Advertisement
Published: December 29th 2005
Wellington By Night
From Mount VictoriaOnce again the best of intentions are crushed mercilessly by the sledgehammer of lazyness. Ah well, its the thought that counts after all and thought is being put in now. It's been almost four weeks since I arrived in North Island and three of those have been spent messing about in Wellington due to circumstances both in and out of my control (aforementioned slackness played a major part here) but they were three happy and well spent weeks and that's all that matters, right....? To clarify, I originally intended to spend some time in Wellington before moving off to explore the key spots of North Island (Taupo, Rotorua, Bay of Islands, Hawkes Bay, etc.), finally arriving in Auckland to fly onwards to Fiji, my next destination. However, things worked out much better in the end.
On first arriving in Wellington, I checked into the Wildlife House hostel which was about the only one which had space that I found. It seemed a decent enough place facilities wise but unfortunately was pretty dead... my 10-bed dorm averaged 3 people per night. Not sure why this was the case but there we go. I actually managed to see the key tourist attractions
in this first stay in the city - the Te Papa museum; riding the cable car up the hill to the Botanical Gardens; the Beehive; and Mount Victoria and the view over the city at night. The best of these is definately Te Papa - I challenge anyone to be bored by this facility. The exhibits are large, entertaining and varied and enough warrant two visits. On my first visit, I wandered around the free areas, which educate you in New Zealand's physical and social history. A favourite area was the section on the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the British and the Maori back in 1840. This covered not only the history of the document (essentially the NZ constitution) but also the wrong done to the Maori since then and attempts to arrive at reparations. This got me thinking not only about the various shameful deeds comitted by the British Empire in her prime but also about the varied successes of indigenous races throughout the world sumbitted to imperial control. Seeing this, you realise that though the Maori where shafted at least NZ seems to be making significant efforts to rectify the past mistakes, even if the extent of
Wellington Harbour
The view after the cable car those efforts is a basis for political debate. Almost as good, was the paid exhibition on DNA and 'The Genetic Revolution'. GM produce seems to be quite a hot topic in NZ, so it was interesting to read all the facts here. What's more, not only did the paltry $6 entry fee get me access to a good two hours worth of excellent multimedia exhbits but it also got me into an interactive lab session, where we were walked through the process of extracting DNA from strawberry pulp. Much more interesting than it sounds and satisfyingly successful, given my past failures in practical science. If all the paid exhbits are this good, then this must be one of the best museums there is.
Taking the cable car up the hill in Wellington got me thinking back to Hong Kong. Whilst watching sunset over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, I met a guy from Wellington, who told me all about his home city and how much he loved it. He also remarked how Hong Kongs cable car dwarves that in Wellington. He's right, of course but the cable car is still well worth the trip. But also, from on high,
The Beehive
Japanese tourists to the fore... the city is as beautiful as Hong Kong. Rolling hills encircle the harbour, with colourful wooden houses scattered across them as far as the eye can see (though this varies from a matter of inches to many miles, depending on the notoriously volatile weather systems). You could take the cable car back down but a much better way is to walk your way back through the small but attractive Botanical Gardens, highlighted by the rose display. It's also a nice place to read and waste away some time, though I was briefly distracted by a Japanese tour group passing by my tree and waving excitedly at me. Speaking of which, an entertaining incident involving these fantastic people happened in the shadow of Wellington's famous Beehive - the parliament building. It's quite a bizarre sight, especially next to the other classically styled buildings that are its neighbours but I like it as it has character. Much like the Houses of Parliament in London, you can see politicians being interviewed outside the complex and I happened upon such an interview in my visit. Being sure to pass by and ensure myself at least one appearance on NZ TV, I wandered over to
Mount Taranaki
As close as I ever got... take a photo of the buildings. To my delight, I noticed that a group of Japanese tourists had also spyed the TV interview and where photographing its progress with great interest. After the guy had finished, they waved politely at him and a conversation ensued between him and 50 others. They lined up to have photgraphs taken with him and he bid them farewell before strolling back inside. I had two thoughts thoughts. Firstly, would John Prescott or similar be able to do something like that back home? Secondly, who is worse, he who photgraphs a TV interview, or he who ensures that his scenic shot includes he who photographs a TV interview? An existential crisis I've yet to recover from.
Through my sister, I was put in touch with some delightful people in Wellington and so began my expnaded adventure in Wellington. Naomi is my sister's best friend and she was to marry Kiwi Aaron in December. They invited not only over for dinner but also to their wedding and to spend Christmas with them in Lower Hutt, a part of the Wellington area about 20 minutes out of the centre. They are fantastically friendly people and I
Mount Maunganui
Why I never climbed it.... was delighted to be able to make their acquaintance while I was in town. However, I was now posed a dilemma - with so much to see in the North and a now greatly reduced time in which to do it, what was I to do? Further complicating matters, was my discovery of Wellington's premiere party for local-boy-done-good Peter Jackson and his King Kong mega-film. The chance to gawp at stars as well as feign cultural observation of how this proud city celebrates the achievements of its favourite son could not be passed up. What with this and the wedding, I was given a mere 6 days in which to see some of the sights. I actually did pretty well, considering but it was an exhausting haul.
I began by bussing up to New Plymouth, the gateway to the Mount Taranaki National Park, with the hope of climbing this beautiful volcano. However, the famously bad weather in the area meant that I would see nowt from the yop and so, I left the next day, with only a hasty snap from the bus window to remind me of what I could have seen. Next stop Hamilton, where I'm not
German Soup!!!
Delightful meal, by the way... sure what I expected to find. As it turned out, I found nothing of importance and again I moved on the next morning to Tauranga, a seaside city popular with Kiwi's for holidays. Here I actually found something to divert me and I stayed a few days. I was delighted to make the acquaintance of a German couple, one of whom works for Accenture, my employer to be. We got on well and even cooked German-style pumpkin soup together, which was delicious incidentally. They also drove me over to nearby Mt Mauganui, another popular destination for holiday-makers and surfers alike. The Mount itself is a popular climb but on the day I was there, some very low cloud made the trip pointless. However, I walked the track around the foot of the hill, which was blanketed in beautiful Pohutukawa trees, the New Zeland Christmas Tree, with which I am absolutely infatuated. I want one in my garden. After this brief walk, I lounged on the beach in a quite spot and killed some time. All in all a day well spent. Both Tauranga and Mt Maunganui are well worth a trip.
Following a pleasant diversion, I headed down to
Rotorua for some serious touristry. I frequented Te Puia "New Zealand's Permier Maori Culture & Geothermal Visitor Experience" (www.nzmaori.co.nz). I take issue with half of that statement but we'll come to that. If you head to Te Puia at noon, you'll be able to watch the free Maori concert, featuring singing, dancing, the Haka and so on, before heading off on a tour around the geothermal sights. The latter include some fun boiling mud pools, two pretty spectacular geysers and also (bizzarely) a Kiwi Sanctuary, where I managed to see a Kiwi, though it was asleep. Te Puia was definately worth seeing for me as I'd never anything of the sort, though I will recommend one extra trip which I took and was delighted with. At about NZ$70, the Tamaki Maori Village tour isn't cheap but it includes a traditional welcome, a spooky replica Maori village, a fantastic concert and a Hangi (earth oven) feast. All of this was excellent and I'll note that bar proper gospel singing I doubt there can be a more emotionally engaging musical experience than this. What was evident was the intense pride the young Maori have for their heritage and when they pulled out
King Kong Party
The scariest street entertainers I ever did see... they moved so slowly!!! the expected Haka, it utterly surpassed the Te Puia version, raising the heckles on my neck. Here lies the secret to the All Blacks rugby success. What was better than all this, was the peripheral aspects. The trip in was mighty entertaining, as our guide Rotokiwi tutored us in important Maori words; the goodbye ceremony where they had everyone holding hands and singing in Maori was utterly shame-free; and the drive back shocked me as people freely volunteered to sing songs from their home countries and everyone joined in happily. Somehow they engaged everyone into the mind-set which they clearly display throughout the whole experience. I was stoked with the whole thing.
It was the next morning that I left Rotorua for Wellington to arrive in time for the King Kong party on the next day. I also made one of my best logistical decisions yet and booked into Rosemere Backpackers, where I would live for the next two weeks. It's not the best equipped hostel (and neither do the staff claim that it is) but the atmosphere is very relaxed, there is free internet and breakfast and the long-termers and staff are very friendly. Particularly note-worthy were Rob,
Andrew Serkis
Prize for best dressed in the post... who went out of his way to engage me in conversation; Skye, a Laotian guy who possessed phenomenal cooking skills and frequently excercised them in preparing beautiful soups, fried rice and pancakes for no charge - amazing genoristy; and Louise, the manageress who was extremely helpful at all times. The only problem was the weird night-owl guy who shared my dorm - try and avoid him if you can! They organise weekly trips to climbing and tennis to help mix people up, so it shouldn't be hard to get involved. Unfortunately I didn't meet anyone before the King Kong party, so I ended up going and standing alone, though people there were chatty enough.
It turned out to be almost worth the 5 hour wait (what a loser) as I sighted pretty much all the celebs, though Peter Jackson himself was ushered past us, much to the dismay of several die-hards kids who were nearby. Favourite celebs were Andy Serkis (Gollum and King Kong), who gave the best photo pose and Jamie Bell, whom I heckled for sounding too much like a yank, which he found amusing. The whole experience left something of a strange aftertaste. The way in
Sunset Over Wellington...
...From the bathroom at Rosemere Backpackers... which, for example, Peter was dragged away from his fans to do a series of TV interviews was sad to see, especially for those near me that had waited about 15 hours. Fair play to him, he arrived an hour before everyone else to shake hands, chat and sign away but his publicist is apparently a merciless human being. Additionally, the paparazzi where positioned across from us and wathcing them fall over themselves and each other to get their shots provided an amusing insight into what I can only imagine is a terrible career. Also, seeing the different ways in which the celebrities handle the adulation of the crowd, was fascinating to watch - case in point, Adrien Brody's aloofness compared with Andy Serkis' boundless enthusiasm. All of that said, while some mock Wellington for crying the achievements of PJ, I found it touching to see how much he clearly means to them (though the cynical may point instead to the economic benefits he brings) and the pride they all feel at being at the centre of a film-making hotspot. Especially, the camaraderie of the Weta team, in their very own enclosure, was fun to see. All in all, a
Wedding In Progress
The wedding party gets the legal stuff out of the way fascinating afternoon, though I think I developed rickets.
The next big event on my social calender was The Wedding, for which I make no pretense of cultural value - it was just plain good fun! I should note that I did break one of the rules of wedding crashing by crashing the wedding solo... I don't think I got found out. It was beautiful secular ceremony, in a beautiful location, with beautiful food and some beautiful music! Hilariously, I asked the bride during the after-dinner chat if there would be any Bon Jovi played (i.e. Living On A Prayer). She looked down her nose and said no. Boy was she wrong - and everyone loved it. They had asked the DJ (DJ Epic, by the way) to play some other music but he just couldn't control himself and cracked out all the cheese imaginable. I think it was safe to say everyone enjoyed the dancing, until he cleared the floor with Van Halen. He knew he'd lost the crowd and just cut the volume and started to pack up. The worst part of the whole thing was being forced to buy new clothes by my sister to dress respectably,
Bridesmaid and Wedding Crasher
"I think we only use 10% of our hearts" - Me and my sister, Emma. I won't ask who's the best dressed... though I'd ben assured there was no dress code! Ah well, I guess it didn't do any harm. The day after the wedding, I met up with my sister and her fiance to take the ferry across to Eastbourne on the East side of the harbour to have a look round. The houses on the sea-front are spectacular and I'm assured some are worth in the six-fiure region of NZ$'s. You can dream I suppose. After this day, I was going to have to entertain myself for a few days as everyone from the wedding was off to Taupo for a few days. Here I had an opportunity to see more of the North Island but I chose to stay put. I was happy where I was and plus I had Christmas shopping to do, now that Christmas actually existed in my social calendar. So, I spent a few days relaxing, playing chess with Rob in the hostel, trying to find suitable presents and that was about it. I did manage to head out with the hostel people to see a local singer - Deva Mahal - and her band, which was most entertaining and I also managed to squeeze
A Boat, Eastbourne
I was one of three people taking this exact same photo - being innovative is so difficult these days some sea-kayaking into my hectic schedule. It was all go in the festive season...
Christmas Day was a surreal experience for sure. I was given two breakfasts, much to my delight and spent most of the morning in a hammock, swinging in the ever-weakening sunlight. I was also invited by Aaron's aunt and uncle to stay with them at their house for a few days, thus putting paid to my plans of seeing Auckland before I left (as it happens, I've managed a few hours there between bus and plane, as I write this). The rain eventually decided enough was enough with all this festive jollity and threw itself on the BBQ team, proving that festive inclemency is present even on the other side of the world. Not to worry, food was consumed inside and eveyone settled down to watch the seasonal movie - Jurrasic Park - thus bringing an end to my first christmas away from home and in the summer. Not that you'd have noticed. I headed back to wish seasonal goodwill to my hostel friends and then fell asleep thoroughly full. On Boxing Day it was time to move out and head back to the Hutt
Pohutukawa
The New Zealand Christmas Tree Valley to stay with my new friends Pam and Colin in their beautiful home.
I passed a couple of days in their comapny which was a great way to round out my time in New Zealand. They delighted in driving me around some of the lesser spotted areas of Wellington and also in giving me free run of their house. And they knew well to fly the Union Jack from their flagpole when I arrived I managed to have a couple of spas, which did wonders for my constitution and was also well fed and rested. We drove over to both coasts of the Wellington area, seeing both the Pacific Ocean (from Wainui) and the Tasman Sea (from the truly stunning Kapiti Coast). I was sad to leave their company after such a short time but to be honest I am ready to leave New Zealand and find myself excited about the 7 weeks ahead. I like to think that I've got a good hard grasp of what makes New Zealand and its people tick. They are certainly a proud lot, evidenced by the willingness of pretty much every Kiwi to tell you anything they can about anything Kiwi. In keeping with this they are very friendly and welcoming and fall nicely between the sterotyped English reserve and Aussie brashness (disclaimer: word stereotype has been used, no complaints expected!). as for the country, it's everything you've heard, though for me the South Island has the lion's share of the must-sees for my money. Maybe it's beacuse I saw more of it but Wellington was the best city by far, certainly better than Christchurch (which I also became pretty familiar with and was unimpressed by) and would be the sight of any settlement by myself in the future. The city has a pulse and an atmosphere which is sadly lacking in many of New Zealand's urban areas. That said, who comes here for towns? Till next time. Happy New Year.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.091s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0558s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Cara
non-member comment
I hear you've made it to the states! Can't wait to see you in Austin-- I hope you get to stay a while -- we're all very excited!!