Wellington - Day 1

The Captial!

I love this city! It's so green and arty and easily walkable, AND by the ocean! Don't get me wrong I'm still very much a country girl but Wellington is pretty great (but I may be slightly coloured by two pretty awesome days here so far!) 

(Thursday 28th Sept)

I was pretty pooped after arriving off the overnight bus from Rotorua. Overall the journey went by pretty quickly and I did manage to get some spells of sleep, but oh boy those seats were not comfy, and the wee guy next to me kept falling asleep on me, and the bus stopped three or four times to let people get off and pee/get s coffee or something to eat (which wasn't that bad unless you also include all the lights being turned on and the driver talking loudly over the tannoy at 1:30 the 4am!!!!!) Aaaaaanyway, I arrived in Wellington about 6:45 am and got a bus straight up to Andrew and Craig's house where I'd be staying for the next few days! I knew these lads back home on the Island as Andrew worked for the Gaelic radio and Craig worked for the local arts Centre, plus they lived in Ness and we had a bunch of mutual friends, the Sopata/Bell clan in Habost to name but a few! I'm off topic again. Anyway they offered me their sofa bed to sleep on whilst I was in Wellington which was very kind of them and it's been really nice catching up with them both and getting to now then better, the little I've seen them so far as they've both been working hard!

I got to their house just as they were leaving for work and so I got settled, had a shower, contemplated having a nap, but decided to just head straight out to explore this new city since it was glorious warm sunshine! I couldn't possible sleep knowing that!! I got a bus into town - but discovered that it's quite walkable (25 mins) if you're not in a hurry - and headed for the information centre to see what I could fill the next couple of days with; they were very helpful! By then it was about midday so I didn't want to go to any of he out of town things so I headed to the closest to the I-centre which was the City Gallery.

The City Gallery

Some really interesting artworks and collections. Some of the standout pieces for me were the following pics. They were very odd and quite abstract but all engaging and leaving me ask more questions! 

   

Oriental Bay

  

After spending a couple of hours inside the art gallery I needed to get a bit more of this gorgeous sunshine! I headed along the shore front, which has been very well developed, towards Oriental Bay. beautiful colours in both the houses, the boat sheds and the seascape! I had a wee bite to eat at a small street vendor and just sat in the sun for almost an hour. 

However, with only a few days in Wellington I really wanted to make the most of my time, regardless of my minimal sleep last night. So, I made for Te Papa - National Museum. It was huuuge! There was so much to see and it was all free! Amazing! I was there for almost 5 hours but there were a few standout bits. 

   

Gallipoli exhibition - well curated, raw, honest, interactive enough to also keep you entertained. I came out feeling emotional and a bit raw, I'd never seen a war exhibition like it before, I actually felt a bit sick actually. 

  

The native kiwi nature and wildlife. I found it quite staggering the amount of extinct birds and animals there were in the nature exhibition. Many of the native wildlife were birds as they were some of the only things that could get there (by flight), and when they got here many of them evolved to be ground nesting as there were no predators. However with the arrival of humans, predators of various sizes were introduced, both accidental and on purpose, from rats who sneaked into boats, possums and ferrets that were introduced, to humans themselves who overhunted for food and reader had and prizes such as pretty beaks, feathers and furs. Many native species are now protected though and places like Zealandia (which I hope to isit tomorrow) are fantastic for looking after and encouraging the preservation of their habitats.

There's a great prominence of Māori language throughout Te-papa, and I am starting to pick up a few words (which is cool!!)

  

All blacks exhibition.

It was a lovely evening so I decided to walk back to Craig and Andrews via Cuba Street , one of the main cool shopping and food/pub streets. Craig met me halfway home through at the local Indian takeaway and we both got a curry and went back to theirs for the rest of the evenings. Andrew was working late so we both had an early bed - Craig was exhausted from work and I was pooped from the overnight bus! My room was very nice and cozy!