Wellington New Zealand

Hi Guys,

Wellington – New Zealand 7 March 2011

(Longitude: 44 17’South   Longitude: 174 47’ East)

(Time +13 GMT)

The city of Wellington is close to the port, but we need a short shuttle bus to downtown due to the commercialization of the port area. We did not take an excursion today as we thought we would explore around the city of Wellington. Opposite from where we are dropped off is a cable car that can take you up to the botanical gardens and the planetarium, however, it starts to rain and we decide not to take the trip. We go down to Leuvens on Cable Street to have lunch. On Monday’s they have a special on green New Zealand mussels with chips and I have a Tue beer for the princely sum of NZ$51 (£25). There must have been 20 mussels about 6 inches in length. We walk along the quayside to the Te Papa museum where I learn about the tectonic origins of New Zealand. They have a great earthquake display with a small shack that can house about a dozen people while the whole structure is shaken back and forth by about 8 inches, simulating a magnitude 7 earthquake.

There is a section showing the Moa, a large, docile, flightless bird similar to an emu but 9 ft high that was hunted to extinction about 600 years ago. From the remains they have unearthed, they have made an impressive representation complete with feathers, small, triangular and brown striped with beige. I have seen the feet of an ostrich which are about 12 inches long and can eviscerate a lion but the Moa’s feet are 3 toed and about 24 inches long, apparently, a bird that was too docile but made great drumsticks.

The port at Wellington with 

Westpac Trust Stadium

Roy at Parliament Building

Roy & Susan in Wellington (poor dog)

Wellington Harbor approach

Wellington is the capital of the Dominion of New Zealand and situated at the southwestern tip of North Island. The capital was transferred from Auckland to Wellington in 1865. The vibrant city is built on hills around the large harbor, a flooded crater of an extinct volcano, Wellington is not only the political, financial and administrative center of the country but it is also the cultural and arts capital of New Zealand.

The first person to see this part of North Island was probably the Polynesian explorer Kupe, who came from the legendary Hawaiki in the Pacific. Two centuries later the Maori had established small settlements near present-day Wellington. However, just over 160 years ago ther was no major settlement around the harbor.

In 1773 Captain Cook anchored a mile from the harbor entrance, but ventured no further. In 1926 a British ship sailed into the harbor bringing the first European settlers. Apparently, the Duke of Wellington was Prime Minister from 1828 to 1830 and provided assistance in these early years and so the towns people named the town in his honour.

Some quick facts:

New Zealand has a population of about 4 million, there are about 17 million sheep

In 1893 New Zealand became the first nation to grant women the right to vote

English and Kaori are the country’s two official languages

The only mammals in New Zealand are two species of bats. The introduction of the Possum into New Zealand has been the bane of the inhabitants as the little critter succeeded in ridding the island of any snakes and most of the smaller birds. Emu and kiwi eggs are rather large and most of the kiwis on the islands are in sanctuaries.