Onto the Windy City - Wellington
Arriving into Wellington was great - such spectacular seascapes coming in from the north about 50km out ... the sea was just crashing in metres from the motorway and it carried on for quite some distance. Before too long, I was heading towards the city and then downtown to the hotel.
What a wonderful city! It reminded me of home, of Cork - a city with a small-town feeling. And all the better since the sun shone and it was a blue-skied two days. The friendliness of the people, the ambling through the streets, the shopping, the great coffee, the relaxation ... and to top it all off, I caught up with Sushila (whom I worked with back in London) and Ross. We had a lovely evening and what a view - their bedroom overlooks Wellington and it's gorgeous by night. Even better views were had that evening when they drove me to the top of Mount Victoria - wonderful views all over Wellington.
Wellington is so easy to get around - I must have walked miles but it was worth it - the Botanic gardens are wonderful from the dappled shade of the hillside trees to the rose garden and the planting ... the cable car is reminiscent of by-gone days and definitely a must to see the views over the harbour from the top.
What a wonderful city! It reminded me of home, of Cork - a city with a small-town feeling. And all the better since the sun shone and it was a blue-skied two days. The friendliness of the people, the ambling through the streets, the shopping, the great coffee, the relaxation ... and to top it all off, I caught up with Sushila (whom I worked with back in London) and Ross. We had a lovely evening and what a view - their bedroom overlooks Wellington and it's gorgeous by night. Even better views were had that evening when they drove me to the top of Mount Victoria - wonderful views all over Wellington.
Wellington is so easy to get around - I must have walked miles but it was worth it - the Botanic gardens are wonderful from the dappled shade of the hillside trees to the rose garden and the planting ... the cable car is reminiscent of by-gone days and definitely a must to see the views over the harbour from the top.
Te Papa Museum
The following day, I visited the wonderful Te Papa museum on the waterfront - from Maori to geothermals, from old to new - a great place to spend a few hours. And after some more shopping and coffees, it was time to wave this lovely place goodbye and head south across the Marlborough Sound by ferry and onto Pickton to get to my last stop, Nelson.