Why Is It Always Windy in Wellington?

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Before we came to Wellington, we were warned by many people that the city is renowned for being windy. We initially thought this was just an exaggeration but ever since we arrived here a week ago there hasn't been a day without wind. That said though, if I were to judge Wellington purely on the weather over the last 7 days, I would probably conclude that it is also always wet and the skies are almost always dark and grey!

When we saw that the rain seemed to be on hold for the day today after staying indoors for the whole rain-filled day yesterday, we quickly threw on our shoes and headed for one of Wellington's biggest attractions - the legendary cable car. The walk to the so-called cable car (yes, it's gonna be another one of those blogs!) was quite interesting not least because of all the different architectural styles crammed in to so few streets (art deco, victorian, neo-colonial, ultra modern, mock Tudor and just plain quirky) but also because of all the wonderful sculptures. If there's one thing that Wellington does well, it's public access art. The range of different sculptures was fascinating and we enjoyed interacting with a few of them (see photos!).

At the cable car entrance, we discovered that there was a mechanical problem and the cable car was temporarily stranded. It was kind of a blessing in disguise as just at that moment the rain began to fall again. The Wellington cable car design was exactly the same as the peak tram in Hong Kong. The reason I'm reluctant to call it a cable car is that is isn't the kind of gondola on an overhead cable that I consider to be the proper definition of a cable car but instead it is what I would class as a funicular railway - a train running on a very steep slope pulled by a rope and pulley system with one train coming down as the other one goes up. Any how, we didn't get to go on it this time, whatever you want to call it!

Not wanting to get trapped in the hostel for the rest of the day, we picked up another Hot Deal voucher for the cinema from one of the i-site tousist info machines scattered about the city, which entitled us to 2 tickets for NZ$14 (about five pounds). This time we went to see Night at the Museum. The verdict? A great way to pass a rainy evening but not as good as it should have been. Well, that means that we've now been to the movies in China (Superman), Thailand (Pirates of the Caribbean & Snakes on a Plane), Malaysia (The Prestige) and New Zealand (deja Vu & Night at the Museum) - cool!

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Photos

Excuse Me...
Do you know the way to 1878?

Excuse Me...
...It would appear as if your dog is stuck to my foot. (This was Glynn's feeble excuse as he was caught red-handed playing kick the cute puppy)

Fee Fie Foe Fum
Braile for blind giants?

Steel Skies
Not that is was grey in Wellington or anything!