On .. to Wellington

  Wellington, New Zealand
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Windy Wellington.  They dont call it that for nothing. The gusts were so strong while sleeping the van would rock back and forth threatening to tip over in anything stronger.  During the days that we walked around the sun was high in the sky but the wind was relentless, coming in great sweeps slipping into unbuttoned jackets, I wore a scarf wrapped around my head to keep the breeze from pulling at my hair, at the risk of looking silly I was warm and safe from the wrath of the unsuspecting wind.
We stayed at a great backpackers camped in our van that was only steps away from the heart of the city.  Our first day was spent visiting New Zealand's pride and joy Te Papa ( which means our place).

Te Papa (Our Place)

It is the capital museum and has everything and anything about the country on 4 huge floors and is free to the public.  We walked in expecting to have a couple of hours and spent over 5 traipsing around, it was great but exhausting.
The following day was spent hiking the city, first visiting the Capital which is called the beehive due to its strange design

The beehive

and climbing the hill behind the main part of town to check out the view.

Top of the Cable line

  From there we stepped into the Botanical Gardens

Amanda and the tulips

and wound back down to grab a coffee and check out a few art exhibits.

The floating ball

It seems that the entire city has free museums and studios so it was great for us since we didn't need to spend too much and got to see a lot.
Our last night before the ferry ride to the South Island we splurged on a delicious dinner at a fantastic little restaurant.  The chef was from New Orleans and specialized in some great southern cooking, the staff was super friendly and the place was cozy and inviting.  Really felt good to eat so well without making it ourselves!
It was refreshing to be in a real city again, where everything is walkable and there is plenty to see and do.  Made us miss Philly though.
Our next morning after a short drive to the sea for a walk along the beach we embarked on the ferry saying good by to the North Island on our way to the South Island.

And off we go