The world’s southernmost capital happens to be the city of Wellington, our port of call for today. The original capital of the country was Auckland until 1865, when the seat of their government was moved to here. Situated in a magnificent harbor, Wellington is a lively city with arts, culture, restaurants, and nightlife venues built on steep hillsides. It also has the distinction of being one of the windiest cities in the world. Just two days ago, we were told that Wellington experienced hurricane force winds of 130 kilometers, causing a lot of damage. That must have been when we were having the confused and angry seas on the way to Tauranga. Today’s weather was just the opposite with clear and sunny skies, and warm temps. Lucky.
There is a lot to do and see here, so shore excursions offered 11 tours. They included city site-seeing, a museum tour, beer and food stops, wildlife viewing, sheep and cattle farms, biking, and Botanic Garden walk. On one of our first visits here, we drove 2 hours to Pencarrow Station, one of the oldest sheep and cattle farms in Wellington. It was the first time we got to watch the working dogs on a real ranch. Speaking of cattle, one of our buddies, Harvie, took the tour with his wife to Rotorua out of Tauranga, and actually got chosen to milk a cow on the stage with 15 types of New Zealand sheep. He said he had an “udderly” good time, even though he had never done that before. They’re both good sports on the ship and off.
So we left the ship by 10am and got a city map before boarding the mandatory shuttle bus to downtown. It has been 8 years since we were here last, and we never remember taking a shuttle. These days no one is allowed to walk any part of the working docks. Actually, it saved us a lot of extra walking. The ride was short, since we were dropped off at Northern Lambton Quay, right across from the famous Beehive, part of the parliamentary buildings in the central business district. This area is surrounded with historical buildings, most all of which are free to explore.
Our plan for the day was to locate the entrance to the Cable Car, which takes you up to the Kelburn District. Although we have done this on an organized tour, as well as on our own, we forgot how far we needed to go through downtown to find the entrance. Whie checking the map, a volunteer Wellington City Ambassador gave us directions. He said to look for the line up the street past Burger King, but what he really meant was look for the lane with a heavy New Zealand accent. And we did find a line up the lane for the Cable Car with many stickered shore excursion guests from two ships. Did we mention that he Radiance of the Seas was docked in front of us? A 90,090 gross ton vessel, she holds from 2146 to 2542 passengers, and is suitable for large families looking for a casual trip. So that dumped a lot of tourists into town this morning.
Anyway, the line moved quickly and we paid the $5NZ fare for a one way trip that took about five minutes. The Cable Car opened in 1902 transporting the locals from the center of town to the residential area of Kelburn. By 1933, electricity replaced the steam for the power. A new Swiss design replaced the old system in 1978. There are three stops on the way up with the final stop where the Cable Car Museum sits. Upon exiting the car, we were treated to a spectacular view of the city and harbor below. The sports field was full of cheering students from the nearby college.
The upper entrance to the Wellington Botanic Garden is also up here. This 61 acre garden was established in 1868 with the intent to import plant species and assess their potential for the new colony. One of those successful plants was the Monterey pine, which became one of their major industries. The hike was extremely downhill as we wound our way through the protected native forest, unique landscapes, and cleverly-planted steep declines. We saw giant Monterey pines, redwoods, and eucalyptus that had to be the tallest we have ever seen. The oldest pines topped out at 90 feet, making us realize how many of these we have planted at home, and now wish we hadn’t. Oh well, more future firewood. As we made our way down the winding trail, we passed exotic trees, hydrangea and camellia gardens, succulent and rock displays, fernery, and the fragrant beds of herbs. We went into the Treehouse Visitor Center with info on everything in this park. Ending up at the Duck Pond, we made our way past the bulb and flower beds, before heading up a trail to the rose garden and begonia house.
Lady Norwood Rose Garden opened in 1953, named for her by her husband Sir Charles, the former mayor of the city. Today there are over 300 varieties of roses that bloom from November to May. Today they were pretty, but sparse, probably due to the extreme winds they had a couple of days ago. The Begonia House features begonias, of course, as well as bromeliads, air plants, orchids, fuschias, and a pond with small fish. At the opposite end is a picnic café that serves breakfast and a light lunch. And naturally, there is a small gift shop.
From here, we headed back towards the downtown area, passing through the Bolton Street Cemetery. Founded in 1840, a walk through here gives you a glimpse of the life and times of the growing colony of settlers. It was a harsh existence from what we read with the help of an very informative brochure. Many of the youngest children died from scarlet fever or diphtheria in those early days. Fires and drowning took many adults. Those who lived to a ripe old age and acquired wealth ended up with the largest monuments. In 1968, a new motorway was built through the middle of this cemetery, making it necessary to exhume 3700 burial remains. Many of the old wooden markers were gone by now, so the group was interred in a large vault behind the chapel.
The trail led to the Dennis McGrath Bridge that crossed over the motorway, and brought us back to the Beehive once again. We had gone full circle, but were not ready to go back to the ship yet. After a most welcomed stop for a bench rest across from the Beehive, we continued the walk back to town passing all of the stores, shops, and restaurants of the central business district. We ran into our buddies that had done the cow milking a few days ago. This time they had large department store bags with treasures they could not resist. Harvie showed us a pair of dress shoes with blue and black tapestry designs on them. He says they will match his blue tuxedo, and he can show the shoes off while dancing with his wife. Like we said, they are fun people.
Taking a left turn towards the harbor, we came out at Frank Kitts Park on the waterfront promenade. It was a short hike from here to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, passing by several kids that were high diving into the ice cold waters of the harbor. This museum is one of the few that is free, but since we were short of time and running low on energy, we continued onward. We have toured the museum twice, and it was very interesting.
After such a long hike, we were ready for our reward of a nice lunch and something cold to drink. Remembering a nice place we went to in 2011, we hoped it was still there. Our wish was granted, as not only was it there, they still served great pizza and draft beer. By now it was nearing 3pm, so the restaurant was almost empty. Of course, we had excellent service and we were not rushed. We even added a slice of cheesecake to share…we needed the extra energy to get back to the bus stop…right?
Double-decker shuttles were waiting at the pick-up point, and we climbed up to the top and got seats together. Traffic was getting heavy by now, and the short ride turned out to be 30 minutes. There was no particular rush to get back since we had until 10:30pm to be onboard. Back by 4pm, we relaxed in our room working on hundreds of photos and taking notes from the handful of brochures we were given. This city has to be the most people-friendly so far.
Since there was no sail away before the sun set, we went to deck nine and took the last of the pictures. Dinner was at 8pm, and the three of us shared our activities of the day. We are all in agreement that the dinner menus have become stranger by the day. Some of the entrees are so different, we don’t even recognize what they are. So we ended up with French onion soup, shrimp cocktail, and the alternate chicken or steak. A chicken Caesar salad is also a perfect substitute for an entrée. We did split a serving of lasagna, which tastes better these days.
Tomorrow port will be Picton, but only until 2pm. Too bad since it is a nice, small town and not a bustling city like today. It will also be our final stop in New Zealand. Too bad.
Bill & Mary Ann
