23/01/08
Whew! Well, another day in Wellington has blown by. Hee hee. Like the pun? Actually, the whether today was far better than yesterday, so I have no complaints. It was only a little windy, but apart from first thing in the morning, the day was very sunny, and as a result, there were much more people out milling about today. I essentially retraced my footsteps from yesterday, except that I went up a cable car as well, and didn’t go up Mount Victoria this time. Consequently, I didn’t bother with a GPS map, so you’ll just have to check out the pictures directly on flickr instead. Coincidentally, all of my pictures from the entire trip thus far have been put up now, so do feel free to check them all out. You can just click the link in the right column with the little pictures. It’s already quite late at night, so I’ll keep this post short so that I can post it, along with the remainder of my pictures before I head off tomorrow. Read on for a little more about today.
Yet again, I got a slow start, opting instead to do some quick video skyping with Jody, as well as writing up some blog posts. I also finished the work of grooming my beard. I’ll be honest, I already miss it a bit. It was sort of my defining feature for a lot of people that I’d met up to now. Oh well, I’ll have another good one within a couple weeks I guess, and I still have over 2 months to grow it back, so it should still be a sight to see if I grow it all back. This time, I’m thinking of going with the big chops though. Who knows 🙂 Anyway, by the time I got all my domestic chores out of the way, it was almost 11, and the sun was shining brilliantly. I’d made plans to meet someone for lunch who I had emailed, and we were meeting at 1:30, but before that, I wanted to check out the Wellington Museum, and see about a shirt.
Well, the museum was pretty cool, but the shirt was a no-go. They’d sold it yesterday, so I missed my chance. Oh well, I’ll have to hold off now until I find something I really like. It could be a while, given that I’m heading to the more remote South Island next, but who knows. The Wellington museum, like most museums here, was free. I love it. Donations only. I spent about an hour there learning more about Wellington’s past, and checking out some cool multimedia displays. By far the best one was on the 3rd floor, and was a holographic show recounting two Maori legends. I was totally impressed with the quality, and even took a few pictures of it. I was the only one in the room, so I got to move around and get really close to the display. Check it out.
From there, it was another walk across town to meet Michelle for lunch. We just headed to a Subway, and chatted for about 45 minutes on NZ, and some possible sights. Got a couple more tips and repeats of some old ones, but basically, discovered there was nothing additional for me to bother sticking around for another day for, so I’m definitely on my way tomorrow. Just a matter of what time. I’ve even already booked my first South Island hostel. I’ll be staying in Havelock, population 670. Yup, it’s only 35km from Picton, but on the way to Nelson, so it puts me closer to the action. Still haven’t planned out the South Island yet, but there will be time once I get there.
After lunch, I headed to the cable car to take me way up to the Botanical gardens once again. I checked out the cable car museum, which was basically just two cars to look at, then walked around the park a little bit before heading back to town. It was time for the main event. Te Papa, which is sort of the Museum of Civilization, NZ style. It’s a pretty big museum, right on the waterfront, and I think they spent something like 375M on it. Needless to say, it was a bit overwhelming, but quite well laid out. I spent just over two hours wandering through all the various exhibits, and was surprised at how much of the history and legends I already knew as a result of my travels to date in the North. Good on me, as they say.
By the time I left, I was already running about an hour behind when I said I’d be back. Travis and I planned to head downtown to eat and maybe check out some music. Luckily, he had also been running late, so it was all good. We went out for some great Indian food, then went to a bar called Sandwiches. Yup, Sandwiches. However, it might as well have been called Birdland. There was a jazz quartet just getting ready to play when we arrived, and man, were they hot. It was awesome music, and a nice way to cap off Wellington. Well, that, and a couple pints of beer. We stayed for about an hour and a half, then came back here, as he has to work tomorrow, and I’m hoping to hit the road for the ferry early enough in the morning.
So, that’s my second Wellington day in a nutshell. Good fun, nothing too active, and now ready to hit the high road once again and concentrate on the task at hand, which is getting to the tip of the South Island. There’s a long journey ahead of me yet, and I’m ready to embrace it once again 😉 It’ll probably be a while before I can relax like this again, so I just hope I rested up enough. It doesn’t really feel like it at the moment, but that’s life! Ta ta for now, and hope you’re all enjoying my daily updates. You know, it’s a lot of work putting all this together. Who loves ya? You know I do!
