Long Post Disclaimer – We spent a total of two half days and one night in Wellington, so I might as well tell you the story of how we survived the gale force winds in this city in one post. This also marked the end of our trip on the North Island. Yay! Half-ish way through!
NZD6 – Don’t let go! I need an anchor.
The drive from Tongariro to Wellington was long, but it was a beautiful drive (like all drives in NZ) and we made it before lunchtime. After two days of rain, we were finally rewarded with sunshine!
Wellington
The capital of NZ is a port city surrounded by hills, and our hotel was situated on top of one. The hotel was located right next to the Wellington Botanical Gardens (think of it as the Wellington ‘off-‘Central Park), so we took the scenic route through the park on our way down to the waterfront. It was a beautiful day to walk among the trees and flowers. There was also a lovely rose garden. The blinding sun and luscious greens were a polar opposite to the views we encountered the day before.
Wellington Botanical Garden – Rose Garden
We continued on towards the Queens Wharf for lunch. The wind speed steadily picked up as we neared the waterfront. I hadn’t done much research on Wellington but I had read the wind could be intense. At first, Sam was carrying the backpack, by the time we reached the wharf, I had to wear the backpack and Sam held on to me by the straps. I was blown around like a kite! (Girls, if you have long hair, definitely put it up in a bun or braid it away to prevent tangling. It was painful to brush out all the knots!)
We decided on the well-reviewed The Crab Shack right on the Wharf. Yep, it’s even decorated similar to the American Joe’s Crab Shack, but the food was more delicate in taste and proportions. Despite my ambiguous allergy to shellfish, I decided on the paella because I like to live dangerously (yay! no puffy face!). Sam had the Cajun Fish of the Day. I couldn’t believe we traveled to the other side of the world to have Cajun food when we lived next door to Louisiana…
Te Papa Tongarewa Museum
We spent the entire afternoon in the famous Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand. It is an amazing museum and it’s all free all the time! Most of the museums we have been to around the world would have free days once in a while, but never have we been to a museum of this scale that’s completely free to the public. There was a special exhibit going on called the “Scale of Our War”, where the artist created colossal figures of NZ people who were in World War I. The figures included soldiers, generals, nurses, and civilian people. The exhibit was extremely well done. The scale of the figures really forced us to take in the emotions and details. It was a very unique yet powerful way to showcase the gruesome nature of war by telling the stories of real people. The Kiwis really love their veterans.
The hotel we booked was on top of a restaurant and we stayed in THE SMALLEST room I have ever been in. What I thought was the closet, actually opened into THE SMALLEST bathroom I have ever been in. I’m talking about smaller than an offshore vessel bathroom here.
NZD7 – Human Ingenuity
It was an equally windy morning in Wellington. And to show you I was not exaggerating, here is the local newspaper.
Our ferry to the South Island was originally scheduled for 7:30am, but was delayed to 11:30am. We settled on visiting the Beehive with the extra time. The Beehive is the central government building of NZ, nicknamed after the shape of the building. It offered free tours to the public to educate people on not only the government but the history of the country too. We had plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and coffee before making it to the earliest tour at 9:30am.
The Beehive & Government Buildings
As engineers, both Sam and I were most impressed by the retro-fit Foundation Isolation System for the Parliament Building and the Library. New Zealand is a very seismically active place. The evidence of the earthquake from a couple of days ago was still visible at many locations on the exterior and interior of the buildings. But thanks to the FIS, the structural integrity of the buildings were secured.
Ferrying to South Island
We made it onto the ferry after a long time in line, and we waved goodbye to the North Island. I had no idea what to expect from a four-hour-long ferry ride, but it was actually a really cool experience. After we parked the car, we could go inside to the lounge area, where there was a movie theatre, a cafeteria, a cafe, quiet rooms, and very comfy chairs and tables with power outlets. There was supposed to be WIFI onboard, but it rarely worked.
Even with all the entertainment, the ride felt incredibly long. We watched the movie “Eddie the Eagle”, ate snacks, read books, and played on the phone. We also went outside to enjoy the fresh air (or in our case, hair-whipping winds) and views. I didn’t realize the two islands were this far apart! At last, we saw the hills of the South Island.
It still took forever for us to debark after we arrived in Picton, and we made it to our destination for the night in Kaiteriteri very late. We stayed in a backpacker’s hotel that night, where the room was a small mobile home in a garden full of lemon trees. The South Island appeared to have way more bugs than the North Island. Pesty little buggers!
Cheerio,
C.