cousin Caroline.  Alana was down visiting for her birthday.  We had afternoon tea out in the suburb of Petone, which is right on the beach.  The weather was really good, sunny and no wind, so we ate outside and then went for a walk on the pier.  (The picture is me and Alana on the Petone pier.)  Afterwards Alana and I drove up Mt. Victoria to see a view of the city at night (photo below) and then I took her to the airport to head home to Auckland. 

The next day I went shopping on Cuba Street, which is a pedestrian street with really cool stores. I visited one the Nga had suggested and found some good souvenirs for people.  The photo shows the Cuba Street bucket fountain. Water falls into the buckets and when they get heavy enough they tip over and slop the water into the buckets beneath them.


Next I headed over to the government buildings: The Beehive and the Parliament (Wellington is the capital of New Zealand).  I had a tour and then sat in on part of a parliamentary session.  It was hilarious!  The ministers were cheeky and cutting toward one another from different parties and muttered loudly while others were talking.  Good times.  It seemed much less formal than what I know of the US Congress.  John Key, the prime minister of New Zealand, was sitting at his bench just like everyone else and asked to answer questions just like the rest of the ministers.  It was great.

From Parliament I went to the Wellington Museum of Land & Sea, which tells the story of Wellington's development as a city through the years.  I enjoyed the film about the wreck of the Wahine in which 51 people died.  It was sobering and sad.  Next I took a trip on the cable car that runs from Lamington Quay up the steep hill to the Botanic Garden.  I would have liked to have a walk in the gardens but it was getting dark, so I headed back to the Love Shack, stopping on the way to get some Indian butter chicken takeaway for dinner.  Yum!