Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is on the southern tip of the north island. We arrived, via Auckland, in overcast conditions around 8 am on Friday, February 15 having left Vancouver at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, February 13. It’s a good thing I don’t have a current heart throb because Valentine’s Day got lost somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.
I shall have to acclimate my ear to the Kiwi accent. I could not understand why they all spoke of Oakland (California) til I finally realized they meant Auckland, NZ. 🙂
Too early to check into our hotel in Wellington, Shirley and I went on an urban-style walkabout. We found the beautiful Parliament House constructed of stunning gray and cream stone. The original Parliament Building was destroyed by fire in 1907; the current building was built and occupied by 1918.
We also found the “bee hive” or Executive Wing of Parliament and the Parliamentary Library, certainly a contrast in styles!
Close by is the Wellington Cathedral of Saint Paul, an imposing structure for sure. Inside it is strangely (given its imposing exterior) unadorned. The dressing of this cathedral may well be a work in progress however. There were tall arches with clear windows, while some had stained glass. One maritime-themed stained glass window particularly caught our eyes. My photo does not do it justice.
A walk along the waterfront brought us to a sea-themed boat. We first thought it might be an effort to recreate the ark, but where are the elephants and giraffes? We can only suppose that the seals and birds portrayed are resident in this area. How nice it will be, starting tomorrow, to have a group leader-cum-expert to clear these matters up for us!
The Te Papa Museum, New Zealand’s national museum, was on our route. We will be touring it on Sunday so only stopped to admire the Lanterns of the TerraCotta Warriers, a travelling exhibit from China. I am sure I will have more to say about this in a couple of days. The colourful statues in front of Te Papa reminded us of our trip to Prague with our sister Tracey, and our visit to the Museum Kampa. At the time, there were large lighted yellow penguins lined up outside the museum and quite frequently inside admiring the art work. It was a whimsical delight!
I have been impressed by the architecture of Wellington. It is a mix of old and new, and the many of the designs are quite eye-catching. Here’s a little collection of my favourite buildings so far.
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