Windy, windy Wellington
Back in Sydney (and back to the daily grind) after my six day holiday to New Zealand. The trip was fantastic, and I covered a lot of ground even though I wasn't even gone for a week!
I arrived back into Sydney yesterday (Monday) morning and worked a full day in the office despite having to wake up at 3:00am Sydney time (5:00am Auckland time) to catch my flight back. The trip itself was rather uneventful, though I did get to use a bit of my Spanish (a very rare thing down here) as I flew LATAM, the Chilean airline. While the plane was nearly full, I ended up with an empty seat next to me on the 787 and watched Milk and a few episodes of Parks and Recreation. Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning.
After I wrote on the ferry, we arrived into Wellington just after the sun had set. As we were pulling into the harbour, they announced that a whale had been spotted playing in the water just off the coast. I happened to be on deck at that time, and caught what could have been a few splashes as I snapped pictures. Over the course of the few days in the city, we found out how rare it is to have a whale hang out in the harbour. It turns out when Europeans first arrived in the 1800s, the harbour was generally full of whales, but they were hunted extensively until the 1960s, resulting in decades without a sighting.
The city was so stoked about having the whale around, they ended up postponing a fireworks show that was scheduled for Saturday so that they wouldn't scare the whale away. The day after we arrived, the ferry we had taken was delayed by half an hour as the whale blocked its path to the dock.
Now, I had been to Wellington once before, though my first experience in the city in 2012 wasn't all that stellar. Not because the city isn't nice, but because it was the final leg of a road trip that I got progressively sicker on until I ended up in hospital on my return to Australia. This time was much, much better.
After dropping our bags at our Airbnb, which happened to be on the top of Mt. Victoria, looming above the CBD, we headed back down to the city to grab dinner at a nice place called Capitol. Jason's friends were hungry, so caught a car down the mountain to get a head start, while the two of us decided to take the scenic walk down the mountainside. The views were spectacular along the way as we descended 196m (nearly 700 feet) in just a few minutes.
At dinner, we ordered a range of amazing dishes (including sheep's brain) and enjoyed the nice meal. Afterwards, we took the recommendation of one of the bartenders and headed a few blocks into the heart of the CBD to have a drink at Forresters Lane. The weekly cocktail specials were themed around fireworks, not for July 4, but for the celebration of Matariki, the Māori (the indigenous populations of New Zealand) New Year. We called it an early evening and made our way back up Mt. Victoria (in an Uber, not by foot).
The next morning, Friday, we were up early and caught an Uber across the city to the suburb of Miramar for brunch at Cafe Polo. After we ate our fill, we headed down the street to the Weta Cave. Film buffs may know that the Weta Cave is not actually a cave at all, but the home of a production and movie effect studio which is responsible for bringing to life mega hits from Lord of the Rings to Spiderman 2.
We got tickets for a tour of the facility and had a bit of time to kill before our slot, so wandered around the neighbourhood a bit, appreciating the overcast skies that decided not to rain on us. The tour itself was interesting, and following that we headed back into the CBD, wandering by the Parliament building before stopping to grab a quick lunch.
In the afternoon, we caught the Wellington Cable Car from Lambton Quay in the CBD to Kelburn on a hill to the west of the city. The ride up the mountain only took a few minutes, and once at the top we checked out the cable car museum located in the botanical gardens. The cable car originally opened in 1902, allowing the city to expand up into the hills. At the museum they have two of the original wooden cars, which remained in use until the 1970s, as well as plenty of history and images on display.
After the museum, we made the 20-minute walk to Zealandia, a large animal sanctuary. We wandered for a few hours and saw birds and plenty of native flora. It was a good activity to knock off our list as rain was forecasted to start in the evening. We headed back down the mountain via the cable car and stopped for an early dinner at Charley Noble, enjoying another fantastic dinner.
From the quay, we wandered up Cuba Street—a pedestrian mall lined with nightlife—wandering through the city's night market before stopping for a nightcap at the appropriately named Havana. By the time we finished our drinks, the wind had really picked up, and we caught an Uber back up the mountain and shut ourselves in for the night against the strong winds which battered the house (and the city). The sustained 50k/hr (31mph) wind howled through the night, shaking the windows and bending the trees outside.
We didn't realise it at the time, but Wellington is known for its wind, and the locals said that what we were experiencing wasn't all that bad. Nonetheless, it persisted for the duration of our time in the city, and it was far from inconsequential to us. Some might even say we were blown away by its force. Below is a video from inside our Airbnb; to appreciate the wind, turn the sound up a bit.
We woke up expecting rain to accompany the wind on Saturday (as the forecasts had it predicted), but lucked out on our way to brunch with merely overcast skies. We headed down the mountain to the CBD for brunch at a trendy little spot called Prefab.
From brunch, we braved the wind on the walk to the waterfront, taking in the full force of nature from the promenade outside of Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand. With the wind and water a force to be seen, we spent a few minutes snapping Weather Channel-like photos and videos.
Once we had our fill, we ducked inside and spent the next few hours in the museum, looking at art, history, and an amazing exhibition about the ANZACs at Gallipoli, which was produced by Weta artists.
In the mid-afternoon, we decided to find lunch, and ventured out in the wind and rain (which finally arrived) to grab a traditional Māori lunch at Karaka Cafe. We all ordered hāngi, which included smoked chicken, pork,
kumara (sweet potato), stuffing, cabbage, and fried bread. After lunch, we headed back to the museum to see the rest of the exhibits.
In the late afternoon, we headed back out into the elements to a market held in an underground parking deck by the waterfront. After we had our fill of window shopping, we made the short trek to Cuba street to get an afternoon snack at local favourite Fidel's. We then wandered the city a bit on our way back toward Mt. Victoria. Our final stop in the city was at the Mt. Vic Chippery, located at the base of the road leading up the mountain. We ordered an array of fish to try and caught an Uber for a night at the Airbnb as we knew Sunday morning would be an early day.
The rain and wind were still going on Sunday when we ordered Ubers to head down the hill and across the city to the Wellington train station to catch the all-day train to Auckland. We were at the station well ahead of boarding for the 7:50 departure, so we stopped into the grocery store to pick up provisions for the 11-hour journey.
The journey took us along the coast, through mountains, and across the Central Plateau, providing a wide assortment of sites and vistas along the way. At times, we would pop out to the open-deck rear carriage to snap pictures, though the wind from the moving train was pretty cold. It was a very nice journey, and we even arrived into Auckland a bit early.
Once we were in Auckland, it was a quick bus transfer to the heart of the city and then an easy walk to our Airbnb. We then wandered out to the dining district of Britomart where I had stayed back in 2014 and hung out in back in 2012. We chose a Vietnamese restaurant, Cafe Hanoi, and had yet another amazing dinner. And funnily enough, our waitress was a transplant from Mississippi!
After dinner we headed back and went to sleep as I had to be up very early to fly back to Sydney for work.
The trip was really amazing, and it was nice to spend time with Jason and his friends. I look forward to heading back to New Zealand and seeing more, and I will work to cull down and label the pictures from the trip and share them on Facebook in the coming weeks.
But, now, bed time in Sydney.
I arrived back into Sydney yesterday (Monday) morning and worked a full day in the office despite having to wake up at 3:00am Sydney time (5:00am Auckland time) to catch my flight back. The trip itself was rather uneventful, though I did get to use a bit of my Spanish (a very rare thing down here) as I flew LATAM, the Chilean airline. While the plane was nearly full, I ended up with an empty seat next to me on the 787 and watched Milk and a few episodes of Parks and Recreation. Not a bad way to spend a Monday morning.
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| Approaching Sydney |
After I wrote on the ferry, we arrived into Wellington just after the sun had set. As we were pulling into the harbour, they announced that a whale had been spotted playing in the water just off the coast. I happened to be on deck at that time, and caught what could have been a few splashes as I snapped pictures. Over the course of the few days in the city, we found out how rare it is to have a whale hang out in the harbour. It turns out when Europeans first arrived in the 1800s, the harbour was generally full of whales, but they were hunted extensively until the 1960s, resulting in decades without a sighting.
The city was so stoked about having the whale around, they ended up postponing a fireworks show that was scheduled for Saturday so that they wouldn't scare the whale away. The day after we arrived, the ferry we had taken was delayed by half an hour as the whale blocked its path to the dock.
Now, I had been to Wellington once before, though my first experience in the city in 2012 wasn't all that stellar. Not because the city isn't nice, but because it was the final leg of a road trip that I got progressively sicker on until I ended up in hospital on my return to Australia. This time was much, much better.
After dropping our bags at our Airbnb, which happened to be on the top of Mt. Victoria, looming above the CBD, we headed back down to the city to grab dinner at a nice place called Capitol. Jason's friends were hungry, so caught a car down the mountain to get a head start, while the two of us decided to take the scenic walk down the mountainside. The views were spectacular along the way as we descended 196m (nearly 700 feet) in just a few minutes.
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| The view of Wellington from Mt. Victoria. |
The next morning, Friday, we were up early and caught an Uber across the city to the suburb of Miramar for brunch at Cafe Polo. After we ate our fill, we headed down the street to the Weta Cave. Film buffs may know that the Weta Cave is not actually a cave at all, but the home of a production and movie effect studio which is responsible for bringing to life mega hits from Lord of the Rings to Spiderman 2.
 |
| The view from our Airbnb at sunrise, with the Interislander ferry heading to the South Island. |
In the afternoon, we caught the Wellington Cable Car from Lambton Quay in the CBD to Kelburn on a hill to the west of the city. The ride up the mountain only took a few minutes, and once at the top we checked out the cable car museum located in the botanical gardens. The cable car originally opened in 1902, allowing the city to expand up into the hills. At the museum they have two of the original wooden cars, which remained in use until the 1970s, as well as plenty of history and images on display.
After the museum, we made the 20-minute walk to Zealandia, a large animal sanctuary. We wandered for a few hours and saw birds and plenty of native flora. It was a good activity to knock off our list as rain was forecasted to start in the evening. We headed back down the mountain via the cable car and stopped for an early dinner at Charley Noble, enjoying another fantastic dinner.
From the quay, we wandered up Cuba Street—a pedestrian mall lined with nightlife—wandering through the city's night market before stopping for a nightcap at the appropriately named Havana. By the time we finished our drinks, the wind had really picked up, and we caught an Uber back up the mountain and shut ourselves in for the night against the strong winds which battered the house (and the city). The sustained 50k/hr (31mph) wind howled through the night, shaking the windows and bending the trees outside.
We didn't realise it at the time, but Wellington is known for its wind, and the locals said that what we were experiencing wasn't all that bad. Nonetheless, it persisted for the duration of our time in the city, and it was far from inconsequential to us. Some might even say we were blown away by its force. Below is a video from inside our Airbnb; to appreciate the wind, turn the sound up a bit.
We woke up expecting rain to accompany the wind on Saturday (as the forecasts had it predicted), but lucked out on our way to brunch with merely overcast skies. We headed down the mountain to the CBD for brunch at a trendy little spot called Prefab.
From brunch, we braved the wind on the walk to the waterfront, taking in the full force of nature from the promenade outside of Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand. With the wind and water a force to be seen, we spent a few minutes snapping Weather Channel-like photos and videos.
Once we had our fill, we ducked inside and spent the next few hours in the museum, looking at art, history, and an amazing exhibition about the ANZACs at Gallipoli, which was produced by Weta artists.
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| One of the larger-than-life figures produced by Weta in the ANZAC exhibit. |
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| Our lunch at Karaka Cafe. |
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| Our haul of fish and chips. |
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| Inside the Wellington train station. |
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| A view of the coast as we head out of Wellington. |
After dinner we headed back and went to sleep as I had to be up very early to fly back to Sydney for work.
The trip was really amazing, and it was nice to spend time with Jason and his friends. I look forward to heading back to New Zealand and seeing more, and I will work to cull down and label the pictures from the trip and share them on Facebook in the coming weeks.
But, now, bed time in Sydney.
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