Friday, May 14
Friday didn't exist for me. Thanks again, International Date Line. It's not even like my trip last summer to China where I got the day back, because I won't be flying over the IDL going east this year.
Saturday, May 15
I got off the plane in Wellington pretty excited, and certainly awake enough, to do some exploring. After getting a ride into town by airport shuttle, I walked into the lobby of my hostel. I was promptly informed that I couldn't check in until 2:00 pm. As it was at that point not even 9 in the morning, I locked my luggage up in a broom closet, and set out about the town.
Right across Cable Street from the hostel (YHA Wellington City) is a gigantic supermarket, which I imagine will come in handy as I try to make my money last as long as possible. I popped in for a bit, but didn't buy anything quite yet. The weather this morning was a bit on the overcast and drizzly side, but thankfully the wind hadn't picked up yet. From what I've heard, Wellington quite often has very strong and cold winds coming up from Antarctica, so I was pretty happy to avoid that for the time being. After exiting the supermarket, I walked along Cable Street, which happens to go right along the harbour as well. It's a really pretty harbour, with mountains across the water, and the smell of salt water hanging in the air. It's also a very protected harbor, on account of the Miramar Peninsula which wraps around the city and protects it from the rough waters of the Cook Straight.
Continuing along the waterfront, I came to Te Papa, which is New Zealand's national museum, and means Our Place in Maori. The building is pretty cool looking itself, with some attractive modern design. As luck would have it, I arrived too early for the museum to be open, so I had time to kill before I was let in. I decided to just keep walking down the waterfront, seeing more and more of Wellington as I went. The sea air continued to be intoxicating, and even though it's a different ocean, it reminded me of both Miami and home.
After about 30 minutes of strolling, I went back to Te Papa. Interestingly enough, the first person to greet me there was a museum tour guide, who happened to be a Yank. This was completely unexpected, but kind of nice after such a long and tiring flight full of strange accents. Let me tell you, the Kiwis know how to build a museum. Te Papa is gorgeous and is designed very well. I started on the second floor, which is the first floor of exhibitions as the the ground floor just holds a shop and cafe. On the second floor is a big exhibit about wildlife in New Zealand, some of it native and some of it invasive. One of the more recent additions to this exhibit is a colossal squid, which was caught a few months ago and put on display at the museum. There's also an exhibit about the volcanoes and other geological forces which have helped shape the country over the last few million years. There is also a walkway to an outdoor island which shows some of the natural ecosystems present in New Zealand. As it was drizzly, I was the only one out there, and it was fairly serene, a little rainforest in the middle of the city.
On to the higher floors, then. There were some great exhibits about non-native species (including that butt of all jokes about NZ, the sheep), Maori history, New Zealand art, and much more. One of the more interesting displays focused on the Treaty of Waitangi, which is New Zealand's founding document. Signed by the British and several Maori chiefs, it promised some amount of Maori self government, as long as they were under the banner of the British Empire. Of particular note was that the English edition of the treaty does not agree word for word with the Maori version, when it is translated. There are several differences, and it was noted at the exhibit that more effort is made today to follow the intent of the treaty than its actual words. Given all of the exhibits, I was honestly a bit overwhelmed by it all. Of course, the jetlag beginning to kick in might have had something to do with that.
While I had been in the museum, the sun had decided to show itself and the day had turned perfect, with only a light breeze and plenty of sunshine. I decided to postpone the nap and take advantage of this kind of weather (rare as it may be in the winter of Wellington). I continued my earlier walk along the waterfront, eventually coming to the neighborhoods of Queen's Wharf and Lambdon Quay. I also saw the massive Wellington Railway Station, Victoria University, and the campus of the New Zealand Parliament. I hadn't planned on doing it this early in my stay, but as I was already there, I decided to take the free tour of Parliament.
The tour was given out of the Executive Building, which is more commonly referred to as the Beehive on account of its distinctive architecture. The tour began with a short video introduction to the three main buildings, but mostly focused on the 1992 fire which destroyed sections of the Parliamentary Library. The tour group had only two kiwis; the rest were foreigners. In fact, after a rude American couple showed up late, there were more Americans than New Zealanders on our tour of Parliament. The group was only about 20 in total, with Italians, Swiss, Israelis, Japanese, Scots, Australians, and a few others. The tour began in the Beehive which is quite pretty on the inside, even if it is one of the uglier buildings in Wellington on the outside. The next stop on the tour was the Parliament Building itself. Inside, we got to see the Debating Chamber, the Arcade, the Maori Special Committee Meeting Room, and countless corridors of power. It was all very exciting, especially getting to stand in the room where New Zealand policy is made. We also went to the basement of the building to discuss the Base Isolation system, which keeps this mostly stone structure stable in Wellington's earthquake prone area. The same system is in use at Te Papa, and is a cool solution to the problem.
From there, we moved on to the Parliamentary Library, which was constructed in the 1880's and looks very much like a cathedral from the exterior. Inside, it is all warm native wood paneling and plaster mouldings. Its a very inviting place to have a read, but alas, it's only open to the members of the Parliament. As I went on a Saturday, we got to go further inside the building than most tour groups, which was neat. After the tour, I went for another stroll, and found a place for lunch called Wholly Bagels. There, I had a New Zealand classic, L&P, which stands for Lemon and Paeroa and is a soft drink which is "World Famous in New Zealand." It was quite tasty.
After all that activity, I finally checked-in to the YHA hostel. By that point I was really tired, so I took a long nap. I woke up for a brief time to go have dinner at a pizza parlor, then conch back out.
Sunday, May 16
I woke up today with a sour stomach and a headache, which did not bode well for the remainder of the day. After stumbling around the hostel in a sorry state, I set out for some breakfast. I had some sashimi and a lamb pie from the supermarket, and went for a walk around town. Settling down in Courtenay Place (which is a shopping district) I had a cup of coffee and relaxed for a little while to let my body feel better. In a short time, it did, so I was off again. I went to Wholly Bagels again for lunch and spent some time reading the local paper, the Dominion Post. Apparently the local rugby team is called the Hurricanes, so my hoodie has been a hit with the locals. After lunch, I was finally feeling human again.
I took a stroll down Cuba Street, which is Wellington's alternative shopping street. At a second hand bookshop I picked up a copy of Mark Twain's "The Innocents Abroad," which I felt would be a good travel book to read. I then went on a long trip to see Old St. Paul's Cathedral. It's a very old church in Wellington which has since been replaced for parish purposes, but remains for historical ones. In essence, it's a Gothic cathedral, but in a unique twist it is constructed out of timber in place of stone. This gives it a very strange appearance, but one I find to be very heartwarming. It has quickly become one of my favorite churches. As an interesting aside, Old St. Paul's has a connection with the US Marine Corps, from when they were deployed in Wellington during World War Two, and there is a large USMC flag hanging from the rafters inside.
After I left it started to rain, which made the long walk back to the hostel a bit unenjoyable. I dried off and took some time to read a bit of my new book. I went out to a Malaysian restaurant for dinner and had some delicious lamb soup. Afterwards, I came back to YHA and passed out.
P.S. I know Lord of the Rings is fictional, but I am beginning to notice some similarities between the locals and the hobbits that are portrayed in the films, such as the propensity of many Wellingtonians to walk about without any shoes, the very low placement of door knobs, and the fact that there is a law firm near the hostel whose door has its handle in the direct center.
More to come!
Right across Cable Street from the hostel (YHA Wellington City) is a gigantic supermarket, which I imagine will come in handy as I try to make my money last as long as possible. I popped in for a bit, but didn't buy anything quite yet. The weather this morning was a bit on the overcast and drizzly side, but thankfully the wind hadn't picked up yet. From what I've heard, Wellington quite often has very strong and cold winds coming up from Antarctica, so I was pretty happy to avoid that for the time being. After exiting the supermarket, I walked along Cable Street, which happens to go right along the harbour as well. It's a really pretty harbour, with mountains across the water, and the smell of salt water hanging in the air. It's also a very protected harbor, on account of the Miramar Peninsula which wraps around the city and protects it from the rough waters of the Cook Straight.
Continuing along the waterfront, I came to Te Papa, which is New Zealand's national museum, and means Our Place in Maori. The building is pretty cool looking itself, with some attractive modern design. As luck would have it, I arrived too early for the museum to be open, so I had time to kill before I was let in. I decided to just keep walking down the waterfront, seeing more and more of Wellington as I went. The sea air continued to be intoxicating, and even though it's a different ocean, it reminded me of both Miami and home.
After about 30 minutes of strolling, I went back to Te Papa. Interestingly enough, the first person to greet me there was a museum tour guide, who happened to be a Yank. This was completely unexpected, but kind of nice after such a long and tiring flight full of strange accents. Let me tell you, the Kiwis know how to build a museum. Te Papa is gorgeous and is designed very well. I started on the second floor, which is the first floor of exhibitions as the the ground floor just holds a shop and cafe. On the second floor is a big exhibit about wildlife in New Zealand, some of it native and some of it invasive. One of the more recent additions to this exhibit is a colossal squid, which was caught a few months ago and put on display at the museum. There's also an exhibit about the volcanoes and other geological forces which have helped shape the country over the last few million years. There is also a walkway to an outdoor island which shows some of the natural ecosystems present in New Zealand. As it was drizzly, I was the only one out there, and it was fairly serene, a little rainforest in the middle of the city.
On to the higher floors, then. There were some great exhibits about non-native species (including that butt of all jokes about NZ, the sheep), Maori history, New Zealand art, and much more. One of the more interesting displays focused on the Treaty of Waitangi, which is New Zealand's founding document. Signed by the British and several Maori chiefs, it promised some amount of Maori self government, as long as they were under the banner of the British Empire. Of particular note was that the English edition of the treaty does not agree word for word with the Maori version, when it is translated. There are several differences, and it was noted at the exhibit that more effort is made today to follow the intent of the treaty than its actual words. Given all of the exhibits, I was honestly a bit overwhelmed by it all. Of course, the jetlag beginning to kick in might have had something to do with that.
While I had been in the museum, the sun had decided to show itself and the day had turned perfect, with only a light breeze and plenty of sunshine. I decided to postpone the nap and take advantage of this kind of weather (rare as it may be in the winter of Wellington). I continued my earlier walk along the waterfront, eventually coming to the neighborhoods of Queen's Wharf and Lambdon Quay. I also saw the massive Wellington Railway Station, Victoria University, and the campus of the New Zealand Parliament. I hadn't planned on doing it this early in my stay, but as I was already there, I decided to take the free tour of Parliament.
The tour was given out of the Executive Building, which is more commonly referred to as the Beehive on account of its distinctive architecture. The tour began with a short video introduction to the three main buildings, but mostly focused on the 1992 fire which destroyed sections of the Parliamentary Library. The tour group had only two kiwis; the rest were foreigners. In fact, after a rude American couple showed up late, there were more Americans than New Zealanders on our tour of Parliament. The group was only about 20 in total, with Italians, Swiss, Israelis, Japanese, Scots, Australians, and a few others. The tour began in the Beehive which is quite pretty on the inside, even if it is one of the uglier buildings in Wellington on the outside. The next stop on the tour was the Parliament Building itself. Inside, we got to see the Debating Chamber, the Arcade, the Maori Special Committee Meeting Room, and countless corridors of power. It was all very exciting, especially getting to stand in the room where New Zealand policy is made. We also went to the basement of the building to discuss the Base Isolation system, which keeps this mostly stone structure stable in Wellington's earthquake prone area. The same system is in use at Te Papa, and is a cool solution to the problem.
From there, we moved on to the Parliamentary Library, which was constructed in the 1880's and looks very much like a cathedral from the exterior. Inside, it is all warm native wood paneling and plaster mouldings. Its a very inviting place to have a read, but alas, it's only open to the members of the Parliament. As I went on a Saturday, we got to go further inside the building than most tour groups, which was neat. After the tour, I went for another stroll, and found a place for lunch called Wholly Bagels. There, I had a New Zealand classic, L&P, which stands for Lemon and Paeroa and is a soft drink which is "World Famous in New Zealand." It was quite tasty.
After all that activity, I finally checked-in to the YHA hostel. By that point I was really tired, so I took a long nap. I woke up for a brief time to go have dinner at a pizza parlor, then conch back out.
Sunday, May 16
I woke up today with a sour stomach and a headache, which did not bode well for the remainder of the day. After stumbling around the hostel in a sorry state, I set out for some breakfast. I had some sashimi and a lamb pie from the supermarket, and went for a walk around town. Settling down in Courtenay Place (which is a shopping district) I had a cup of coffee and relaxed for a little while to let my body feel better. In a short time, it did, so I was off again. I went to Wholly Bagels again for lunch and spent some time reading the local paper, the Dominion Post. Apparently the local rugby team is called the Hurricanes, so my hoodie has been a hit with the locals. After lunch, I was finally feeling human again.
I took a stroll down Cuba Street, which is Wellington's alternative shopping street. At a second hand bookshop I picked up a copy of Mark Twain's "The Innocents Abroad," which I felt would be a good travel book to read. I then went on a long trip to see Old St. Paul's Cathedral. It's a very old church in Wellington which has since been replaced for parish purposes, but remains for historical ones. In essence, it's a Gothic cathedral, but in a unique twist it is constructed out of timber in place of stone. This gives it a very strange appearance, but one I find to be very heartwarming. It has quickly become one of my favorite churches. As an interesting aside, Old St. Paul's has a connection with the US Marine Corps, from when they were deployed in Wellington during World War Two, and there is a large USMC flag hanging from the rafters inside.
After I left it started to rain, which made the long walk back to the hostel a bit unenjoyable. I dried off and took some time to read a bit of my new book. I went out to a Malaysian restaurant for dinner and had some delicious lamb soup. Afterwards, I came back to YHA and passed out.
P.S. I know Lord of the Rings is fictional, but I am beginning to notice some similarities between the locals and the hobbits that are portrayed in the films, such as the propensity of many Wellingtonians to walk about without any shoes, the very low placement of door knobs, and the fact that there is a law firm near the hostel whose door has its handle in the direct center.
More to come!
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