WINDY WELLINGTON LIVES UP TO ITS NOTORIOUS TITLE -
It has been named by Lonely Planet as 'the coolest little capital in the world.' We 'yay'-ed at the blood red, WOW heart shaped lettering next to the lagoon footbridge. You can pose inside the obnoxiously large capital letters which had children scrambling all over.
A CORNUCOPIA OF PRIZED, KIWI ENTITIES -
Te Papa National Museum of New Zealand, means 'Our Place' and is one of the best, FREE museums in the country - if not, the continent, housing countless treasures. Its Earthquake Simulation serves as a solemn reminder that they can strike at ANYtime but it's actually fun as the cramped living room shakes and jolts turbulently. This is a short recreation of the 6.6 aftershock experienced in the 1987 Edgecumbe quake. Te Papa is also (famous) for the Colossal Squid which is the only one publicly displayed on the planet. The squid seems like a nonsense display but when you view it up close it's a terribly awesome 4.2 metres long and weighs 95 kilos!!
At the time of our visit, Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War was a tremendously moving exhibit which had teamed up with Weta Workshop to pay fantastic tribute to nearly 3000 New Zealanders who were killed in this battle. It took a staggering 24,000 hours to create these ginormous sculptures, 2.4 times larger than human size to tell the story of 8 Kiwis who were involved. As it was fairly new when we were there, the queue was EXTREME. It is not one bit boring but it was never going to be a fluffy snapshot of WW1. It's something that needs to be seen and experienced for yourself.
Our first foray into the city was very successful for we found our way everywhere seamlessly! Oriental Bay beach is definitely not the most important or gorgeous of NZ beaches but Amy and I had a pretty good time nonetheless. Smithereens of sunshine began to break through clouds but it was still chilly and we hadn't prepared for that in our choice of attire. The breeze was 'cute' at the start but we really DIDN'T want it to be in our life continually.
We stopped at a Dairy to rustle up a lunch of a sausage roll (sandwich for Amy), leftover crisps and a can of Charlie's fizzy feijoa - this truly is a festive beverage. We didn't do the Crocodile Biking as Amy aborted the mission to cycle thinking we'd be rubbish! I was sad as it's one of the funkiest bikes ever invented!
Gelissimo Gelateria gave me and Amy the ice cream giggles! We battled the wind as we slurped up our respective flavours from waffle cones. They do wonders with ice cream despite me not loving my first scoop of Ambrosia frozen yogurt with marshmallow and berry; a girl's gotta take what she can get. My second choice took all the glory as Gelissimo produce a kickin' passionfruit flavour.
To view the Wellington Museum highlights, we whizzed round in half an hour as it was 30 minutes from closing. We were able to check out: The Bond Store, crown jewels, nautical seafaring - where we steered a ship and various other fantastical creations. Learning about the 1968 Wahine Ship Disaster, a tragic moment in Wellington's maritime history when a storm sank the Lyttleton to Wellington ferry killing 51 victims in the shipwreck was both poignant and distressing. The Attic's Time Machine span and took guests through key events in Wellington's history; it 'combines the magic of cinema with installation art.' Each of us hated the stuffed lions Rusty and King Dick who were formerly captives in the Wellington Zoo. Taxidermy knocks me sick!
Then we met up with a friend I'd made through work at Gallagher Bassett at The Bucket Fountain. She had moved to Wellington with her partner and was transferred to the Wellington office of GB. Erin likes Wellington much more than Auckland! It was so nice catching up with her after not seeing her for a couple of months.
I NEEDED CAKE LIKE THE SUN NEEDS HYDROGEN.. A LOT!! -
The three of us delved into the delights of the Night Market; my eyes were glowing with lust for all the goodies. Cuba Street's atmosphere is electric and the international cuisine stalls are spicy nicey! I had very few complaints for my chicken, mushroom and spinach with tofu dumplings, save for the individual prices. While waiting in line for my Indonesian nasi goring, chicken fried noodles, I ate a chicken satay stick. My noodles were a monster of a meal in the most amazing sense!
Our pursuit for pudding proved tricky as this place is a dessert nightmare. I followed the scent of sugar as detected by my powerful nostrils which eventually led our trio to a little café named Midnight Espresso for a hot chocolate and choc blueberry muffin. We stayed awhile for delightful chats with my good pal Erin before calling it a night and going our separate ways :( We got in at 11pm and tiptoed inside but there was no sneaking past the mad-Scientist-haired air b n b host who made some uncomfortable joke about us trying to bring boys back!
Incessant rain hammered down all day long without a break or pause on our second full day in Wellington. We passed on Mt Victoria after reports of hiking up being miserable in inclement weather conditions and knowing that the usually lovely views would be shrouded in grey haze. While, all the showers were very upsetting, we weren't about to let that spoil our fun. I took the sister out for a nibble, breakfasting in a bus stop for shelter like paupers on waffles from the popular, hole-in-the-wall, Little Waffle Shop. The Black Forest waffles transcended *all* waffles with its vivacious cherry compote, milk choccie sauce and whipped cream.
If we hadn't seen smiley shoppers storm the car park where the Wellington Underground Market is held on a Saturday, we wouldn't have discerned its whereabouts. It's a cool place to potter about and scoop up pretty handicrafts from a cluster of craft stalls and there's live music and tasty snacks to boot. The most obscure vendor was selling Barbie doll hands jewellery which toes the line 'tween quirky and creepy. This market really sells all kinds from chilli jam to pretty pendants. My favourite seller was Dandelion Wishes from which I purchased a couple of necklaces, one as a gift for Mum and the other was a heart shaped vial with sand, a star shell and sea glass inside. There were so many items I wish I could have purchased but my baggage allowance prevents it.
At NZ Academy of Fine Arts you can buy what you see from the features of original art works by leading artists in the country. It was founded by William Beetham, an esteemed portrait painter in 1882 and has one of the nation's lowest commission rates. We dawdled and pretended to be compelled but we were purely inside as we needed to spend a penny!
Thereafter, we glanced around Portrait Gallery and again, that was just because it had free entry and to momentarily have some respite from the rain. It had many caricatures of a primarily political theme that went right over our heads. We're sorry that it's not our cuppa cocoa. This gallery at Shed 11 relies solely on artistic donations.
In the same afternoon we also went to The Beehive, where the crafty, Jack Rabbit politicians pass laws and argue at length! After a security screening, we were escorted around the Parliament buildings in a 30 minute whistle stop tour which was surprisingly insightful. We were shown the: Banquet hall, Debating Chamber, Select Committee rooms and the staircase where the press interview and photograph for news items.
We found it most engrossing to learn how a bill is passed and the role of The Speaker in the House of Commons. Interestingly, the last time the Ayes and Noes doors were used to cast a vote was when Members of Parliament voted on same sex marriage; they voted in favour with 77 voters going through the Aye door and 44 leaving via the Noe door. As nobody is allowed any possessions with them (you have to check everything in) no photos are permitted. On the date of our visit, although there had been a recent election, there was not a Prime Minister in office as votes were still being counted. It was page 1 news for weeks!
Later in the early evening, we took the Cable Car up the funicular railway, rising 120 metres in a speedy 5 minutes from Lambton Quay to Kelburn. As we passed through 2 x 100 metre long tunnels, flashing lights of mesmeric colour swirl like a kaleidoscope forming iridescent patterns. Other than that, it's not terribly thrilling or brilliant but we were just trying to do the tourist things. We snuck into the Victorian Perfumery unnoticed as it was close to closing time to sniff seasonal scents. It's a quaint, Olde Worlde Emporium with lots of floral notes that had me beyond nauseous.
Space Place was equal parts educational and engaging as we were informed of space oddities, Matariki and Nebula star factories with out of this world exhibits. You can touch space rocks and pieces of asteroid, get 'inside' the burning sun, see what it's like inside a spaceship and experience the powerful vibrations of a rocket launch. In the Planetarium, I trapped my left hand, middle finger tip between heavy chairs as I reclined mine and sooooooo needed to cry but managed to suck it up! The best and the brightest stars of the October night sky were projected above and all about us and I totally loved it!! In this month, my star sign Scorpius is prominent.
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