We made a short stop in the town of Norsewood for a coffee before stopping for lunch at an amazing cafe called the Clarksville Bakery. After lunch we continue driving—suddenly we were on a super curvy road in a rain storm on the Rimutaka Hill Road. We did not know it at the time but Rimutaka is often sited as a source of car sickness and accidents.
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and is on the southern most point of the North Island. The Intercontinental overlooks the water and was in a great location to see the sites and rest.
The hosts at Kaldeen introduced us to a friend from the States living in Wellington. We met up and he showed us around for a day. We took the cable car to the Botanical Gardens and then walked back to the center city for lunch at Great India. We walked the streets and talked about life in Wellington and home.
The city was buzzing over the weekend. There was an art festival, dragon boat race, Underground Market (on Saturdays), street musicians, and Maori dancing.
We walked along the waterfront many times morning, noon and night. Always impressive was Max Patte’s “Solace in the Wind” statue. We heard that the statue is decorated at different times of the year.
The waterfront has a spot for the adventurous to jump into the water. Most days there were spectators to watch the men/boys taking the leap. Nearby there were some girls jumping into the water off the docks.
Sometimes we stoped to take photos of the gorgeous waterfront just because it was there.
The Night Market on Cuba Street is each week but was extra special as it was the Lantern Festival, too. There were Xian Warriors, lanterns, a dragon, peacock and kiwi glowing among the many food stands and trucks.
We explored the streets of Wellington. We especially enjoyed a hot chocolate at Wellington Chocolate Factory, the salted carmel cookies at Leeds Cafe (Sunshine is still dreaming about them), and the peanut butter tasting at Fix & Fogg through a window in a building (no good photos). All three shops were tucked away on a small alley way.
The coffee scene in Wellington was buzzing. Our favorite was a flat white at Mojo Coffee Bar. The most fun was the coffee flight. Ian got one coffee three ways and Sunshine got the three blends prepared the same way.
The clock in the The Old Bank Arcade is a throwback to the past. The clock was the center piece of the old bank and is suspended from the ceiling. Each hour the clock opens with an animated musical about the history of Wellington.
Just east of central Wellington is Mount Victoria. We followed the Summit Walkway to the lookout for 360-degree views of the city. The walk was refreshing and the views spectacular.
We visited numerous museums and was impressed with the Te Papa museum. In addition the the Maori cultural exhibition (no photos), we were impressed with the Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality exhibition. The show was an intimate collection with a fantastic audio tour sharing stories of each piece and warriors.
There was also a colorful modern exhibit on the fifth floor. We loved the rainbow of ribbons and geometric aspect of the pieces.
In addition to the Te Papa museum, we explored several other museums around the city. We especially enjoyed the three exhibits at the City Gallery Wellington. Most impressive was Cao Fei’s BMW video. There was also an exhibit about the music group Scratch. The group used everyday items in a highly mathematical way to make music.
We were lucky to attend two live performances. The first was the Te Matatini Kapa Haka Festival. The stage incorporated the world’s largest carving and the performances were spectacular. It was raining and cold but we stayed nontheless. The second was attending the Eddie Izzard performance. We read about the show and tried to get tickets. It was sold out. We were heading to our hotel room and Sunshine held the elevator door open for Eddie. I said we had tried to get tickets and hope to see a future show. Eddie asked for our name and left two tickets at the box office for us. It was a great show and even better memory.
We enjoyed our time in Wellington and the North Island and are looking forward to exploring the South Island.
