Wellington is situated at the southern tip of the North island, resting on the Cook Straight which connects New Zealand’s two major islands. It is the second largest urban area at roughly 420,000, and became the capital in 1864. Our guide said that the increasing issues involving both islands led to the capital being moved south from Auckland.
We spent a couple days in Wellington, and walked through most of its preferred paths: Along the docks, through the Botanical Gardens, through the government buildings and old cemeteries, and past the multitude of restaurants on city streets. Wellington is considered one of the most livable cities in the world, and I don’t think we would argue with that.
The city was built along the edge of the Cook Strait, and the land rises abruptly. Most of the houses are built into the elevations, and they seemed to be stacked a few on a level above a lower level, etc. It reminded me a little of San Francisco, but as you probably know by reading my posts, a lot of things remind me of SFO.
We took the cable car to the top of the northern hills and walked down through the city’s Botanical Garden, which snaked all the way down to the high rises.
Below the gardens are the government buildings. New Zealanders call their cabinet building, “The Beehive.” Hmmm… Which one is it ??
The wharves stretch for miles, and take you from restaurants and shops, past marinas, to the National museums.
I’ll have a separate post on the museum, next up. We really enjoyed walking through Wellington. Now it’s onto the ferry that will take us to the more mountainous, less populated, South Island.
The Adventures of Barry Brink 