That is a traditional Maori greeting. It means "be well/healthy" and is used informally as "hi". Im practicing my "Kiwi" words because I headed to New Zealand! Im a very lucky girl. I have this trip for work then another for vacation later in the year. I get to visit both islands this year so it will be a big check mark on my bucket list when I get back.
Part one of our journey takes us to the North Island of New Zealand. For those of you unfamiliar with what New Zealand looks like Ive included a map as a reference. :D
Wellington will be the only stop on this portion of our tour. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and as such is home to the seat of government (more on that later...). Though I had to work for the majority of the time I was there I did take advantage of the weekend.
Our journey begins at the Bolton Hotel. This hotel is one of many in Wellington but only by the grace of the travel agent did I end up here. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Wellington as it is fairly centrally located (or with in short walking distance) and quite comfortable. I got a regular ole room but boy what a room!
It was very comfortable to stay here. The fact that there was a fridge/freezer and oven helped overcome the hassle of trying to find a different place to eat every night. Though it is not a chain, the amenities make up for the lack of a reward program. (*No compensation was received for the glowing review above).
After speaking to the concierge (who was actually German) he recommended a tour of Wellington which would pick us up from the hotel. We figured that would be the best way to see all the sights with minimal effort so we all booked in. The tour was pretty good, the driver was weird and a little too "familiar" with us. I dont really like it when people act like they have known you forever when you met them five minutes ago. This tour operator thought he had jokes, but they got old really quickly. Anyway...
Our first stop on the tour was Weta Cave. If you are thinking, I have no idea what that is, then you are like me. What I learned was that this is the place where a lot of the New Zealand film industry completes their projects. On the way we stopped at Park Row studios (where Peter Jackson turns out his epic masterpieces).
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| Outside Park Row Studio |
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| Some monsters outside Weta Cave |
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| King Kong was one of the movies produced here |
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| All of the Chronicles of Narnia were produced here too! |
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| This is the artwork...on the ceiling! |
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| Lord of the Rings |
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| Precious! |
I will admit to you now, I have not seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies. Not. One. So a great deal of this portion was lost on me. Im sure that if that is your cup of tea, this would have been a fantastic stop on the tour. I enjoyed it but not knowing about the LOTR movies, a lot of it was lost on me. There is one element that seemed to be on track though-the scenery! As we took our bus ride through Wellington, the driver pointed out some areas where scenes of the LOTR series were shot. Wellington is, in spite of all the rain (or perhaps because of it) is absolutely luscious. The green here is deep and seems to completely swallow you up. Mind you, it is winter here in the Southern hemisphere but where Im from that means dry and brown. Not so in Wellington.
Because of the booming and growing movie industry here in Wellington, they sometimes call it "Wellywood". In keeping with that theme, they have their very own Hollywood sign. Of course because Wellington is so windy, it is appropriately set up.
Right now this sign says "Vellington". It is not a typo. They changed the sign for a movie that is out right now about vampires. I had never heard of it but it was produced in New Zealand so they were doing a little cross promotion.
Our next stop was the top of Mount Victoria. It is the highest place in Wellington and from it you could see the whole city and out to the sea. It was beautiful. Im sure it would have been more beautiful if a) the weather didnt suck and b) it wasnt so COLD.
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| A random cannon on the hike up Mt. Victoria. It was too cold to stop and read the plaque. |
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| Views from Mt. Victoria |
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| Beautiful Wellington |
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| View of the airport |
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| Do not adjust your computers..that IS a zebra striped building |
So when we could no longer feel our fingers we headed back down to get on the bus once more. On we went to the Wellington cable car. We got dropped off at the top and got to ride the cable car down. It was pretty cool and very historical. The little bench seats in the cable car were wooden and you could tell it had been in use for quite a long time.
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| The cable car has stops on the way, this is one of them coming up. |
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| The end of the line! |
The next stop was the parliamentary buildings. On the way there, we passed the original government building in Wellington. It is constructed entirely of wood. The earlier buildings are all wood as they found that wood could withstand the constant earthquakes much easier than concrete.
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| A small portion of the original government buildings. It is made from WOOD! |
We then went up the road to the current parliamentary buildings. Like a lot of things in this corner of the world, it has a nickname. The current building is called "
The Beehive" because of its shape. I suppose the analogy is two fold as that is where the "worker bees" should be putting in all the hard work. I say should be because like all governments there are some scandals that show the worker bees not working so much for the people but for their own interests.
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| Archive and Library |
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| The Beehive |
In this photo, you can see the Beehive and a lovely marble building. The marble building was to be the new parliament building. You may have noticed that the stairs are at the end of the building. That is because the materials used to build this became so expensive they could not afford to build the whole building so they just built one wing. The stairs were meant to be in the center of the building but because they couldn't finish the stairs ended up on one side. On another note, the guide told us the Beehive was voted the 4th ugliest building in the world (
but it was 3rd, evidently).
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| Welcome to Wellington |
The last stop on our tour was Old St. Paul's church. It used to be an Anglican church until the 1960's when it was decided that the congregation needed a larger space and a cathedral was built a couple streets over. This church, like most of Wellington is also made entirely of wood. When the congregation moved to the cathedral, the church became non-denominational and services are held here for all faiths.
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| Old St. Paul's |
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| Add caption |
During World War II, U.S. troops were stationed outside of Wellington as a launching point to Asia. The story goes that one weekend, 20 Marines wanted to attend church service. The Marines boarded a train and got off at the station, walking the short distance up the road to Old St. Paul's. The locals were so excited that these soldiers had come to town that, in typical Kiwi fashion, they took them home for Sunday lunch. I don't know if you are familiar with the American fighting man, but I can say with great certainty they are food-fed, air-cooled, water-driven weapons. The key to that is the "food" and they can throw down some grub, especially if all they have had to eat for a while is K-rations or MREs. The story claims that the following weekend the 20 Marines turned into 200 Marines. Word gets out about a good meal. In return the Marines were so grateful for the kindness shown to them by the Kiwis they presented them with an American flag and a USMC flag. Both of which still hang in the church today, more than 70 years from when they were given to the parish of St. Paul's.
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| The USMC flag and behind, a 48 star American flag just on the right. |
Perhaps it is because of my upbringing in the Anglican church (Episcopal if you are from the States) that buildings like this hold a deep meaning for me. Its more than the sum of its parts. There is something about a church that moves me. There is "something" there for me. This will not be a blog devoted to my faith, but in this portion I would be remiss to ignore it.
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| Some of the stained glass windows in the church. |
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| The alter |
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| A close view of the windows above the alter |
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| This window is what the church is known by, with many postcards and images of this available in the church bookshop. |
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| A close view of the alter |
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| The lectern |
The church also had displays of some of the alter garments for the different seasons. They were absolutely beautiful. One, used at Christmas time, displayed the Pohutukawa (Po-ti-ka-wa) flower. Known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, the tree blooms with bright red flowers usually in December and January. It was at this point that our tour ended.
Sunday, we decided to go to
Te Papa museum. The best explanation I can give would be its like cramming all of the Smithsonian into one building. I didnt get around the whole building but it was a great exhibit. I was especially interested in the Maori exhibits. One shows a traditional meeting place called
Te Marae. I managed to sneak a photo (Te Papa does not permit photography of exhibits, which is why there are not epic photos here...)
Then as I wandered around the building I looked out the windows. The museum sits right on the harbor and the views are spectacular. However, just past the Marae exhibit, I looked out the window and had a moment of panic. That person is about to JUMP into the harbor!! I was pulling out my phone to call 111 (the emergency number in New Zealand) and then I realized...they are not moving. Upon closer inspection, I figured out it was a statue. Not cool guys, not cool.
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| Don't do it, mate! |
On the tour the previous day the guide told us that the location for the museum had once been the location of a hotel. The owner was excited but was worried about what would happen to his livelihood. So they moved the hotel down and across the street about a half a kilometer. They didn't pack anything up or take stuff out of the building, they just picked it up and moved it whole. Plates, glasses, beds, nightstands, the whole lot.
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| Here is the hotel in its current location. |
I enjoyed this trip but as you may notice, the weather was gross. It rained and was cold for the most of the time I was there. Every local I encountered apologized for the weather as if they were in control of it. I thought it was sweet. The weather was probably the least of my worries. While I was there, I noticed my hotel room would "pop" a lot during the night some nights. I thought it was due to the wind. However, it may be more attributable to the earthquakes for which New Zealand is famous. Here is a picture of Wellington and the lower North island. The gray circles are earthquakes that occurred during my visit (and the marker is close to where I stayed). The biggest one was a 3 on the Richter scale so no damage was sustained and most were not even felt, but some did make the building pop.
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| Dont worry mom, they were all *baby* earthquakes. I didnt feel most of them. |
So that is my trip to Wellington. My first across the Tasman but not the last. Below are a few more photos of Wellington harbor. As wonderful as the Aussies are, the Kiwis are some of the most genuine, generous and kind people I have ever met. I would happily go back to "N ZED" in half a heartbeat. I plan to do so very soon but to the South Island this time. Watch this space!
