Let me say straight off that we loved Wellington. Despite the 50 degree weather, the gale-force wind, the unrelenting rain (although now perusing the photos, it doesn't look that way, it really was rainy all the time), and some unexpected weather delays and unexpected accommodations, it was a lovely place. Granted, we were only there four days, so there may be some truth that there isn't a ton to do, but it definitely was worth the trip (and there were things we did not get to). Wellington was manageable with some fabulous offerings and it has a great vibe, that we've identifying as "Seattle-esque."
There was definitely a grunge-factor on Cuba Street where we had fabulous Turkish cuisine, perfect (and cheap) flat whites and hot chocolates, and great fish and chips. The New Zealand friendliness component was here in force--much more so than in Auckland. We also loved the waterfront and the abundance of beautiful but not grandiose Victorian houses mixed with some modern homes as well. The weather also reminded us of the Northwest.
We spent a fair amount of time around Civic Square, and loved the City Gallery, new public library architecture, and the in-your-face New Zealand motif suspended in the square:
The kids loved the City-to-Sea Bridge--clearly a nautical theme with two whales--one here (speaking of which, there were two orcas cruising the harbor while we were there--some think they were sheltering from the horrible weather out at sea--but we didn't get a chance to see them):
And a lot of places to pose and play:
The Te Papa Museum offered so many things to see and do, that we went there two times and didn't do any repeats. They have the only colossal squid displayed in the world and even better (from a 5 year old's perspective, was the ability to create your own squid on the computer in the exhibition. We've been visiting it daily remotely to find out what it is up to). The Museum has a number of kid areas with lots of great things and the technology for the museum has got to be top in the field--huge floor maps of New Zealand that lit up, 3-D squid encounters, the ability to learn about Moa and the other exhibits with some hands-on, fast track learning, among other things. Besides the technology and the squid there were other great artifacts and exhibits.
I should rave about the famous meeting house purportedly with the artist's carved self-portrait that I taught a number of times in World Art classes, and I should rave about the interesting displays about New Zealand life across the past century and a half, or the volcano/natural disaster exhibit, or the myriad other interesting things, but there were two things that I particularly loved: I think one of the coolest things that we seen in 4 months was the feather cape given to Captain Cook in 1779 by a Hawaiian high priest. I know it is reeks of imperialism, that hordes of birds were killed for it and others like it (20,000 for this cape alone!) and I know that this particular artifact has little to do directly with New Zealand, but it was very cool to see--and the feathers in this cape are red and white, unlike most of the Maori capes that are primarily of black and white feathers because of the species of birds that reside(d) in New Zealand. Even better, is that it was a surprise to us, because we hadn't read that it was there, and so to come upon a darkened cabinet, then hit a button and see THAT, well, it just left me a bit dumb-founded for a minute or two.
The other fantastic exhibit there, in my opinion was Te Papa's marae. Most marae that we've seen, are historical objects that have a lot of mana because of their association with the history and ancestry of place and tribe for Maori people. This marae in Te Papa is trying to create a contemporary marae for all of New Zealand's people for this century. The carvings are contemporary Maori designs by Maori craftspeople and the ancestors and legends on the front are also deeply rooted in Maori stories, but they also include other non-Maori that have made New Zealand their home on the interior. I have no idea how this work has been received in New Zealand, but the images are spectacular, and the carving amazing. I appreciate the artists, and the museum, trying to take a more contemporary approach to creating a space for the nation. I'm looking forward to learning more about this work. Here is the gable apex:
Obviously, if you know R, our visit would not have been complete without a--do I dare say-pilgrimage to the Weta Caves.
R was thrilled to have (supposedly) spotted Bilbo Baggins himself (um, that is Martin Freeman) passing us on the sidewalk in downtown Wellington. No doubt it could have been him since filming is still underway in the area (our bus driver pointed out a huge green stage and part of the Hobbit set on our trip out to the 'Cave'), but who knows. I got a picture of a bus instead....On a related note, we did happen upon a real weta (huge insect, see
here) on a side-street and the kids were truly fascinated by THAT sighting. Those things really are huge!) Anyway on with the story and pictures. The Weta Caves are so incredibly unassuming...
Yep. This is it. Three thousand people work for Weta behind this little house. They are amazing at optical tricks aren't they?), and they are second only to Pixar in terms of output. There isn't much here really...a mini-museum--please stress the word mini...it was smaller than our dining room--a retail shop (also small), a few movie remnants (see below), and a movie about behind the scenes. If nothing else, we can say that we've been there. (I'm realizing as I write this that maybe R would have a different take on this part of our trip. So please humor him if he relates the story to you later....)
Weta did create this for a Courtney Place in Wellington (and it IS near where R supposedly saw Bilbo....). When I asked R what it was supposed to be, he said "a Weta sculpture," so I cannot be any more specific than that. I'm really not sure what it is supposed to be...maybe it is related to one of the machines in the Avatar, but I'm truly guessing.
And we cannot forget the bee-hive: the hub of all New Zealand politics. One reason I am including this, is that little M actually recognizes this building and not only points out that we've been there, but also that it is in Wellington.
We were supposed to leave on Wednesday evening, but when we got to the airport and saw hundreds of people in line, we realized we weren't going anywhere. After we were rebooked on a flight for the following day, we spent about 2 hours searching for a place to stay the night. Only at about 1.5 hours into calling every freaking hotel in Wellington and up to 40 minuets outside the city did we start to realize we might be staying in the airport for the night. Luckily (I think), a guy next to us told us that he booked a room at a backpacker's lodge and that the booking site said they still had 2 rooms left. So we booked them both, figuring by the price that they were likely dorm beds so we needed 4 beds total. I do think we booked the last rooms in the city. At least 500 people stayed in the airport that night and countless others slept in the lobbies of hotels around the city. The lack of accommodations was due to the horrible weather that had canceled flights out of Wellington for nearly 3 days straight!
What an experience! When we got there, they said that we had only booked two dorm beds, not two rooms (yikes!) and the beds were not even in the same room (double yikes!) but they got it worked out. Despite the facts that 1) the kids learned about a couple of things early in their young lives (such as the game of quarters or some drinking game proceeding in the lounge during our checkin), and 2) we had to share a bathroom with everyone else and had to rent towels as well, we did manage to have quite the discussion about what might have caused the huge hole in our closet door. Above everything, we had a room with space for 3.5 all to ourselves.
Even more exciting (besides getting out of there without being infested by bugs) was that the extra day provided us with the opportunity to a) see Wellington in some much desired sunlight, b) have Liam befriend the cable car driver and "drive" it, which consisted on pushing a lit green button, and c) visit not one, not two, but three playgrounds. Yes, Wellington, despite the wind, we enjoyed our visit and the adventure.
