Wild N Windy Wellington

 

This morning we arrived at the city of Wellington, NZ. After a full breakfast we boarded the bus for our tour of the city.  For most of New Zealand, the tours have been bus driver led. This can lead to a real inconsistency in quality of tours.  Napier was an example of that. Many passengers we talked with had less than desirable tours. Our was adequate at best.  Luckily we had been to Napier before and knew what to look for and where to go after our tour was done. Today we hit the jackpot with our driver//guide. He was knowledgeable, personable, funny and made the time go by fast. It was also fun to listen to his French NZ accent!Quite unique!

Architecture at dockside

Heading to the dock

Te Papa Museum of New Zealand

Observation of  Waitangi Day

Wellington is very hilly, with Mt. Victoria at the center. There are many hillside trams that are privately owned because there isn’t any access by street. The picture below shows some of these.

Views from Mount Victoria

More views from Mt. Victoria

A sculpture on top of Mt Victoria honoring Admiral Byrd for his work to make the Antarctic treaty a possibility. Because of his hard work, the Antarctic continent has been preserved for scientific studies and not politicized. From the apex of the monument directly south is the only thing you will hit is the continent of Antarctica.

Thank goodness for Admiral Byrd’s foresight and courage.

Besides the 100+ private trams, the city operates a tram for the public. It travels from the local CBD to the botanic garden area for those who work or live in that region and need fast reliable travel uphill. 

For only $6 New Zealand 

You can take a fun ride up or down the hill. For locals there are monthly and yearly passes available for a reasonable amount.

Albert & I at the top of the tram. When we were here 16 years ago, there was just a small building that sold tickets. Today there is a museum, cafe and gift shop. What was always before a local ride has become one of the most loved tourist attractions. It also lets you enter the botanic gardens from the top of the hill and walk the way down if you like. We decided to go to the bottom on the bus and tour the botanic garden from the bottom.

The rose garden at the Wellington Botanic garden. Little know fact: prior to the 20th century the term botanic was the accepted use for naming a garden. After the turn of the century, most cities used the term botanical when naming their gardens. If a green is a botanic garden it was generally named prior to 1900.

Everywhere children’s play is similar! Little girls and ducks!

For some reason, the roses really brought a smile to my face. Al gave me these pictures for a pre-valentine gift.

The Bee Hive..the executive wing of the NZ Parliament buildings.q

Quite an architectural feature to the parliament buildings. Started in 1969 and finished in 1981.

Another parliament building

Sculptures around the grounds of Parliament

After our tour my friend and I returned to the ship for a bit of R&R in the pool while the husbands continued their adventuring on foot. Below are some of Albert’s pictures

He visited an art gallery

Wellington Museums 

A colossal squid at TePapa Museum. The only one on display anywhere in the world. It weighed 500 Kilograms when caught in a fishing line and was dead when the line came to the surface. 16 years ago when we visited the squid was being studied and it was big news everywhere. Its was nice to see that it is now on display and if you visit Wellington, you should certainly see it.

Since we couldn’t take pictures in the live enclosure of Kiwis, Al took this one in the museum for you to see.  Enjoy!!

Our trip to Wellington was a great success and reaffirmed our fondness for this city! 

Tomorrow we have a sea day and then on Wednesday we enter Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound. Then on to Australia. I can’t believe we are on day 48 of the adventure! 

Napier, NZ

 

The harbor at Napier is notoriously difficult to enter.  There is a very small opening and its tricky to get it right.  We looked out and saw the tugs already getting into place to guide us into our dock. Our port stop today is short, only 5 hours. We won’t have much time to see the sights and try to find a wine tasting.

Napier is often referred to as “the Nice of Pacific” It has an interesting history. In 1931 a devastating earthquake razed the city. What didn’t fall down from the quake,burnt down in the fire following the quake. There was great loss of life and the centre of town was destroyed along with many homes.  Due to the time period in history and the rush to rebuild the city, the architecture of the time was Art Deco. In 2007 Napier was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has not received that designation, however it is acknowledged that along with South Beach, Miami Florida it is considered the best preserved examples of Art Deco in the world. Sit back and enjoy the pictures I took…can’t really give great descriptions but they are great examples of the architecture.

These houses are called “the six sisters” they were built for six sisters originally

One is under restoration

My favorite building ! The national tobacco company operated here.

Louis Hay one of the architects chosen to quickly get Napier up and running again after the quake designed this building

Of course ther is more to Napier than jus Art Deco style.  The number of unique designs is endless. It must be fun to be an architect here!

Definitely NOT Art Deco, but interesting all the same!

When Al and I visited Napier years ago, we stayed in a bed and breakfast that was cozy and overlooked the ocean. It was nice to see it is still open although it has a new name and owner.

And finally: 

Tomorrow we visit Wellington! 

A memorial - White Island

 On December 9,2019 Whakaari/White Island,an active volcano if the Bay of Plenty explosively erupted. Twenty two people of the 47 on the island at the time died. Why is that significant for us? 

 Albert and Brien took a vacation to New Zealand and joined a tour group that was headed by a friendly guide ,Hayden Marshall-Inman from White Island Tours. There had been heightened alert levels even at the time Al and Brien took their tour to the island but it was on their wish list and they went to see the marvels of an active volcano. During the tour, Al and Brien spent time talking with Hayden and enjoyed his company. They mentioned that they would like to see a rugby game while in New Zealand. When they returned from the tour, Hayden graciously offered to get them tickets for a game and they were overwhelmed with his kindness.  It fulfilled another of their wish list items and when they went to pick p the tickets, there was no charge as Hayden had paid for them.  This was an example of the kindness and caring from the New Zealanders that Al and Brien experienced during their entire trip. 

 On December 9,2019 when the island erupted,Hayden was guiding a group of tourists along the trails. His body was never found. Many survivors credited him with helping get as many as possible to safety. Today when we sailed by the island, as we watched the smoke still rise from the back side, Al raised his glass and had a beer with Hayden. he was a good mate who left a lasting impression on those he came into contact with. 

Kia Ora Hayden