We should learn not to prejudge a city. The first time we came here we bypassed the city and did some excursion in the outskirts. We had an absolutely perfect day and loved Wellington, which was completely unexpected. I think that is because from the port it just looked like any ordinary city. On the contrary Wellington is a very walkable, people friendly city. The site is pretty compact because, like Papeete, Tahiti, the amount of land between the sea and the mountains is narrow. But the city planners wisely made a wide waterfront boardwalk that has the world class Maori Ta Papa Museum at one end and lots of other shops, galleries, museums, etc. Barry and I decided we'd start by taking the cable car to the Botanical Gardens. This gorgeous garden overlooks the city, and we walked for about an hour down to the Lady Norfolk Rose Gardens. This is one of the largest rose gardens in the world, with over 700 varieties, which were just past their prime, but still beautiful. This garden was built out of the ruins of a quarry, just like the Buchard Gardens in British Columbia.
By the time we were at the bottom, there was no way we were going to walk back up that hill for the return trip on the cable car, so we blew off the $7 and took a cab to the waterfront. We loved the Civic Square which was a mix of old and new architecture and lots of sculpture and a small lagoon between it and the sea, where people were in paddle boats, and children playing in the water. The restaurant we ate at, was next to the Ta Papa and had a Maori theme, and a glass covered area showcasing two war canoes.
Regrettably we didn't go to the Museum, as Barry didn't feel like it, and we heard later that it was of the calibre of the Smithsonian Museum. Oh well. Next time. We spent the rest of our time, ambling along the boardwalk, enjoying the blue, blue sky, the people, and the views. As I was staring at the sea, a little penguin swam by and later we saw him delighting some children as he leapt up and swam in this little pool of water.
The roses were beautiful. Looks like a beautiful country.
ReplyDelete