Kiwi Capital

Posted by Nicki

So after our adventures in Rotorua, it was time to begin our venture south. In order to catch a ferry over to the south island, we had to make a stopover for a night in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. We arrived at the bright and early time of 7am after having spent the night on a bus…not the greatest as my seatmate decided that playing heavy metal at 4am so loud that I could hear his headphones over my headphones was a brillant idea. I did not agree.

Although we only had a bit of time in Wellington, I really enjoyed the city and what it had to offer. I would have loved to have a few more days to explore. Wellington again, like most places in NZ is a seaside town. It has a great harbor area and lots of scenic hills overlooking the bay. We spent our day wandering Cuba Street, a really neat pedestrian avenue filled with artsy cafes, restaurants, and shops, and going to the Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand.

I was very impressed with Te Papa. It was not only free (yay, backpacker bonus!) but really interesting and hands on. The musuem included everything having to do with New Zealand from weather and tectonic plates and earthquakes, to plants and animals, to Maori culture. There was an earthquake simulation house, lots of computer games to play, and overall just very interesting and interactive exhibits. There was a memorial to extinct animals and plant life…something I’ve never seen before, and maybe should see more of. I also was interested in how well the Maori were represented. All of the musuem displays and descriptions were in both English and Maori. New Zealand seems to be doing quite a good job of promoting their heritage. In fact, while we were in Waitomo, we passed a primary school that was taught on ly in Maori. Our guide said the school only used to have 17 students. Now it has 70, some drive over an hour from the coast to attend.

In any case, our time in Wellington was much to short, but now we are in the South Island, which although is chilly, is worth the trip.