Day Fourteen - “Windy” Wellington

CONGRATULATIONS to Briony and Thai on the birth of their son and to Lorna and Paddy their first Grandchild. Patrick, my advice to you is to keep your wallet in your pocket!

The nickname for New Zealand’s capital city derives from the fact that it lies in the only major gap in the central mountain range. It has nothing to do with over use of the buffet by visiting cruisers. We arrived in port at around 7.00am and once again we are docked within the industrial part of the port. There is some speculation on board that this is a deliberate policy of the cruise line as a revenue generator, with the shuttle into town today costing $5. Sylvia and I decided to walk to the quayside area where the National Museum of New Zealand, “Te Papa”, is located. Although the walk was along side a busy road it only took around 20 mins and we arrived at the museum before it had opened. A look around the souvenir shop and a cup of coffee later and we were in.

The museum focussed on the history of the islands and was very child-friendly, with many hands-on exhibits. We particularly liked the floor entitled “Journeys Through history”, which gave an insight into the many cultures that make up the modern New Zealand. It contained many artefacts donated by the Maori people including the boat shown on the left. In addition the museum had an outside space entitled “Bush City” where many of the country’s natural plants were growing. This being a school day in New Zealand the museum was full of young children eager to learn, or misbehave. Although we only spent just over an hour here, it’s the sort of place that if you were staying for longer, you could dip into on several occasions as admission was free.

Apparently Wellington is often compared to San Francisco , it’s hilly and is located on a bay and it has a cable car. This takes you on a ride from the busy shopping streets up to the botanical gardens. The views over the city from here were spectacular, helped by the gorgeous weather we enjoyed today. Not a hint of the wind! There is a nice walk back down from the heights through the gardens , but we decided to take the cable car back down.

Wellington, as all you keen quizzers will know is the most southerly capital city in the world. The parliament buildings were on the way back to the ship where we returned for lunch. After lunch it was too hot to play more than one game of ping-pong, so we retired to the poolside to eat ice-cream and take in the sun.

Last night’s animal has been confirmed as a penguin and tonight we have a stingray!!!!